Help with bullies in my 29 gallon tank

[Jaq6]

So I got 2 male gold gourami, a pair of golden rams, 1 male and 1 female, 10 five banded barbs and 4 gubby males.
The gouramies sometimes chase each other(I think one is the dominant one) and sometimes also the gubbies !
The rams, especially the male can begin to chase the barbs and the female can too(although not as much as the male)
What should I do? I tried with more plants but didn't change a thing.
I love alle the fish in the tank and really don't want to bring them back, but I think it might have to come to that with the gouramies since they seem like a big stress factor.
I just wanted them to get along lol 😪

[Dallascowboys16]

Originally Posted by Jaq6

So I got 2 male gold gourami, a pair of golden rams, 1 male and 1 female, 10 five banded barbs and 4 gubby males.
The gouramies sometimes chase each other(I think one is the dominant one) and sometimes also the gubbies !
The rams, especially the male can begin to chase the barbs and the female can too(although not as much as the male)
What should I do? I tried with more plants but didn't change a thing.
I love alle the fish in the tank and really don't want to bring them back, but I think it might have to come to that with the gouramies since they seem like a big stress factor.
I just wanted them to get along lol 😪

Male gouramis sometimes just do not get along. In a larger tank they may coexist, but in a 29 it will probably be constant nipping. I would recommend rehoming 1 of the gouramis. The behavior exhibited by the Rams is not concerning. They will not do any damage.

[Amaunet]

I concur on the Gourami. I have a male three spot, and he doesn’t tolerate any other gourami in the tank. Not even a female. He straight up kills em. He’s fine with my other fish though.

[Joe_D]

Question.. can you then keep just one Dwarf Gourami in a tank?

[Dallascowboys16]

Originally Posted by Joe_D

Question.. can you then keep just one Dwarf Gourami in a tank?

I cannot say definitively yes or no on this. In a larger tank like a 55, you could probably have success keeping like 4 or 5 together. Increasing numbers like this to diffuse aggression is a trick often used by people who keep Mbuna cichlids. This way a dominant individual cannot harass a single subordinate to death. Also, most dwarf gouramis sold in stores are male as the females are not as flashy. This does not help as they tend to be more on the aggressive side as well. There are also other species like honey gouramis that tend to do just fine in groups and actually appear to enjoy the company of conspecifics. Really there is not a catch all answer for this. In my experience though, whenever someone just puts two dwarf gouramis together (powder blues, flames, gold, etc.) it always ends with one getting beaten up on. For this reason I never recommend pairs of these fish.

[Joe_D]

I don't think that answers my question
It there is only one male and two males are trouble, why not keep just one?.

[Amaunet]

I’m not an expert on dwarf gourami. However my three spot is perfectly content being he only gourami in my tank. Healthy appetite and interacts harmoniously with my other fish. So I would say it’s possible to have just one gourami in a tank

[Dallascowboys16]

Originally Posted by Joe_D

I don't think that answers my question
It there is only one male and two males are trouble, why not keep just one?.

Yep sorry for some reason I read two when I saw your post. Yeah 1 Dwarf Gourami is perfectly fine.