Honey gourami fin-nipping and bullying a female betta

[DaPrawf]

Over the last 4-5 days, I noticed the honey gourami chasing my female betta around my 29-gallon community tank. There seemed to be some fin nipping. Today, I saw the gourami bully the betta out of her floating log hangout.

The 29 gallon's water parameters haven't changed. Zero ammonia and nitrite; 15 PPM nitrates, pH 7.2, temp 76.3, KH 3, GH 7.

This seems contra to the web, where everybody says honey gouramis are peaceful. When I set up the 29 gallon tank, everybody told me the betta would be the problem child. But she's sweet and doesn't bother anybody.

Anyway, I decided to move the gourami into a 12 gallon long tank that houses 9 blue eye red neon rainbowfish and some shrimp. I'm hoping the rainbow fish's small fins and high speed will tone down the gourami's fin nipping.

[DiscusLover]

On 1/24/2023 at 3:59 PM, DaPrawf said:

Over the last 4-5 days, I noticed the honey gourami chasing my female betta around my 29-gallon community tank. There seemed to be some fin nipping. Today, I saw the gourami bully the betta out of her floating log hangout.

The 29 gallon's water parameters haven't changed. Zero ammonia and nitrite; 15 PPM nitrates, pH 7.2, temp 76.3, KH 3, GH 7.

This seems contra to the web, where everybody says honey gouramis are peaceful. When I set up the 29 gallon tank, everybody told me the betta would be the problem child. But she's sweet and doesn't bother anybody.

Anyway, I decided to move the gourami into a 12 gallon long tank that houses 9 blue eye red neon rainbowfish and some shrimp. I'm hoping the rainbow fish's small fins and high speed will tone down the gourami's fin nipping.

You normally do not put those two fish together, it is either you do a betta tank, or a honey gourami tank. Like all gouramis there are still micro aggression when it comes to territory and for that reason its no ideal to keep those two together.