Ahhh, naughty Pearls! I'm sorry you're having so much trouble! *hugs* I know how upsetting it can be. . .
You know. . .I've always wanted pearls, They're really stunning creatures. I did a ton of research back when I had the 29g tank, and decided to wait. Now I have a 55, and I'm STILL waiting. I want a shoal of 3-4 females to 1 male. . . with how territorial these guys can be (even though they're on the sweeter side of gourami), and considering that their max size is 4 inches, it seems to me that it would be best to wait for a bigger tank.
That said, I've read loads of people keeping them in 29g tanks with no issues, but it could be that 3 is too many for the space they have. They've been fine until now, but perhaps they're reaching maturity, and mating has only just become something that they're considering - it sounds like the females are spatting for dominance and breeding rights. In a 35g tank, there may not be anywhere for the 'loser' to get away from the dom, where in nature, she would head off to another area entirely. As long as they're within each-others line of sight, the dominant female is going to go after the other.
If you had the space, the solution would be to add MORE females, that way the aggression could be spread out among the harem, and hopefully no single fish would be taking the brunt of it - but in the 35g, you can't really do that. . . sometimes removing the aggressor for a time, then returning her to the tank will shake things up enough that she behaves herself - but you don't have anywhere else to put her! Dilemma!
From everything I've read and seen, these guys do best in a shoal - but as you mentioned, loads of people keep one male alone without trouble. . .I think it's always a male simply because they're so pretty. . .
If it were ME, I think that I'd take back the aggressive female, and keep the male and the female under close watch. If the male seems to be harassing the female too much for 'favors', then you may have to make the decision to remove one or the other - but from what you're saying, it sounds like HE is being nice enough, and it's just the female that's being a bully. . . this could change as the male matures, but if it's okay for now, it'd be hard for ME to re-home the male who isn't causing a problem.
Another thing to consider is feeding. It's tough to feed a community tank. Making sure the bigger fish get enough to eat without over-feeding the smaller fish is tricky. Is it POSSIBLE that the larger gourami aren't getting enough to eat? Being hungry always makes ME grumpy. Perhaps you could try to target feed them just a bit more than usual and see if it helps? Kind of an out-there idea, but it could work???
I'm so sad that you have trouble in the tank
some tough decisions to make. Returning a fish is never an easy thing, but you'll figure out what the best course of action is. I wish I could offer you more, better advice - but I haven't been lucky enough to keep these guys yet. Good luck to you!
:|
As for the loaches, I DID tell the shop owner that he wasn't selling Kuhli. He didn't seem to care much. I suspect he will keep the name the same because that's what people come looking for, and he probably thinks he'll sell more fish under the wrong name, than if they were properly identified. This is also the shop that sells Bolivian Rams under the name of Crown Ruby Rams, so. . . yeah. :roll: It was hard not to buy more, but the 2nd batch was free, and I'm NOT giving that place any more of my money. And anyway, with 10 dwarfs, 5 Kuhli, and one Black loach. . .plus the rams that stay toward the bottom third of the tank - the floor space in my tank is pretty well stocked! Just hoping there is no aggression there if/when the rams decide to start a family of their own. . . time will tell!