male pearl gourami is aggressive towards female... concerned

[philipraposo198]

during feeding time he doesn't like her to eat at the top with him. i just got them couple days ago and both feeding times this has happened. she submits to him buy running away and goes down to the bottom.

in like 30 seconds she goes back to the top and it happends again till i guess he allows her back.

then they are all good again.

he shows only aggression with her. I worry that he is hurting her.

if he is right beside her its all good till she ventures off on her own then he goes after her. seems like a controlling man... i don't like it

normal or something i need to worry about. how can i tell if he is actually hurting her? he is not constantly on her but he will chase her back down and then leave her.

 

[philipraposo198]

shortly after he is back to normal like a little puppy dog on her leash, following her everywhere and being nice

 

[Coursair]

Gouramis are very territorial. Even OP sex may fight. Do you have plants to shield her ?

Pearls are usually one of the few peaceful large Gouramis.

See if you can offer food at opposite ends of the tank ?

As long as she is getting food and her fins aren't getting bitten and her color and behavior are mostly ok...then I'd let them work things out. If she is never allowed to feed and he bullies her constantly, then I'd take one of them out. Make sure she is female and not a younger male


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[philipraposo198]

she is a forsure female, fin shape and color is very obvious. 6-8 months old prolly.

they love eachother and she hsn't taken any physical dmg as of yet. he is getting some food but not much.

the tank is 75g and heavily heavily planted with lots of dw. so she can get away easy

the second she goes down he lets off and carries on.

it may just be that they are new to eachother and still working things out. outside on the couple min during feeding he is a true gentlemen to her. and she likes him too.they spend all day long together.

 

[Luananeko]

Gourami males tend to be bullies to other gourami, even females of their species. It varies by personality, but this is why I gave up keeping a male with my 5 females. He just kept harassing and herding them all to a hidden corner so much I didn't get to see them. If he doesn't settle and you want her to feel safer, swap him out for a different male. Hopefully the second one will be calmer.

 

[philipraposo198]

I understand what your saying and maybe I said it in a way to make you feel it happens alot; but the reality is 5 min of the day only with food is he like this. The 23 hour and 55min of the day he is perfect with her.

 

[Luananeko]

In that case just feeding at separate ends of the tank should resolve the issue. To use dog training terms, he's just resource guarding

 

[philipraposo198]

Yeah I think he is being greedy with food for sure. I will try that next time and see how it goes.

Do you think at night might be beter to feed or early morning or mid day?

 

[Luananeko]

Fish are usually most active at dawn and dusk. Those are the times most natural for them to eat, but they'll adapt to whatever time/frequency you choose.