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gourami bully.

8K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  cornflakegirl 
#1 ·
I have two pearl gourami's among neon tetras and black widow tetras.
The male one is bullying the female one by pushing her backwards around the tank.
They were purchased together.
Is he trying to mate? or is he just being a bastard?
He's really ticking me off .:evil:
 
#2 · (Edited)
hi there!


one of my fish used to be mean to one of my other little fishies. One day I decided to grab the tube that I use to suck the water out for cavuuming and I blew bubbles is her face. I said, "Lilinette!! dont be mean!" then she went behind some decorations and stopped. She did it a couple of time after that and I repeated that proccess afew times until Lilinette finally gave up and stopped bothering little Mojito. Then after a while when I see her being mean I say "be nice Lilinette!" and she stops because she remembers the bubbles. She's a smart little fish:)
 
#3 ·
Maybe my tanks too small....Its 50 litres........believe me i have told him off a few times, eve donked him on the head.
Im a beginner, and i told the aquarium guy the size of my tank and got all the fish from him.
Can i teach this bugger a lesson and plonk him in with my fighter?
 
#4 · (Edited)
as long as he dislikes what your doing and as long as it doesnt hurt him in anyway try it. The bubbles really bothers them and if you tell them to stop while your doing it what happens is it conditions them to stop when you just say whatever you say when he acts like a bully. After a while all you have to do is tell them to stop and he'll stop. always do research on the fish that you want to get before you get them it just lets you know about things like aggressiveness and stuff ahead of time you know?

I know I was about to get this one fish that I couldnt put into my tank because he was way too aggressive for a communty tank..just by doing a quick search you could save some of your fishe's lives;-)

you know I was looking at their profile and it might be that he's trying to mate...check out the profile's section above the site see what you can get out of it!
 
#5 ·
You won't be teaching him a lesson. He is doing what Gourami often do. Are you certain you have a boy and a girl? Even the description of the species talks about aggression. It is quite normal really. I had purchased 2 Gold and 2 Opaline Gourami before knowing about the aggression thing. I now have one Gourami in my tank with other species and all is well.

I personally think that donking them on the head or blowing things in their face is just making them afraid of you, not teaching them anything. Best to put them in an environment that is good for them then to expect them to live with something unnatural for them. Too small of space and another of their kind. Maybe you could take one back to the store for a trade on a smaller fish or fish food or something?
 
#6 ·
If your "50 litres" is correct (it's litres and not gallons), the tank is far too small for any gourami of the common species. Please have a read of our profile of this fish, click on the shaded name to go there, Pearl Gourami. It will explain the problem and what needs to be done to resolve it. Stressed fish will soon be dead fish.

Byron.
 
#7 · (Edited)
ok, so ive decided the fish shop shouldnt have sold me all these fish knowing the size of my tank.I have a friend who has a larger empty tank, so she is happy to adopt him. I wondering if i should give her my four black widow tetras too. Then i will be left with only the female pearl gourami and 20 neon tetras' . Im taking the male gourami to her place tomorrow. Any suggestions? I know i need to downsize my tank family.
 
#8 ·
A 50 liter tank can still have one pearl gourami but reduce the number to neons to half. The more space, the better.
 
#10 ·
No, rehome the black widows. The 50 liter tank is very limited for 20 tetras in the long run.
 
#11 ·
I would remove both pearls. There could be trouble between one of them and the neons. And remove the black widows. Just the neons alone will work, if you are diligent in maintenance and have live plants to help with water conditions. I would not recommend so many in so small a tank, but as you have them and like them...
 
#12 ·
i took the male bully pearl to my friend, who has just a couple of guppies. He hasnt touched them. Ive had my tank set up this way for over 6 months without any problems besides him. I have'nt had any fish die. i just got my two goldfish a much bigger tank and transfered my fighter into his old tank. lol, all seem very happy with the switcharoo's.
 
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