Is my Dwarf Gourami aggressive or is he just the “tank boss”?

[SupersoNick95]

So I have a new-ish 20 gallon long, fully cycled, and this is what I have in there:

10 Harlequin Rasboras

3 twin bar Platies

6 Panda Corydoras 

1 Dwarf Gourami 

I also have a lot plants for such a new tank, I’ve got a about 5 Java ferns, some Anubias, and jungle Val. All the fish enjoy swimming through the vegetation. Tank also has an Aquarium Co-op medium sponge filter and a Tidal 35 HOB for some extra water clarity.

My concern is my dwarf Gourami. I bought it fully knowing the risks associated with their aggression. So far mine has been pretty calm BUT has “snapped” at a couple fish. If he roams the bottom and a panda Cory gets a little too excited he’ll snap at it. Same with the platies.

He doesn’t chase anything except for the harlequins on an infrequent basis. I think it’s because the harlequins could be a bit hyperactive at times. My water parameters are near perfect, but I would like to raise the hardness just a bit for the platies.

is he just the “boss of the tank”? He seems to inhabit the two top left corners of the tank, which is really cute because he likes to rest on and under the plant leaves. He doesn’t pick on the other fish during feedings, and mostly sticks to floating pellets. He’s actually starting to become a sort of “wet pet” for me. He likes to come up to the front of tank when I get close. I would really love to keep him.

any thoughts?

[JettsPapa]

I doubt if you can get any definitive advice other than to keep a close eye on it and have a plan in place if he becomes more aggressive as he gets older.  From what I've read about them on this and another forum I'm on I'd say there's a pretty good chance he will, but you might get lucky.

Nice-looking tank, by the way.