Pearl Gouramis - introducing a 3rd?

[AceReject]

I have a 160L heavily planted tank. The other residents are community fish like tetras, cories and cherry barbs.

I have two pearl gouramis - a male and a female. They’ve been there a couple of months so still quite young. My LFS sold them as a pair as they thought they’d bond and do well together. Unfortunately, the male seems a bit bossy. He chases the female quite a bit and gets a bit territorial during feeding. She does use the cover sometimes but doesn’t seem afraid of him. They’re a bit like a married couple - always bickering.

The female isn’t hurt or showing any fin damage, but I do worry that his constant attention might be stressful. Sure, she can go in the dense plants, but the dude is clearly obsessed with her when she does come out.

Just wondering what people think about introducing a second female to maybe take a little of the attention? Would it help or make it worse? I have read online that they are social fish and groups of 3-5 are optimal. But if the new fish is younger / smaller, would it just make the dynamic worse?

All opinions welcome - thank you.

 

[Andy Sager]

If you are positive the chased one is a female and not a younger male, you are not going to stop the male from being bossy to the females but you would need to add a nice harem for him to really spread out the aggression. I'd add another 3 females than just one. ( 2 females if space is a concern.) You need to either get females that are the same size as the male or larger than the male. Definitely do not get another male.

 

[AceReject]

If you are positive the chased one is a female and not a younger male, you are not going to stop the male from being bossy to the females but you would need to add a nice harem for him to really spread out the aggression. I'd add another 3 females than just one. ( 2 females if space is a concern.) You need to either get females that are the same size as the male or larger than the male. Definitely do not get another male.

Thank you. I’m not sure if the tank is really big enough for a harem, but I’ll give it some thought. Do you think just one other female would help a bit, or make it worse?

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you. I’m not sure if the tank is really big enough for a harem, but I’ll give it some thought. Do you think just one other female would help a bit, or make it worse?

I don't think it's going to make a difference. If he's chasing 1 female, he'll chase 2 if he's trying to build a nest and it's not ready for a female to be there yet. If you want to purposely breed Pearl gouramis, it should be done in a separate breeding tank, not the main tank they are in. It needs to be done in stagnant water to keep the bubbles from bursting.