[Sylverclaws]

So...for a while now I've actually been wondering if my female gourami really IS a female, or just a...pleasantly plump, more rounded male. The one I know is a male has much longer, pointier fins than this one does and isn't as plump...but the male is always trying to beat on this one, so I have them separated. He chewed her up before I did and she got skinny, you can see she's much better off now. Except her "Feelers" haven't repaired like her fins did, will those ever grow back?

Anywho, I just want to be sure since I am -almost- positive it's female, but can you tell me for sure?

 

[Crazyfish]

I don't think feelers grow back... I have a dwarf gourami that had half a feeler missing since the day I bought it and it's still the same after months.

 

[jeaninel]

Looks female to me.
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[jaysee]

Agreed. I'm going to defer to crazyfish on the feeler business since I've not had a gourami lose a feeler.

 

[jimscott]

Female.

 

[Crazyfish]

Agreed. I'm going to defer to crazyfish on the feeler business since I've not had a gourami lose a feeler.

I've read that feelers do grow back but I haven't had any luck with mine.

 

[jpepe1]

Female

 

[Sylverclaws]

I've read that feelers do grow back but I haven't had any luck with mine.

I had a dwarf gourami I bought with part of a feeler missing, his did grow back. It took a while to start, but when it did it came in fast-ish. =)


So I do indeed have myself a girl. I thought so! Thanks guys. =) I'm not sure why my boy is such a jerk to her. I'll try to snag a photo of him later, I'm also pretty sure he's male. lol But he treats her like another male. Flare, chase, bite, allll the time when they were in the 55 gallon together. =( I had wanted to breed them, but he wont even try to build a nest and court her.

 

[jaysee]

Yeah they can be jerks to females too.

 

[Crazyfish]

So I do indeed have myself a girl. I thought so! Thanks guys. =) I'm not sure why my boy is such a jerk to her. I'll try to snag a photo of him later, I'm also pretty sure he's male. lol But he treats her like another male. Flare, chase, bite, allll the time when they were in the 55 gallon together. =( I had wanted to breed them, but he wont even try to build a nest and court her.

Maybe he's not interested in female gouramis... lol. I think gouramis are like cichlids, need 2 or 3 females for every male.

 

[Sylverclaws]

Well, when I did my research, everywhere I looked it said three-spot gourami's do best in a male and female pair. x.x

Anywho, here's my boy. If I'm wrong and it's a girl, it's got a heck of a dorsal fin. lol He's hard to get good photos of.

 

[jaysee]

Definitely a male.

I couldn't keep a pair in a 45. I wouldn't try to do a pair in less than a 4 foot tank.

 

[Sylverclaws]

The tank is a planted 55 gallon. =( This is my third try at a pair...possibly the fourth. Usually it's the female who hates the male, and at one point I had two females with a younger male and he was kinda a dip... LOL I can't seem to win, but they're so pretty and were getting along, so I figured, hey, third time is the charm! Guess not.
Maybe they shouldn't interbreed on the colors even though they're the same species? But he looks like he's got some gold in him, I wanted some more similar to him with brighter markings, but eh!

Now that she's moved and fixed up, do you think I may be able to try again in the future? Put him in -her- space?

 

[jaysee]

With aggressive species sometimes I think it's just a matter of getting the right specimens.