Poor Gourami

[Madame_X]

I feel so guilty...

Due to my newbie ignorance, I put two male neon blue dwarf gouramis in my 12 gallon tank. They seemed okay at first, but the quarreling started about 4 or 5 days after they moved in.

One of them has been hiding in the corner for the past several weeks. He only comes out to eat. Aside from that, he stays up behind the filter.

He happened to be out in the front this morning and I could see how much smaller he is than the other one! The other gourami has obviously grown but this poor guy is not thriving.

I had planned to move him into my 30 gallon tank with my rams but they're feisty little guys too and I'm afraid he might be too timid at this point to hang in that tank either. The rams are somewhat territorial and their territories are well established, although they don't mess with the pleco at all (just each other!).

If I were to buy a new tank for him, what is the smallest I should consider? Is 5 gallons enough if I just put him and one other fish in the tank? Or, should I take a chance and move him into the 30 gallon tank?

 

[Cherry Barb]

You know, I think I'd move that aggressive one to the 30 gallon and leave the smaller one in the 12 gallon. Once you've done that, you should see a huge change in the small one's behavior. (I had the same problem with a pair of Rainbows.) I made the mistake of putting my weaker one in my large tank and 4 hours later she died. So....that's just my opinion of course, but its all I got at the moment.

Good Luck!

 

[madasafish]

I agree!

About the smallest tank size... I wouldn't put him in anything smaller than a 10 Gallon. That's smallish already... I had mine in a 10 for a while and felt kinda guilty (no offense!).

You know what's really funny? Everybody seems to buy *2* dwarf gouramis. Nobody ever seems to buy 3 or 4 or 8 or even 1!! I did the same thing, and I must have read 15 other similar stories on this site. Do people think that one is a female, is 2 just a good number, or if you buy 2 do you get a discount?

Weird!

Try moving the aggressive one in with the rams, and observe periodically for a couple of days. Take him out if there's too much aggression, and start cycling a new 10 (20's better) gallon tank. Hey, this is a really good excuse to give in to MTS!!!!!!!

 

[Allivymar]

LOL yep. I've got 2 as well. I think its the "buddy" syndrome. One would be lonely, so 2 means they have a buddy LOL

Of course, most dwarf gouramis don't WANT buddies; they want a woman My guys fight, but its not been horrible and its been about 2 1/2 months. One is bigger then the other, but both are fat pigs and have lovely, unchewed fins. Personally, I think its fascinating to watch them posture to each other and chase each other around; as long as both remain healthy I won't change things (unless I find a female; then the less dominant one will be moving out into a batchelor pad LOL)

 

[Madame_X]

Mine both seem healthy, too. I just feel horrible that he stays hidden all the time and now that I see how much bigger the other one has gotten it just seems like the poor little guy would be happier elsewhere.

*sigh*

This probably sounds silly, but if I put the aggressive one in with my rams and he managed to hurt one of them, I'd be REALLY upset. The rams are definitely my favorites. So I'm a little scared to put mean gourami in there.

I'm leaning towards getting the shy one a new home with some peaceful buddies. Hubby's really gonna kill me...

 

[Allivymar]

Yeah, thats the diff. While the dominant one is more aggressive and bigger, they have claimed different areas of the tank (the left side is the big guy's and thats where he always builds those huge bubble nests, the right side with the outflow from the filter belongs to the smaller one. Heh, I feel bad for him cause he has the wrong side for bubble nest building). So WW3 only breaks out when one crossed the boundary of the other.

Its a shame you're not closer to me; I've a 10g I'm not using atm. I was saving it for a QT tank, but I have an 8g snail breeding tank that I'm thinking of tearing down and making into the QT instead; I could have given you one of em

 

[Madame_X]

Thanks, Alli. The basic 10G tanks are only like $10 at PetsMart. I have a filter I can use with it and some extra lights that came with the 30G that I bought off ebay, soo... it wouldn't be a big investment. Finding a place to put another tank--THAT is the issue!

My husband thinks I'm being ridiculous since I have a 30 gallon tank that currently houses just three fish. I guess I'll try moving one of the gouramis and watch them closely to see what happens.

Keep your fingers crossed!!

 

[madasafish]

I think you'll find that in a nice big 30 with your rams, the gourami will have no desire to be aggressive. They're generally only aggressive to conspecifics (other dwarf gouramis).

 

[MicroFish]

I had the same problem except that my two are not the same sex. strangely enough. I have moved the timid one temporarily into our 2gal and she seems to be doing much better! Comes out to eat readily now and is doing very well. I'm hoping to have our 5gal tank ready for her soon... it's almost finished cycling. Of course, that means I won't have a QT anymore. LOL

Sheila

 

[Cherry Barb]

Madas is right, a 30 gal should be plenty of space for the rams to have their territory and the gourami to establish his own. Plus, just think if you can find the space for a tank for the more peaceful gourami you can put other tankmates in there with him. (not other gouramis of course ) Then you can have a whole other set of fishies!