I’m Starting To Have An Issue With Gourami Agression

My male snakeskin gourami recently passed away, and no that he is gone I’ve started to notice aggression being shown between my three blue gourami. My largest and oldest female seems to chase away the other two (one being almost the size of her, if that matters) whenever they come near her. What should I do about this? Would it be necessary to buy another male snakeskin to replace the one I lost?

 

Sounds like they had a heirarchy going, and now they dont. Addy a new fish is more likely to make things worse. You might need to reporate the fish that you have.

 

reporate?

 

Sounds like they had a heirarchy going, and now they dont. Addy a new fish is more likely to make things worse. You might need to reporate the fish that you have.

I assume you mean relocate

 

There's only a few species of gourami that can get along in groups. Honey gouramis and snakeskin gouramis are 2 species that don't seem to mind being kept with multiple individuals. That being said for the most part gouramis don't like other gouramis.

I agree with above poster. It appears the snakeskin kept the others in line. At this point you may have to separate the others.

 

There's only a few species of gourami that can get along in groups. Honey gouramis and snakeskin gouramis are 2 species that don't seem to mind being kept with multiple individuals. That being said for the most part gouramis don't like other gouramis.

I agree with above poster. It appears the snakeskin kept the others in line. At this point you may have to separate the others.

If that’s what’s needs to be done, that’s what I’ll do, but I’ve been watching them for about 10 minutes, and it seems that she (the aggressor) leaves the others alone for post of the time. She only started to chase my other gourami once, and it wasn’t very vigorously. I should also mention that this never happens during feeding time.

 

If that’s what’s needs to be done, that’s what I’ll do, but I’ve been watching them for about 10 minutes, and it seems that she (the aggressor) leaves the others alone for post of the time. She only started to chase my other gourami once, and it wasn’t very vigorously. I should also mention that this never happens during feeding time.

Just keep observing, as long as there is no injuries it's fine. What your seeing may even be breeding behavior.

On another note I rarely see any aggression during feeding time as well. There's always plenty of food for all, so there's no need to compete for it. Most aggression I see in my tanks is just due to boardum. Best of luck.

 

I have kept a lot of gouramis and the other posters are correct- the social orders been disrupted. Aside from relocating the fish you still have--you can try a rearranging the aqaurium. Rescape, add plants etc.
Sometimes a significant change in the aquascape can settle things down.

 

Just keep observing, as long as there is no injuries it's fine. What your seeing may even be breeding behavior.

On another note I rarely see any aggression during feeding time as well. There's always plenty of food for all, so there's no need to compete for it. Most aggression I see in my tanks is just due to boardum. Best of luck.

Thank you!

 

I have kept a lot of gouramis and the other posters are correct- the social orders been disrupted. Aside from relocating the fish you still have--you can try a rearranging the aqaurium. Rescape, add plants etc.
Sometimes a significant change in the aquascape can settle things down.

Thanks for the comment. I will definitely try that out and see how it goes. I’ll keep you updated.

 

I just did a 50% water change and switched around all the plants and rocks. I put the smallest one in by itself for an hour then put the other one in. I’m going to wait until the next day to release the aggressor back into the tank.

 

Good luck, lets hope for the best.

 

Hows it going?

 

They seem to be getting along. I noticed that the little tends to hide from the other two, however. I’ll update again tomorrow once they’ve settled down and gotten used to their environment.

 

You did your best. Theres no manual for sociodynamics in aquariums, and fish will surprise you with atypical behavior patterns and whatnot.

 

You did your best. Theres no manual for sociodynamics in aquariums, and fish will surprise you with atypical behavior patterns and whatnot.

They all seem to be getting along fine. The little one still tends to stay lower though. Thank you for your help!