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Gold Gourami attacking Dwarf Gourami!

15K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  GForchion 
#1 ·
Hi everyone. I'm new to this and just set up my 10 gal. freshwater tank a week ago. I got two fish yesterday, one dwarf gourami and one gold, which the pet store rep said are compatible. They seemed fine yesterday but today, the gold gourami is chasing around the dwarf every time it sees it and tries to take a bite out of its tail! Any advice? I checked a compatibility chart online and it seems to be that the two are in fact compatible, but maybe my tank is too small?
 
#2 ·
occasionally you will get an aggressive gourami, even though they are considered to be community fish. Gouramis will often act territorial but I have rarely had them do damage to my other fish. However, even if he is not doing physical damage, the continuous stress in the tank could prompt disease further down the road. Make sure there are enough hiding spots in the tank. Otherwise, you may just have a gourami that is too aggressive for a small tank and you might consider returning one of them. Although people have had success with multiple gouramis (myself included), sometimes it is suggested to only have 1 in a small tank.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll see how they do tonight and if it continues, I'll bring the gold gourami back (does Petco accept returns?)

Anyone have any recommendations as to what other type of fish I should try with the dwarf if I bring the gold gourami back?
 
#6 ·
petco has a 14 day guaruntee but they require a water sample for testing. Since it is a new tank that has had fish in it for about a week, the ammonia may test high since it is still going through its cyle period. If water parameters are not good, they may refuse to sell you fish. However, you will want to stick with good strong hardy fish till the cycle is complete. Danios, white clouds and cory catfish work wonderfully and will get along with the gourami. Its always good to have a pair of corys in the tank anyways, they are constantly searching for uneaten food in the gravel.
 
#7 ·
i have a dwarf gourami in with 2 gold ones and there is no problem with them. But it could be that one of yours is male and the other is female, i believe that it is not recommended to have gouramis together unless breeding if they're not the same sex. Also the gold gouramis get a fair size (15 cm) so it maybe better to switch fish.
 
#8 ·
Well I guess I was also lucky enough to get one of those agressive kissing gouramis. Like I said before, I bought two kissing gouramis (Red Nose and Black). Red Nose would not allow Black to eat, sleep, or live peacefully. Red Nose would always chase Black no matter where he was. And was in a 29 Gallon tank. Black died about a month later. I think u definitely need a bigger tank. Right now I have two gouramis (Red Nose and One Eye Willy). One Eye Willy used to be very agressive, but now he only has one eye.



 
#9 ·
Thanks for the replies everyone. The good news is that this stopped after Day 1. On Day 2 of them being in the tank, the Dwarf Gourami started fighting back and from that day till now (been about 3 weels) there's been no problems. Even when they swim right next to each other, they ignore each other so I'm guessing this was maybe due to the stress of being in unfamiliar water.
 
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