Dwarf Gourami - Strange Behavior

[nejsux]

I have 4 gouramis in my tank. 2 Lavander (1 M 1 F) and 2 Male dwarf neon gouramis. One of the dwarfs has been pulling peat moss (which some of my plants are anchored into the gravel with) up and carrying it to the surface in his mouth. He keeps putting little pieces of it in one corner of the tank by the surface. When I wake up, I keep finding that some of my plants have floated up too, but I dont know if he's to blame. Now I know gouramis make bubble nests, so I don't understnad what he's doing. I would think that he was trying to nest, but there isn't even a female dwarf in the tank. Anyone have an idea?

 

[swmmnglessons]

I have 2 male gourami's, a thick-lipped and a giant, and they both build nests but have never been in a tank with a female. They just do it occasionally which is kinda perplexing. My family had lots of birds growing up and female birds lay eggs every so often even if they don't have a male around. They're empty, obviously. I guess it's just a ritual...

 

[nikki]

dwarf gourami

i was told not to put more than a couple of dwarf gouramis in a tank and to introduce a couple not a single one. Apparently, it works differently. That's interesting. It shows that we can't have definite rules...

 

[Grant R]

When I wake up, I keep finding that some of my plants have floated up too, but I dont know if he's to blame.

Chances are if he's obtaining the soil from that plant anyway, then he's been hard at work overnight uprooting the plant. It could just be that the two aren't compatible, or simply the gourami's way of experimenting.
Keep a close eye, it should eventually / hopefully stop !!

 

[Somethingfishy]

Chances are he is building a nest. Try and get a female for him or them if you can fit another two in there. Personally I would try trade the 1 male for a female. I had two pairs of dwarf gouramis, one red and one blue, the males chased both females until they just gave up with exhaustion, I think?

Here is some info on the Dwarf Neon:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=981
http://freshaquarium.about.com/library/profiles/blfw0070.htm

 

[nikki]

dwarf gourami

From what I read here, it seems possible to have 2 couples of dwarf gouramis. I was told they have territories and males fight each other. Isn't it always so?

 

[nejsux]

It could just be that the two aren't compatible, or simply the gourami's way of experimenting.
Keep a close eye, it should eventually / hopefully stop !!

What do you mean by the two aren't compatible? The dwarfs, or the plants? The odd thing is that The two male dwarf gouramis are the most peaceful fish in the tank. Every now and then they'll feel each other at feeding time, but there's no pecking or chasing goin on. I don't think the behavior is destructive really, it just seemed odd that he'd be building a nest with no females present. And no bubbles, just peat moss. I replanted everything that was ripped out, and secured it better so that shouldn't be much of a problem anymore. The most agressive fish in my tank is definately the male lavander gourami (not a dwarf) and he mostly picks on his woman, but he has yet to build a nest. He just chases her around and feels her. He chases the dwarfs sometimes but usually only if they're fighting for worms. Everyone in my tank is pretty peaceful, but it's only a few months old. BTW, everything I read said to keep gouramis in groups. I would get females if I could, but I have not ever seen any at LFS, only regular gourami females. Maybe they aren't as sought after because they aren't so brightly colored.

Another interesting fact: The lavander gouramis change color often. The male is more prominent and gets darker then the female, and then the next week, thhey both mellow and become the same color. But certain times, maybe 2x a month, they both get a lot darker coloration. I will try to post pics of the 2 different extremes.

 

[Grant R]

I meant I was wondering whether the gourami and the plant weren't compatible perhaps ? It doesn't sound like nest building , more like what I said in my previous post. Keep us posted on the progress now that you have secured the plants better.

Grant.

 

[Somethingfishy]

Nej,

From what I have noticed about my Rainbow cichlids is that they change colour when initiating breeding and remain that colour until either they get bored or their brood hatches, but mine are also constantly changing colours.

Very pleasing to watch.

Nikki,

From what I have noticed with my two pair of dwarf's is that the males did fight and the females just cowared in the corner under some plants and far away from the males. Eventually the females died from the stress caused by the males, after which the males were fine. I would tend to go with a ratio of 2:1 females to males. I know it works in other species.

Cichlids however are very different and contrary to popular believe they are not always aggressive, they are aggressive towards each other, if like for gouramis you have a couple, the males will fight and probabvly to the death, but in a 'community' cichlid tank, a pair of each, they are all peaceful and get slightly aggressive when breeding.