Pearl Gourami Aggression?

So I recently bought a female pearl gourami to put in my 29 gallon. I have a bumblebee goby that is also in the tank, and he is being bullied by the gourami. During feeding, and whenever the goby goes in front of her/next to her. I thought she was just protecting a territory, but she literally corners the BB goby into the corner and tries to bite him. I've looked the BB goby over, and he isn't injured, just very skittish when she swims near. She doesn't exactly go looking for him, but whenever he is close, she goes after him. I really like both these fish and don't want to lose any! I love the gourami and I hand feed her and pet her, shes never hidden from me and is very brave for a pearl gourami. I only have corydoras and kuhlI loaches so far, and she hasn't bitten them at all. Will the aggression spread? Do I need taller plants in the tank? Should I get more BB gobys? And there aren't any other top dwelling fish besides the BB goby and the pearl gourami.
Please help! Thanks!
Michelle

 

HI Michelle,

I'm sorry you've got some shenanigans going on in the tank. Gouramis are tough to get a handle on sometimes. Some of them are uber agressive, but the pearl is not really one of those species. My blue gourami, for example, is a total jerk sometimes. He gets after every new fish I add, but he gets bored and moves on within a few days or a week. I think your pearl will do the same.

Taller plants might help things, and moving the decorations around sometimes curbs aggression issues. As far as whether or not aggression can spread, it absolutely can. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the advice! I guess I'll wait it out and see what happens, and I can try taller plants too. I really like my set up, so I don't think I will re-do the decor. I also wanted to add a small school of white halfbeaks, but seeing how boisterous my pearl is, I probably won't.

 

Do they each have hiding places to calk their own?

 

Yes, there is a large piece of driftwood, and a log ornament with large holes on two sides for them to hide. I also have a large pvc pipe, and a ton of carpeting plants. A few tall plants, but I could definitely add more.

 

Strange. My pearls were never aggressive. My female is quite shy.

 

Do you have any floating plants like water lettuce in their for your Pearl? Maybe if their was more for him to poke around in on top, he'd leave the Goby alone on the bottom?

 

Yes, I have a few anacharis plants that uproot a lot, due to the horseface loach. She seems to actually have calmed down a bit, she isn't as eager to chase the BB goby than before, but I still see her occasionally do it, mostly when its feeding time. And the pearl gourami is a female, so floating plants aren't too important, but she is distracted by them which is good.
I think I just got a really brave pearl. Most of my fish are weird like that. :/

 

This is very strange for a pear as they tend to be the most peaceful yes can be a bit bossy at feeding times but normally passes.

I have 4 pearls one I had to put into a separate tank and she is so timid and other 3 bullied her. Other 3 are fine 1 female 2 males together sometimes argue but kiss and make up the famel is the boss and she has paired up with one the males but has not caused any issues. They love planted tanks not just floating plants but all types helps relax them.

When feeding try feeding pellets also. Pellets tend to come mixed and floaters. Pearls love feeding of the surface (I hand feed mine). This would encourage natural behavior for it and give the other fish chance to feed a bit more relaxed.

 

I mostly feed her flakes, bloodworms, and peas. Not too many pellets, but I can try more. My tank has many different plants in it, only 3 are fake. I don't have too many floating plants though, the duckweed totally died off and my lfs doesn't get more shipments until next week. Do you know of any good floating plants that do well with high lighting?
My lighting is a 10,000k T8 lightbulb.
I do hand feed her though, and it does a good job of distracting her from the BB goby. Thanks for the advice!

 

I don't have any floating plants. But I would say amerzon frogbit or water lettuce. Both grow fast (take into account floating plants don't like to much current especial the frogbite) I used to have frogbite but binned it as go sick of it blocking light for other plants and throwing out half a bucket of it a week.

 

I think I'll try the frogbit or hornwort. I have a relatively fast current, so the frogbit might not grow as fast, but it's pretty cheap at my lfs. I can also buy some more anacharis. Thanks for the info!

 

Well, the aggression has spread to the otocinclus catfish, and the coryodoras :/ I have more floatiing plants too, and the hornwort worked out well, but she is still being stubborn. She likes to pick on the smaller fish, and she kinda stopped going after the BB goby, but she is nipping at my corys, and that's a BIG no no.
Today I found a bite into the smallest cory's dorsal fin, and I know the pearl is guilty.
So, I think I'll just have to get rid of her I know someone who has a tank that can take her, so hopefully she will do better in there. It's a lot bigger, so hopefully she will do great.

 

Siunds like a good idea to rehome her.

 

Well, . Since I got rid of the gourami, now my BB goby is aggressive! He is biting the otos tails off! He also likes to attack the cories now. I bought 5 more BB gobies to spread the aggression, but now he is teaching them to be aggressive! Should I get rid of all of them or just the aggressive one?

 

Well, I decided to get rid of all of them. Anyone have any ideas on PEACEFUL top dwellers? My tank looks pretty empty right now.

 

hatchet fish are about as peaceful as you can get.

 

Which kind? I heard the marbles are pretty delicate, and the silvers were hardy, but I've never had them.