29 Gallon Tank Gourami nipping at other one!

Hello I am a new fish owner! I bought 2 gourami a few days ago. 1 male and 1 female. They have been doing fine together. The male gets just a bit aggressive when food is put in but otherwise they are fine together. Someone owner surrendered a male gourami at the fish store i go to. Some people online say 2 female for every male or that males can live together. I decided to take him home today. Well my male is chasing the new male and nipping at him a lot. Should i wait to see if maybe they might get over it in a day or just go return the new male back to the shop tomorrow? I might not have time tomorrow so should i go ahead and seperate them? I do have a lot of hiding spots for them all to hide. My male will chase my new one anyways. Its kinda funny cause the new male was a surrender cause he was too mean to the small fish in his old tank. Now he is the one getting bullied I want my fish to be happy so whatever you guys think is best I will do! Also they are dwarf gourami!

 

Hi welcome to Fishlore.
Could you post pictures of both? Often males aw mis sold as females.

 

Welcome to the forum. If you're in the US it's very likely that you have two males, since dwarf gourami females have very little color and are seldom offered for sale here. Male gouramis will almost always fight, usually until only one is left alive.

As jinjerJOSH22 said, please post pictures. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you for sure if that's the case, but if they are both males it will be best to find a new home for one of them.

Also, do you mind me asking why you posted this question twice, 45 minutes apart?

 

Gourami are from the same family as bettas which are sometimes called Siamese fighting fish. Although male gourami are not quite as aggressive as bettas, they are still territorial. I had two male dwarf gourami in a 55 gallon tank. One of the males bullied the other until he killed it. The tank had plenty of hiding spots and foliage, but that did not prevent the carnage. There is no way that two male dwarf gourami will coexist in a 29 gallon tank. Since the first male introduced to the tank considers the tank to be his territory, there is no way another male will be tolerated in such a confined space.

 

Welcome to the forum. If you're in the US it's very likely that you have two males, since dwarf gourami females have very little color and are seldom offered for sale here. Male gouramis will almost always fight, usually until only one is left alive.

As jinjerJOSH22 said, please post pictures. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you for sure if that's the case, but if they are both males it will be best to find a new home for one of them.

Also, do you mind me asking why you posted this question twice, 45 minutes apart?

The one that isnt fighting is not bright in color and she is smaller than the other 2. The ones that are fighting are both males. I will just return the new male since that is what everyone is saying. I will post pictures later when i am off work. I posted twice cause i noticed the first place i posted in wasnt active so i thought no one would see it so i posted again in a more recent one.

 

Hi welcome to Fishlore.
Could you post pictures of both? Often males aw mis sold as females.

They look very similar. One has blue stripes and one doesnt. Both same size

 

They look very similar. One has blue stripes and one doesnt. Both same size

Both are 100% males. Females are typically a dull silvery colour.