Replacing Dwarf Gourami?

[nicktrubilla]

I have a 20g tall with a dwarf gourami, 4 cories, 1 clown pleco, and 9 neon tetra. I really like my dwarf gourami, but unfortunately he is very aggressive towards all of my other fish, who are all peaceful. I've had him for almost as long as I've had the tank and he made it through a hurricane and 10 days of no electricity with me, but I think I need to find him another home. (I already blame him for the death of my snail). If I remove him, what could I replace him with? I'm looking for eye-catching centerpiece fish.

 

[Jconner3]

What about a Bolivian or German Blue ram?

 

[nicktrubilla]

I took an interest in those before, but it is to my knowledge that they could be aggressive as well? I'm a little wary of "peaceful" fish that turn out semi-aggressive. That's what happened with this gourami. His attitude took a drastic turn towards a douche bag personality. Am I wrong about Rams?

 

[Jconner3]

As far as I know, they're only aggressive whenever they breed. I have a Bolivian ram that I've had almost a year and I've never seen any aggression from him.

 

[tamtam]

What is your decor like? Has he always been this way?

Some gourami can be giant butt heads but sometimes you can solve the issue when you look at their surroundings. They like a well planted tank with a lot of cover. If the tank is too open they will feel stressed, this could turn into them hiding a lot or they can show aggressive behaviors as well. Perhaps try adding more plants(fake or live) and break up the sight lines around the tank. Give more hiding spots and floating plants.

If you are set on replacing him but really like the gourami you should look into the Honey gourami. I've never had a poor experience with one. Right now I have a color variation(Sunset Gourami) in my 30 gallon with an angel, some neons and lambchop rasbora and platy. They are peaceful and usually make good community members.

Rams are another nice option. They do stick to the lower end of the tank. They can be aggressive during spawning but with 1 you should be fine. Though they are a bit sensitive to poor water quality.

I'm really not sure what else to suggest.

Is the clown pleco suppose to stay in this tank for life? 20 gallons is a bit small, I know some people manage but if you can I'd upgrade him to a 30.

 

[nicktrubilla]

The clown pleco seems fine. It's a very small specimen and although I'd like to give all my fish as much room as possible, I can't upgrade to a bigger tank at this time. Rams look interesting but I heard they are very intolerant of Nitrates which can accumulate quicker in a smaller tank like the one I own. He hasn't always been this way, it seems to have been only in the last month that he has gotten aggressive. Which is strange because I've begun the process of planting the tank two months ago with bulbs, and they are growing well and creating cover in the tank. When it was completely wide open, he was peaceful. Perhaps I will just add a few small tetra or livebearers.