Two gourami questions! First time on site!

[Kts]

Hey all!

I currently have a 4ft tank with about 15 guppies, 6 small bristlenose, few shrimp, two pakistani loaches, one pleco and 4 gourami - one gold, one platinum and two blue.

First question, one of my blues went from the white colour with the two spots on each side to really dark and striped. Literally overnight, why would this be? I also suspect he is male. But the other blue gourami has not changed at all.

Second question, is the gold always so aggressive? We got the two blue to try and stop the gold from attacking our platinum gourami but that has not been the case with now the gold still attacking the platinum and the blue and now the platinum thinks it wants to have a go at our new blue gourami. Should I move goldy to a new tank? I am so sick of him chasing the other three around.

And also two more - can someone help me discover the gender of my gouramis? Photos attached.
I think my guppies may be pregnant, how do I tell?

Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to some help!
X

 

[bud29]

to the forum!

I believe your fish are the three-spot gourami, opaline gourami, and gold gourami. These are just different color variations of the same fish, so this may be the reason for the overnight color change. These fish are jerks, so you only want to keep one, and only one. Otherwise they will fight. I don't recommend keeping them with guppies because of possible aggression issues.

As for the rest of your stock, I see that you have 7 plecos. Plecos poop a ton so you probably shouldn't keep that many. I recommend keeping two bristlenoses and rehoming the rest.

Loaches are schooling, so you probably should get 2-3 more.

I know it's a bit shocking and can be upsetting when someone comes along and tells you to re home 8 fish, but trust me, it is in the best interest of your fish. They will be much happier and healthier.

Happy fishkeeping!

 

[Kts]

Yes I do know I need more loaches, And will be acquiring more in the next two days, just wanted to see how they went first.

My two blue/3-spotted keep to themselves it's just the gold and yes, it is opaline thank you and sorry for the mistake!

The 7 plecos are all 3cms in length so they have plenty of space in our tank don't worry.
And the guppies are of no interest to the gourami

I think the best solution for my gold gourami is to be put in a new tank, I will not give him away though I love him too much! its so upsetting.

I have a friend with all different types of gourami in her tank with bristlenose plecos and the gold spotted pleco and loaches and they all get along like best of friends and have never seen them attack!

Do you know about the gender of the gourami?

 

[bud29]

No I cannot tell the sex of your gouramis.

The plecos will have space, (except the common-they grow to 2 feet!) the problem is bio-load. They carry a massive bio load and can quickly raise the amount of toxins in the water from all their poop. And, the common will dominate the tank when he gets bigger. You also might see some aggression between your bristlenoses if you keep them all. They are ordinarily peaceful but get territorial with their own kind.

 

[Xdarkfaith]

Hi the first two pictures seem to be male
And the gold
May be female but its unclear .

 

[tamtam]

I completely agree with Bud. While things are working, sort of, now as your fish mature the aggression levels are sure to rise. So while your tank works currently I wouldn't expect it to last long term between bioload and aggression.

Sadly all you can do is remove the trouble maker and hope for the best with the rest of the gourami, you may not have issues right now but I would be prepared for future problems.

You can try to add more plants/decor and hiding spots to help try to deflect some aggression between the plecos and remaining gourami but it's not a guarantee that it will work.

Fish also have their own personalities, so while one set up may work for someone the same may not work for another. Some gourami can be rather nice and mild manner, make great community fish while others are just giant butt heads. Guppies and gourami are a pair that you often see turn bad too. I would be sure to keep an eye on this as time passes because it's very possible you may have aggression down the road. Those flowy fins are usually a big target for gourami.

The gourami are probably males, it's not often you come across a female in pet stores. They are generally a bit hard to sex though.

For the guppies it's not usually hard to see if they are pregnant. Just figure out which are females and males and then keep an eye. They will get big rather quick. When they are about ready to birth their bellies will square off and they will start to act a bit odd. Probably try to hide out and such. Google some pix of pregnant guppies to give you an idea of what to look for looks wise. In the early stages it's a but tough to know but they will get huge. I'm not sure how long they stay pregnant for but I think it's about 3 weeks.