Help newbie with dwarf gourami acting very ill

AmayaSasaki

I'm not sure that he'll make it through the day, but I figure I can at least try to figure what this is. My Dwarf Gourami that I got Friday is now floating on his side gasping. I can see his gills and mouth still moving, so I know he's not gone quite yet. His colors aren't as bright as they were. I see no signs of white or anything like that on him. Everyone else in the tank seems to be fine. I'm wondering if it might be stress that is doing him in. The other gouramis were picking on him to begin with. Then, they stopped, though he ended up with a notch in his tail. I wondered a bit though because yesterday he wouldn't leave the area right next to the filter. He just swam in tiny little circles next to the filter, if he swam at all. Any ideas?

AmayaSasaki

Never mind. He's gone.

Quantum

Sounds like the answer is given in the question - it is likely that the other gourami have killed it, this will probably be a recurring issue with that many gourami in that size tank. Some fish are by nature territorial, in the wild they can chase the 'intruder' out of their space, but in the confines of an aquarium the intruder has no where to go and remains, this then leads to greater aggression, which usually ends in death.

AmayaSasaki

Everything I'd read prior to getting fish said gouramis were peaceful, but then afterwards I kept finding stuff about them being semi-aggressive. Thankfully, at a minimum, the gouramis don't seem to think anyone else needs picking on.