mgudyka Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 I have had my two gourami for a couple days and in the first couple, they were coexisting without incident but this appears to have changed. I have noticed has started chasing the other around the tank. I guess they are both males? I have been observing the. This evening and the chasee appears to be hanging low and hiding between decor. I can imagine this is very stressful on a fish, especially a laborinth fish who needs access to the top to breathe. In the meantime I am working on getting a little more driftwood in this tank to hopefully give a little more cover, but should one be relocated to another tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) If they're two males, you'll probably end up with one stressed all the time. Now, if it's a male chasing a female, they may eventually figure things out. Our Dwarf Gourami pair started out with the male chasing the female like crazy, but now they're very happy together. What kind are they? The photo looks . . . like maybe . . . a Chocolate Gourami?? Hard to tell. Here's ours... Edited March 24, 2021 by Fish Folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) Likely establishing dominance. Males tend not to like eachother and prefer having a harem of females or a bonded female. The one pictured appears to be a male. If you can grab profile pics of both of them we can more accurately I.D. Or just take a quick peak. Pointed dorsal rays=male rounded=female When I had golds I had one male and 4 females. Interestingly dominant females release hormones in the water to stunt the growth of lesser females thus making it more likely the male breeds with them Edited March 24, 2021 by Biotope Biologist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, Fish Folk said: If they're two males, you'll probably end up with one stressed all the time. Now, if it's a male chasing a female, they may eventually figure things out. Our Dwarf Gourami pair started out with the male chasing the female like crazy, but now they're very happy together. What kind are they? The photo looks . . . like maybe . . . a Chocolate Gourami?? Hard to tell. Here's ours... They were labeled as "sunset gourami" and another person online said they are actually just thick lipped gourami. I *think* they are both males because they both have pointer dorsal fins but I can't tell for sure. Great video btw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) @mgudyka I would suggest removing the aggressor, because if you leave him in he might start picking on the other fish in the aquarium. Keep the current victim in and see how he does. 8 minutes ago, mgudyka said: They were labeled as "sunset gourami" and another person online said they are actually just thick lipped gourami. I *think* they are both males because they both have pointer dorsal fins but I can't tell for sure. Great video btw @Fish Folk Yes it looks like a thick-lipped gourami (Colisa labiosa), which is a close relative of the dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia), but is commonly labeled as "Sunset Honey Gourami", hence the confusion with the true honey gourami (Colisa chuna). Edited March 24, 2021 by CorydorasEthan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said: Likely establishing dominance. Males tend not to like eachother and prefer having a harem of females or a bonded female. The one pictured appears to be a male. If you can grab profile pics of both of them we can more accurately I.D. Or just take a quick peak. Pointed dorsal rays=male rounded=female When I had golds I had one male and 4 females. Interestingly dominant females release hormones in the water to stunt the growth of lesser females thus making it more likely the male breeds with them Here is an image of the other one. This gourami is incredibly hard to take a photo of because he never stops moving. Pretty sure both boys. If this is an assertion of dominance, will that eventually settle down? I noticed that the one being chased appears to be a little chunkier and I Wonder if he's getting bloated from stress? I don't know if I just noticed it or if it just happened though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Hence why common names are so frustrating! Both are males and both are thick-lipped. I would remove the aggressor as stated above and grab the other male a female to try to bond with. Hopefully your LFS is nice enough to let you return. Compatibility issues are always a pain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyJames Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 I had 2 powder blue males and had to relocate the smaller one that was getting beat up. They were in a very heavily planted 29 gallon. The beat up small one went into my 55 gallon and loved life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 6 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said: Hence why common names are so frustrating! Both are males and both are thick-lipped. I would remove the aggressor as stated above and grab the other male a female to try to bond with. Hopefully your LFS is nice enough to let you return. Compatibility issues are always a pain Thank you @Biotope Biologist and @CorydorasEthan. The aggressor will be relocated. My second tank is not quite cycled yet though so he may have to wait a couple days. Dang fish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 15 minutes ago, FishyJames said: I had 2 powder blue males and had to relocate the smaller one that was getting beat up. They were in a very heavily planted 29 gallon. The beat up small one went into my 55 gallon and loved life. That is sort of my situation. I don't know if you would consider my tank heavily planted but I have many plants and have been on the fence buying a 60 gallon tank for a rope fish. Maybe he will get transferred to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 5 minutes ago, mgudyka said: That is sort of my situation. I don't know if you would consider my tank heavily planted but I have many plants and have been on the fence buying a 60 gallon tank for a rope fish. Maybe he will get transferred to that. I am so happy Bichirs are starting to get more love, they have lots of personality and truly look like dinosaurs... Not to detract from your unfortunate situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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