ravi626 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Hello everyone, I am relatively new to the aquarium hobby (we had a couple tanks when I was a kid/teenager that I helped with, but this is my first in almost 30 years). We have a planted, 20-gallon community tank that we started in May. Overall, things are great in terms of water quality, etc. However, our motley crew of fish worries me a bit. Due to some poor planning, a couple new fish deaths, as well as fish shopping with my very eager young daughter, we have a beta, a 3 spotted gourami, one female sword, one female guppy, and two corys. The problem is that the gourami, who I am quite sure is male, has become kind of a bully. Much of the day, everything is fine, but pretty regularly, he will aggressively and persistently chase either the guppy or the swordtail, even pursuing them thru the plants and rocks. The sword has remained uninjured but I do worry about stress. The guppy had what looked like a nip out of her tail last month, which fortunately healed. My theory is that the big mistake is having both a beta and gourami in a small tank. When they face off occasionally, the beta seems to get the upper hand. Luckily, they don't appear to actually fight one another, but I wonder if there's like a trickle down effect of stress making the gourami really aggressive? I am wondering about rehousing the beta with a family member to see if that chills things out a bit, but I'd love to hear suggestions on how to work with what we've got here. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLANANO Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 One rule I have learned on my Aquarium hobby journey is that if something in the tank is stressing ME, then remove it. If I have a plant that I can't keep alive? Remove it and try a different plant. If I have a fish that's eating my plants? Trade it in at the LFS or give it to a friend. In your case, I would take the Gourami and trade it in. Pearl Gouramis are very docile so if you want a gourami, I'd go that route but honestly any gourami and Betta has the potential for issues. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Welcome to the forum. I doubt that the presence of the betta is making the gourami aggressive. If you want to keep the gourami then adding a couple of females is probably your best chance to reduce the aggression. While they aren't shoaling fish, like tetras, rasboras, corys, etc, most gourami species are social (with dwarf gouramis being the notable exception), and often do best with other fish of the same species, and a ratio of one male to two or three females usually works best. If you don't want to do that then finding a new home for the gourami is probably your best option. Some stores will let you return fish that don't work out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravi626 Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 Thank you both for your quick responses! The tip about what is stressing me is an excellent point. I think our tank is much too small to add 2 more gouramis? Part of why I want to figure this out is I do think we can support a few more small fish (like maybe a little school of something) but not with all this aggressive behavior happening. Maybe he does just need to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLANANO Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 On 1/9/2024 at 10:48 AM, ravi626 said: Thank you both for your quick responses! The tip about what is stressing me is an excellent point. I think our tank is much too small to add 2 more gouramis? Part of why I want to figure this out is I do think we can support a few more small fish (like maybe a little school of something) but not with all this aggressive behavior happening. Maybe he does just need to go... I'd agree. Its hard to decide to trade a fish in. It comes with feelings of failure to an extent but this is a hobby where failure is inevitable at some point. Its a big science experiment. The positive: You could definitely get more schooling fish if you remove the Gourami. You could get 5-6 Neon Tetras or Harlequin Rasboras or something like that. You could also bolster your Cory numbers since they like to be in larger groups as well. Update us on what you decide to do! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 On 1/9/2024 at 10:48 AM, ravi626 said: . . . I think our tank is much too small to add 2 more gouramis? Part of why I want to figure this out is I do think we can support a few more small fish (like maybe a little school of something) but not with all this aggressive behavior happening. Maybe he does just need to go... You're right. I'm afraid I overlooked the tank size. A 20 gallon tank is borderline too small for 3-spots anyway, so I'd recommend finding a new home for it. As @NOLANANO said, that would allow you to increase the size of one or more of your other groups. If it was my tank I'd start with adding more corys, of the same species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravi626 Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 Thanks again to you both. I am going to see if one of my local shops will take the gourami back. Not sure what to do if they won't... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Really appreciate your time and consideration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 On 1/9/2024 at 1:45 PM, ravi626 said: Thanks again to you both. I am going to see if one of my local shops will take the gourami back. Not sure what to do if they won't... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Really appreciate your time and consideration! Petco around here takes surrenders and I think they even might quarantine them. At least at the local one. I bought some kuhli loaches awhile back and just wasn't enjoying them. I also had 15 swordtails that were getting close to breeding age and I want nothing to do with live bearers. I contacted the LFS that I usually purchase my fish from and told him they were his fish and all I did was QT them and feed them for months and that I didn't want anything for them, but he said he doesn't take them. I kind of get it... but to me all I did was feed the kuhlis BBS daily and change a bunch of water and fatten them up. They would have sold in a heartbeat. So I called Petco as I needed a lid anyway and they said they do take them. It feels bad, no doubt, but I think it's inevitable that someday some of us are going to have fish that we either got in over our head on or maybe "rescued" from someone else or maybe your life circumstances change drastically. I rehomed three male apistogrammas a few months ago through a local fish rehoming Facebook group. So that's a possible opportunity as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 The spot gourami males can be/are aggressive. Try returning it or surrendering it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Of course…. 50% off on tanks right now…. I remember the first time I heard of people having more than 1 tank…. Blew my mind. I had never thought of that… 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 On 1/9/2024 at 7:33 PM, Pepere said: . . . I remember the first time I heard of people having more than 1 tank…. Blew my mind. I had never thought of that… If that blew your mind I'm hesitant to tell you that I've seen one or two youtubers who, when asked how many tanks he or she had, replied "I'm not sure." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) On 1/10/2024 at 8:29 AM, JettsPapa said: If that blew your mind I'm hesitant to tell you that I've seen one or two youtubers who, when asked how many tanks he or she had, replied "I'm not sure." I got over it quickly…. I now have 4 display and three quarantine tanks.. I am itching to add a 75 gallon display tank in the livingroom once that room has been renovated… but once that is done, I expect to reduce two of the other tanks…. At least I will try to…. Edited January 10 by Pepere 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravi626 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Hi All! Just wanted to thank everyone once again for your practical and timely advice. Fortunately, our local shop was happy to take our gourami in trade, and they had a bunch of little corys of the same type that we've got! So now we've got a decent little cory school (which makes me super happy, because they've quickly become my favorite), and everything seems more chill. The beta has actually been behaving very interestingly since the change. He spends much more time just hiding out in the floating plants by the filter overhang. I wonder if he felt obligated to patrol more when the gourami was there? Thanks again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 On 1/15/2024 at 11:03 AM, ravi626 said: The beta has actually been behaving very interestingly since the change. He spends much more time just hiding out in the floating plants by the filter overhang. I wonder if he felt obligated to patrol more when the gourami was there? With a Betta it might be a temp or light thing. It could be where the fish feels safe as well as where the heater is located in the tank. Most fish have a territory they cover and that's his spot. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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