Dwarf Gourami chasing tank mates. Normal or Problem?

[David14259]

I have a Dwarf male Gourami in with 2 guppies and 3 Praecox Rainbows.

I've seen the gourami 'chase' the other fish fairly regularly. It doesn't seem like he's trying to bite them or hurt them, he just darts after them for half a second and then gives up. Nobody is missing any fins or seems too stressed by this. The other fish don't seem to be afraid of the gourami, they still swim around him and don't seem to pay him any special attention.

Is this normal (and ok) behavior or could this develop into a problem?

Thanks!
David

 

[maxwell1295]

They are known to be bullies, especially at feeding time. In my case, it did turn out to be a problem...for the gourami! He bullied one of the Bolivian Rams one too many times. Next thing I new, the Ram tore him a new you-know-what...and it happened so quickly that if you blinked you would've missed it. The gourami died a couple of days later.

 

[Zagz]

Yes male dwarf gouramis are aggressive. The good news is that you seems to have a lot of spots for them to hide in the area they have. The bad news is that 12 gal will probably not provide enough room for territories to be established so the aggression will most likely continue. If it stays the same obviously it wouldn't be a problem but it may get worse and the fish that are being bullied may simply get stressed too much.

 

[David14259]

Alright Thanks for the input. I'll keep an eye on them.