Dwarf Gourami on the Attack! Help!

[mkdestraven]

I'm hoping you can give me advice as to how to handle this situation. My dwarf gourami is aggressive. I already know this because he chases other fish in the tank. He is now attacking my snails. He has eaten the little tentacles off of one and killed another. I'm wondering if the tank is too small for him or if there is some other problem. See specs below:

20 gallon high tank, fully planted and with driftwood
Water is clean with good levels of everything, consistently
1 dwarf gourami
6 panda cories
2 little apple snails and 1 larger one
3 black neon tetras (there were more, but, in hindsight, I think the gourami killed them)
1 dwarf bristlenose pleco

I plan to start a much larger tank, but it will be 3-4 months before its ready to go. I also have a little 5 gal. which is currently occupied by a male betta. I could switch the gourami and the betta, but then the gourami would be very crowded. I welcome any advice...

 

[philipraposo198]

since you planning on a larger tank I would say for now to add a few more dwarfs gourami to the mix.

do you know if yours is a female or male? ideally you want 4 gouramis, 1 male and 3 females. males and females can be aggressive. when put in a tank together they will focus on eachother and because of the mix of male to female ratio it generally works out well for them. they are tough fish and can handle each other well.

I run 1 male 3 female with my pearl gourami and yes its not a perfect harmony like corys but the aggression is nothing serious.

 

[philipraposo198]

and there is not such thing as a dwarf BNP.

 

[Mebbid]

Female dwarf gourami are nearly impossible to find. I would honestly suggest rehoming him rather than trying to fix it with adding other fish, especially females. When they try to breed its just going to make things worse.

Each fish has its own personality, while some are bastards, others are nice. You just have to keep trying.

 

[Luananeko]

Agree with Mebbid... Fish have personalities, just like people do. Some are shy, some are mellow but confident, and some can just be total jerks. Adding more gourami will not solve the problem, neither will increasing the tank size. Rehome him and try a different gourami, whether it's another dwarf, or try a honey gourami. The honeys are far more mellow (on average).

 

[mkdestraven]

Thanks for your responses. I tried to find females, and I couldn't. I think I'm going to ask the LFS to take him back.

 

[Cegamer2003]

Aggresive dwarf gourami

Hello all,

I have a 10 gal tank with 6 plants and 2 little caves. After losing a few of my fish in a move to a new house I decided to replace them with something bigger and more colorful. My dad (having had years of experience with a 55gal) and the "fish expert" at the pet store both recommended dwarf gourami. I saw what I believe are called honey gourami and fell in love with their colors. They are red-gold faded from tail to nose with shiny blue speckles. Supposedly they are friendly. Right now i just have the 2 gourami and 2 neon tetra. I also had a gorgeous fancy tail molly but they ate him :-(. In retrospect, i think they ate a tetra who mysteriously disappeared. What should I do? Get more tetra so they have a school or will the gouramis eat them? Also, the gouramis are attacking eachother. They are both male. I did not get a female as i dont want babies. What should i do!?!? Thanks.

 

[Luananeko]

A 10 gallon is too small for two male gourami. The honeys are more peaceful on average, but they're still gourami. Each have their own personality and can still be jerks, plus the males are territorial towards each other. Rehome the one that you think most likely to be the fish eater and hopefully the other will calm down. Also yes, tetras should be kept in a school 5+.

 

[Coursair]

I also suggest feeding frozen/thawed bloodworms n brine shrimp. Not just flakes.


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