Gourami Killed My Molly...Need Advice. Thanks.

Hello all. First time post.

I'm relatively new to the fish thing. Just recently took a liking to it.

Anyway, long story short. I have a goldfish, I have/had two mollies, an orange one and a black one. The gourami killed the orange one. When I checked on them this morning the orange molly was dead and the gourami was attacking its rear fin.

Now I have taken notice that it is somewhat harassing the goldfish , even though the goldfish is bigger than the gourami. They are housed in a 10 gallon tank with two snails, some aquarium gravel and a couple cave novelties.

So, should I give the gourami its own tank? I'm really not interested in the gourami hurting any other fish, but, at the same time I don't want to get rid of it. Is this the most feasible solution? Thanks for your time and insights.

 

What type of gourami do you have and are you sure something else is not killing things, such as water or disease? Also what type of Mollies and what type of comet. For example a Yucatan Molly would likely get into it with a gourami... remember they are relatives of the betta and some types do get aggressive towards bright colors or long fins.

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

Unfortunately, the fish you currently have, are far too small to be housed in a ten gallon. Also, the goldfish is a coldwater fish while the gourami and molly are more tropical, which means they are not temperature compatible. I would rehome the goldfish as they need a large tank, or a large pond if it is a common or comet species.

If possible, I would upgrade your tank for the gourami and molly, to the very minimum of 20 gallons if not larger. Do you think you could upgrade to a larger tank? Do you know what species the gourami is? If not, could you post a pic?

Couple questions:

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?
Do you know the current water parameters?
Is your tank heated?

 

Not to my knowledge there is any problems with the water or disease. I change the water about 25% every Saturday. It's clean.

I'm am not sure of the exact type of molly I had. Please excuse the ignorance. However, it indeed did have long gorgeous fins. Was a bright orange with gold specks on it.

After I posted this I found myself on the wikipedia for gouramis and just learned what you told me. So I'm inclined to think this is what happened to that molly.

So, should I just setup a new tank? I do have another tank that's 10 gallons with a smaller molly and a tiger barb in it. Should I maybe move the other two to the tank with the barb and molly in it or no?

Thanks for your time.










Here is a picture of the fish in said tank.

qchris97 thanks for your input. Upgrading the tank would not be a problem. As for the nitrogen cycle, I have no clue as to what that is. The only parameters I know about the water is its current temperature. I am unaware of the ph, the ppm..etc. Yes, the tank is heated at about 76 degress Fahrenheit.

Thanks again for your time and patience.

 

https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
It is very important that you read this. Please take the time to understand how the cycle works.

If you can upgrade to a bigger tank then do it. As I mentioned a 20 gallon long would be bare minimum for the gourami, who looks a dwarf, and the molly. As I mentioned earlier, the goldfish will need to be rehomed either to an lfs or a pond large enough for it. The species you have grow to an excess of 16 inches.

Since you do not know the water parameters, I suggest doing water change daily or every other day as ammonia, which you will learn about in the nitrogen cycle article, is harmful to fish at high amounts and goldfish create a big amount of ammonia.
I also suggest getting a test kit. I use API Master test kit, which is a liquid, and a far more accurate than any test strip.

I also recommend looking into Tetra SafeStart, which is bacteria in a bottle, to help with the cycling process of new tanks. CindiL can help you more with it.