kacie

My Dwarf gourami is harassing his new tankmate, a German Blue ram, female I think. He is just chasing her around but I've never seen him color up like this. he was making lips at her when she was in the bag and now she is hiding, but he knows where she is. I rearranged everything.

GouramiGirl1221

The best thing to do is take your gourami out for an hour or two, re-arrange your tank (you could find your ram in the process), and then re-introduce him to the tank. I just did this with my male DG this weekend and it worked like a charm.

kacie

Cool advice. I don't have anywhere to put him. Would a bucket be okay?

JBird86

yes a bucket should be ok, as long as its filled with water from the tank and not the tap. Just try not to keep it in the bucket long enough for the temperature to drop to much or it might be shocked when it gets re introduced into the tank

sirdarksol

Excellent advice above. In the past, we have talked about "time outs" helping reduce aggression among livebearers, particularly mollies.

kacie

It seems to have worked. I fed the ram while DGourami was in time out and when I reintroduced him he swam right around the ram and gave only the slightest hello and moved on. Thank thank you!

GouramiGirl1221

I'm glad to hear that worked for you!

kacie

So far it is better. My Gourami is controlling the tank and gives the ram a short chase.

GouramiGirl1221

A short chase with no fin nipping is normal...My male DG runs the 55 gal, but after his time out he stopped the nipping and resorted to lunging at everyone lol.

kacie

Yeah it is just mostly a lunge or a short chase and then he finds something else more important to do. Seems like fake outs.

kacie

The aggression is worsening. I was planning on getting a male would that spread out the stress or be a mistake?

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GouramiGirl1221

If his time out didn't work, I'm really not sure. Fish differ like people, so you may have just have an overly aggressive DG. I guess it couldn't hurt to either get a male GBR or a female DG to see if that calms the little guy down. I would guess that maybe a female DG or two, if you have the room in your tank, would be better. Since he's already harassing the GBR, getting another may just egg him on.

kacie

I thought he was such a mellow guy. Nice to the danios, cory etc. BTW do you know what kind of Gourami he is? I was thinking a red honey gourami because he looks nothing like the Dwarf Gouramis in the LFS.

GouramiGirl1221

Yes, a red honey is correct. There are several different color varieties of the dwarf gouramis, and the honey is one of them.

kacie

I thought so because his body and fin shape aren't as full, rounded as other dwarfs. How can I ensure that my Ram eats?

GouramiGirl1221

I've heard people say that sometimes you can drop food in a corner of the tank, which your gourami will obviously go for as soon as he sees it. While he's occupied over there, you can try dropping food in the other corner and see if your ram will eat. I've never tried this myself, but other members have had it work.

kacie

Thanks, will try this morning.

GouramiGirl1221

Have things gotten any better?

kacie

I dropped small pieces of food in three corners and used some bloodworms to distract the danios but all that happened was the Bully patrolled the whole bottom and wouldn't let the ram rest in any hiding spots since I had filled them with food. I sent him packing back to the lfs.

Iron waffle

I had to deal with this before, I put my DG in a breeder net while the other fish were eating, I let him out when there was just enough food left.I wish my lfs took back fish.

kacie

Well I just came in and said please. I hope they didn't feed him to the pirana.

GouramiGirl1221

I'm so sorry to hear that! All I can say is that after your ram gets more comfortable, don't be afraid to try a different DG...maybe a female this time. I've never heard of a DG acting like that, and the females are normally less territorial and less likely to be bullies. I hope I don't have problems when I put a ram in my tank...if I do though, the ram will have to go. I'm wayyyy too attached to my Edward (powder blue DG) for him to leave.

Iron waffle

do you get a refund?

kacie

No refund. I had the gourami for 3 months. I couldn't sleep last night for worrying about both fish. The ram is just sitting on the bottom breathing hard.