Aggressive dwarf gourami, should I return?

I was led to believe that dwarf gourami are calm, peaceful fish and great for a community tank. However, I should have done more research before purchasing, as I now know that the males can get very aggressive towards one another. I'm considering returning them for the honey gourami, which seems to stay true to the label of being calm and non aggressive. Just wanted to get some thoughts before returning, in case there's some kind of remedy to the situation, or if honey gourami aren't the right call.

tank size: 40 gallons
stocked with: 2 maturing angelfish, 2 dwarf gourami
PH: right at 8.0, no high levels of ammonia nitrites or nitrates

 

I was led to believe that dwarf gourami are calm, peaceful fish and great for a community tank. However, I should have done more research before purchasing, as I now know that the males can get very aggressive towards one another. I'm considering returning them for the honey gourami, which seems to stay true to the label of being calm and non aggressive. Just wanted to get some thoughts before returning, in case there's some kind of remedy to the situation, or if honey gourami aren't the right call.

tank size: 40 gallons
stocked with: 2 maturing angelfish, 2 dwarf gourami
PH: right at 8.0, no high levels of ammonia nitrites or nitrates

Normally you do not keep angels and dwarf gouramis for a reason, but are territorial and can lead to an insane amount of issues. Its you either keep an angelfish tank or a gourami tank.

 

I'd return them all and get some honey gourami. I think 40 gallons is small for angelfish and dwarf gourami are mean and have health issues.

 

I agree about returning the dwarf gouramis (and not just because of aggression; see My thoughts on Dwarf Gourami/Trichogaster Lalius).

I would not recommend adding honey gouramis instead. I don't believe they would do well in a tank with angel fish. I haven't kept them, but from reports I've seen here and on other similar forums they are timid fish that do better in tanks where they're the largest fish.

I personally wouldn't put any gouramis in a tank with angelfish, though you might be okay with 3-spots (gold, blue, etc), though a 40 gallon tank might be a little small for that many large fish.

 

I have kept angels with gourami, but it's very "individualized" it depends on the individuals, Like if you have Trichopodus trichopterus (3 spots) females, they can work with Angel males, I'd assume Dwarfs are similar although My male dwarfs I tried didn't last long against the angels.

Can it be done yes, as long as you are removing the most aggressive of the species from the equation whether it's the males or the females and then you have to watch out for "dominant" fish, that will be more aggressive than the subordinate of the species. Dwarf Gourami are more peaceful than other gourami, but they aren't "peaceful" fish. they are territorial and spawning aggressive, so are angels, you can set up for success by limiting the aggressive part as much as you can, and then separate and rehome if another situation arises like a dominant fish that likes to be top boss and push the rest around.

if your angels aren't mature, I implore you to hold off until they are and see what they are before progressing, if two females, they will fight for territory, if a M/F it will be miserable for other fish, if it's two males it should be good to go to then add to it.

you really need to know what you have with the angels first, males will shoal and stick together and not pick up spawning aggression behavior without females around, although like I said a dominant male can be pretty aggressive still, they rarely "kill" anything that doesn't fit in their mouth. A female will kill if others can't ro won'tleave their territory. Males kind of just cruise around, hoping to one day come across a female, maybe fight among themselves for whos boss and gets to eat first.

I've had my 3 spots come up and tickle my males with their feelers frequently and nothing happens beyond that. they mostly ignored each other but with spawning in the picture, either species gets quite territorial and defensive/offensive, not in a good way.

Honey Gourami would be the same thing, again, if you want the best shot at success Honey females and Angel males only and it might work long term.

 

thanks for the feedback everyone, ill definitely take back the two dwarf gourami i have right now, and ill try out the honey gourami for a while to see if they'll be ok with the angels, so far the angels have shown no aggression towards each other or the other gourami, but i know things can always change with time.

 

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thanks for the feedback everyone, ill definitely take back the two dwarf gourami i have right now, and ill try out the honey gourami for a while to see if they'll be ok with the angels, so far the angels have shown no aggression towards each other or the other gourami, but i know things can always change with time.

I still do not believe adding a honey gourami will be better either, remember that angels are very territorial and adding new fish into a tank where the angelfish made territory is a very bad option.