Platinum Gourami became aggressive

Today my platinum gourami became aggressive to my other fish (mollies, guppies, honey gouramis and GBR), she dashed at and chased anyone in her view for a couple of hours until the fish started to get very stressed. The tank is 55gal with plants, rocks, and driftwood. She was mostly peaceful for a week (only chasing the honey gouramis occasionally) until now. Maybe that's just her personality maturing now. I originally bought her with a male counterpart but returned him the next day because he was beating her up non-stop.

Anyhow, I took her out rather than risk all my other fish and put her in a 5 gal for now (that's all I had on hand but it's cycled, well planted and filtered...it was supposed to be my fry grow-out tank and I had to move them out now, lol) - she's there by herself, calm now, and eating. Obviously I can't keep her in this small tank for long, she's a little over 3 inches now. I have the option to take her back to the store but I was wondering if she seems so content in a tank by herself what would be the minimum size tank I can have just for her if I decided to keep her? And knowing how she is are there any fish she's likely to not attack/harass, or must she be by herself or with a large harem of her own (how they are kept at the store)?

 

I would say if your able to change around some of your decorations and hardscape in your 55 and maybe add some floating plants if you don't have them in there already that may give her a different view if that doesn't work I would return em and maybe add another honey instead.

 

This is what my 55 gallon looks like now, I can play around with the hardscape in the middle but the plants are rooted in the substrate already.1/3rd of the top has water lettuce already (the fish do all love it). I don't know if she'll care about additional hardscape in the middle, somehow I doubt it, she pretty much patrolled the whole tank before I had to pull her out, meaning my original fish will have to be scared about being anywhere. And she can chase them down around the plants, she's quite nimble given how chunky she looks! I have 3 Honey gouramis in there now (all males) and are truly some of the most peaceful fish that get along together with the others, I can add more but I'm thinking one more GBR instead. Honestly seeing how peaceful the tank is without her now, I don't want to risk putting her in again!

My options it seems are to return her or give her a tank of her own (with maybe a chance in the future of some fish co-existing with her, maybe something very quick like danios or snails and shrimps at least). I just wonder what's the minimum tank size she would be happy in alone if I plant it and make it cozy for her? She is a pretty cool fish on her own. How big will the female platinum get?

 

Very nice looking tank but there are still a lot of wide open views being that its IMO lightly planted if you added some stem plants and maybe some branchy driftwood it would deter her from being a bully. I don't have a Platnium but I do have a male Pearl in my very heavily planted 55 and he is the most chill guy around. Many say they are aggressive but like every fish they all have their own personality. If your platinum can get to 4-5-6" I would set up at least a 55 for em or rehome like you mentioned seeing your tank is "back to normal " without the Platinum in there.

 

Thank you! I am planning on adding more plants and thick wood branches in there soon (just gotta find ones I like). The ones already in there should grow tall in time (I guess not fast enough for my now exiled gourami).

Here's the 5-gallon fry tank she's in temporarily (sorry for the darkness, it's night-time now for the fish). I thought she'd freak out when I put her there but she's been calm, and is still a piggy, I know I need to do something about it ASAP. I couldn't think of anywhere else to put her in the moment.
So when she gets to about 5" she will need a 55 for herself? It seems like a lot, I don't think I want another 55-gallon tank for one fish that may not want any tankmates. Bummer!

 

So when she gets to about 5" she will need a 55 for herself?

Definitely don't quote me on that. I have no experience with your Gourami species. I'm sure the stocking pros can help you with compatible fish for her. Otherwise like you mentioned earler rehome her till your able to learn more aboutpossible tank mate for that beauty!

 

To clarify: your platinum is a three spot gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)?

 

To clarify: your platinum is a three spot gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)?

Yes.
I'd say the min size would be 30 gallons on her own or with bottom dwellers. My Opaline was in a 27 with Tetra and he just seemed stressed out with so many in his face.

Sorry it hasn't worked out, it would suck to have to rehome her. Keep her in the 5 gallon for a while making sure to keep on top of water quality, maybe try adding her back in a few days might work out but likely you'll need another tank.

 

jinjerJOSH22 I could manage a 30 gallon on the bottom part of the rack of my 55, maybe, have to think about it...I just looked at the fishlore care-sheet and it says 20-gal minimum Blue Gourami Care - Size, Life Span, Tank Mates, Breeding
I'll keep her for now and see what I can come up with regarding another tank , her little tank is on my kitchen counter making it quick and convenient to do water changes on it, I was doing daily ones already when the fry was in it, so I can keep doing it. Your right I do wanna at least try and keep this moody beauty! Here's a recent pic showing her nice pastel colors, looks cool on dark backgrounds:

 

Well, that's the thing three spots, very feisty little fish. More often than not, they will chase away same size or smaller fish just so they feel like kings or queens of the tank. rearranging decor generally doesn't help: they will return to normal in a few days, sometimes even within the day. Conversely, they usually don't do any real damage, they just like to lunge. My opaline female chases away even cichlids a bit larger than her such as firemouth and blue acara. I also have a gold M/F/F trio that spar every feeding, literally locking lips and going at it, but they've been doing this for years now with no damage. I daresay most fish you'll dunk in with them will get chased. Even my cories aren't immune from the occasional lunge either. In most cases within a week their tank mates will have learnt to stay out of their way and they'll restrict majority of the chasing to themselves. But in your case I think without another gourami to face off with, she's decided the other fish are fair game. If you decide to keep her in a separate tank, I think she'll do fine in a 30, as jinjer suggested. But as for tankmates, you'll be restricted to choose fish that are large enough to not be easily chased away and at the same time be docile enough to not deal damage to the gourami, or, just simply resilient fish that can put up with the gourami's shenanigans. I house my gouramis in 2 different community tanks and although the tank mates get chased off from time to time, this doesn't bother them at all. Despite this notoriety, I love my three spots, so..

edit: you have a very gorgeous gourami! I'd take it if you don't want her!

 

vyrille - Thanks for sharing your experience with this fish.
The original "other" platinum I got her with was literally shoving her into a corner of the tank she couldn't move from, that's how she ended up as the only one While she wasn't doing any physical damage to my other fish (maybe not yet?), they definitely began acting fearful and stressed. Now some decent sized cichlids I can see being able to stand up for themselves.

Maybe if I get another tank I'll be satisfied having her on her own with a whole bunch of plants in there, and then try adding some tank mates to see what she'll deal with if anything.

edit: you have a very gorgeous gourami! I'd take it if you don't want her!

Well, if I end up not being able to keep her I'll let you know. But I'm gonna try to

 

Well, that's the thing three spots, very feisty little fish. More often than not, they will chase away same size or smaller fish just so they feel like kings or queens of the tank. rearranging decor generally doesn't help: they will return to normal in a few days, sometimes even within the day. Conversely, they usually don't do any real damage, they just like to lunge. My opaline female chases away even cichlids a bit larger than her such as firemouth and blue acara. I also have a gold M/F/F trio that spar every feeding, literally locking lips and going at it, but they've been doing this for years now with no damage. I daresay most fish you'll dunk in with them will get chased. Even my cories aren't immune from the occasional lunge either. In most cases within a week their tank mates will have learnt to stay out of their way and they'll restrict majority of the chasing to themselves. But in your case I think without another gourami to face off with, she's decided the other fish are fair game. If you decide to keep her in a separate tank, I think she'll do fine in a 30, as jinjer suggested. But as for tankmates, you'll be restricted to choose fish that are large enough to not be easily chased away and at the same time be docile enough to not deal damage to the gourami, or, just simply resilient fish that can put up with the gourami's shenanigans. I house my gouramis in 2 different community tanks and although the tank mates get chased off from time to time, this doesn't bother them at all. Despite this notoriety, I love my three spots, so..

edit: you have a very gorgeous gourami! I'd take it if you don't want her!

I agree that it's MOSTLY just chasing away however they are very much capable of killing fish the same size as them and the chasing long term can cause stress both ways.
I love Three Spots too, i'm so tempted to make my 100 gallon a TS community and have a huge group of them.

 

After spending a couple of days time-out in the little tank, she was getting cramped and acting bored. I was able to get a 20 gallon long, outfitted it with some Malaysian driftwood chunks, natural sand, and a few plants to start with. I transferred the cycled filter of my 5 gallon to the new tank so I could instantly put her in.
She fits very well to the 20-long, at her current size anyway, and is enjoying her new territory. I'll get some pics of it tomorrow.
I was thinking since the bottom is soft sand a group of cories would do great in there, it would add some additional movement to the tank. Do you think the three-spot will go for cories?

 

After spending a couple of days time-out in the little tank, she was getting cramped and acting bored. I was able to get a 20 gallon long, outfitted it with some Malaysian driftwood chunks, natural sand, and a few plants to start with. I transferred the cycled filter of my 5 gallon to the new tank so I could instantly put her in.
She fits very well to the 20-long, at her current size anyway, and is enjoying her new territory. I'll get some pics of it tomorrow.
I was thinking since the bottom is soft sand a group of cories would do great in there, it would add some additional movement to the tank. Do you think the three-spot will go for cories?

It's hard to say, mine was in a 27 with 2 big Peppered Cories, if I remember correctly he tore the dorsal fins for a bit. This was over a year ago, I don't think it could of been another fish and I don't think it was fin rot but I remember him occasionally dart towards them from time to time. He's with Zebra Loaches now and doesn't bother with them.

 

jinjerJOSH22 haha, these guys can sure be nasty if they want. Well, I put a few guppy fry in there and she doesn't seem to care about those quick little buggers. If she changes her mind I won't be too sad, there's plenty more where those came from. I guess they'll keep her company until I decide what else to try

 

After spending a couple of days time-out in the little tank, she was getting cramped and acting bored. I was able to get a 20 gallon long, outfitted it with some Malaysian driftwood chunks, natural sand, and a few plants to start with. I transferred the cycled filter of my 5 gallon to the new tank so I could instantly put her in.
She fits very well to the 20-long, at her current size anyway, and is enjoying her new territory. I'll get some pics of it tomorrow.
I was thinking since the bottom is soft sand a group of cories would do great in there, it would add some additional movement to the tank. Do you think the three-spot will go for cories?

I agree with jinjer it's hard to say. My golds and opalines mostly keep the lunging to themselves, but occasionally I see them do it to cories too when they're sufficiently 'bored'. I would suggest adding quick moving schooling fish that aren't nippers first, and then try adding the cories. That would probably distract her for a bit..

edit: I guess guppies serve this purpose just as well

 

jinjerJOSH22 haha, these guys can sure be nasty if they want. Well, I put a few guppy fry in there and she doesn't seem to care about those quick little buggers. If she changes her mind I won't be too sad, there's plenty more where those came from. I guess they'll keep her company until I decide what else to try

Fish are weird at times, my Opaline has Killed Acara and every full grown guppy i've had but lived with Ember Tetra for months with not even a flash. My Hill Trout ate 10 full grown Zebra Danios in a space of a week, I put a Guppy Fry in expecting the same, months later, I spot a free swimming Guppy living peacefully with 2, 4 inch Hill Trout.
I love watching fish, you never know what's going to happen.

 

I would suggest adding quick moving schooling fish that aren't nippers first, and then try adding the cories.

That makes sense, I'll start with the guppy fry until I find something small and schooling that I like. The combination of a group of small fast fish with her should make the tank pretty interesting, without overstocking it.

I love watching fish, you never know what's going to happen.

Yeah, I'm learning as I continue to observe them all, one of the many things that make aquarium keeping interesting!
It really doesn't look like anyone is eating the healthy guppy and molly fry for me either, maybe the adults don't want to bother chasing them down. Only the runts and crooked ones get caught.

 

Fish are weird at times, my Opaline has Killed Acara and every full grown guppy i've had but lived with Ember Tetra for months with not even a flash. My Hill Trout ate 10 full grown Zebra Danios in a space of a week, I put a Guppy Fry in expecting the same, months later, I spot a free swimming Guppy living peacefully with 2, 4 inch Hill Trout.
I love watching fish, you never know what's going to happen.

IKR! my firemouth hated this single swordtail to the point of tattered fins and missing scales. I had to move the swordtail to another tank. This same firemouth never bothered ANY other of her tank mates before and after the move (including the other swordtails). Really kooky animals