Sunset thicklip advice

HI all! So I purchased two of what I was told were honeys and thanks to chromedome52 I know they are T. labiosa. One has a rounded dorsal and one has a pointed dorsal, but the rounded one is currently building a bubble nest so I'm fairly certain he's a male. He's also chasing the other one a bit, resulting in the chased one hanging out on the other end of the tank and looking nervous. My question is what the best course of action is to keep these guys healthy and happy.
1) Rehome one of the gouramis (the store will take fish back) and have a loner male.
2) Rehome one and try to get a female (hard, right?).
3) Leave things as they are and hope for the best (not great).

Thoughts? Experience?

Side note: they both went from a dark reddish-orange to a brick red with nearly black tails. What can I expect? I've read varying reports of breeding colors, mood, response to environment, stress...

It's a 55 gal, planted, with some brass tetras, otos, sterbaI cories, pencilfish, and amanos.

 

I kept a trio of sunsets for a time and they were spectacular fish. They were some of the only fish I could reach in and pet as well as hand feed.

Some females do build bubble nests and if it is a male, that doesn't mean the other is not a male. Male's will build bubble nests in the presence of other males or even when they are a lone. Their are some reports of females building bubble nests as well but I believe this is a rarity. chromedome probably knows more about it than I do though.

Personally I would give it a little more time. You say that one is chasing the other around the tank. Is their any damage occurring? Or is it just chasing?

 

If the rounded one appears to be male, couldn't the pointed one be a female?

 

Yeah in my experience the pointed/rounded dorsal ends up not being always accurate. In my experience it's easier to tell by looking at the body shape. Males are typically more streamlined and thinner from dorsal to ventral while the females are usually more barrel chested for lack of a better term.

 

tyguy7760, thank you! I do love them. They are so curious and interesting. Its just chasing so far. There's no damage, I would just hate to be inflicting stress on the chased one. I didn't know that females might build nests - although as you say it's rare.

DoubleDutch, I'm not sure. Chromedome judged them both to be male based on the original picture I posted. I'm not at all sure whether this particular variety is reliably sexed based on dorsal fin, and my understanding from this forum has been that males are typically pointed. Their coloring is essentially identical.

tyguy7760, now that you mention it, the chased one does look a bit thicker in the body and the feisty bubble-nest builder is more streamlined...

 

well I will defer to chromedome52 as he's more experienced with fish than I am but the ones I kept last year, the females were larger in the chest area and the male was thin and streamlined. But everything is variable.

 

"Everything is variable" should basically be the fish forum motto.

 

I have 2 of the Sunset thicklipped gourami, Romeo and Julliet. I have had them about 7 or 8 months. Mine have the poined and the rounded dorsal fins She is also slightly less intense in her color, but not by much, and he is more streamlined. They do go through periods of chasing and other times when they hang out together more. No damage has ever been done by either one and it may just be their behavior. The males dorsal fin has gotten even more pointed in the Time I have had them. Alison

 

Thanks, aliray! I have decided to hang on to both of them and wait it out. From what everyone is saying, it doesn't seem likely that anything terrible will happen.

I do wish the guy at my LFS would stop giving me bad info...the owner is awesome and very knowledgeable but I can't say the same for his staff. His words "they came to us labeled as honeys"...

 

If are not that familiar with them it is an easy mistake to make. They come in so many color varieties today it is had to keep them straight and when they are young it is harder. I think it is a good idea to keep both. A lot of pet store employees are knowledgeable however a lot are not. Fortunately you found fish lore..Alison

 

So I have 3 thick lip gouramis and am still new to them. Two seem to be mid level swimmers but my third stick to around the bottom, He used to be a mid level. They were pooping yellow not stringy poops and then one white poop. Now its back to brown. What could be the problem??

 

So I have 3 thick lip gouramis and am still new to them. Two seem to be mid level swimmers but my third stick to around the bottom, He used to be a mid level. They were pooping yellow not stringy poops and then one white poop. Now its back to brown. What could be the problem??

Could be that the gourami is dealing with a bacterial infection, is there any bloating?

 

Can you give us some more info like water parameters, tank size, what other fish are in the tank and if all 3 gouramis are male? Also, how long have you had them?

 

They have always be (bloated) so I think they are female with eggs according to the internet. Parameters are 0 ammonia 0 nitirites 20 nitrates ph is 7.6-7.8 55 gallon. 2 blue 3 spot gouramis 6 black skirt twtra

 

They could be feeling threatened by the other gourami species which are more aggressive. Can you get a picture of all three thick lipped gouramis?

 

So they are female, just went to get dog food and saw a male and hes way diff color wise.so I think it was diet. My food was carnivorous omega one and I just got algae plant based food for them

 

I do believe they come in a couple of different colors so I would verify. Females are hardly sold in stores.

 

I do believe they come in a couple of different colors so I would verify. Females are hardly sold in stores.

Thicklips come in different colors. Females are more or less the same color as males in the colorvariaties. Could be there are two up to mating being nasty to the other one. Algae should be part of the diet of gouramis so good idea.

 

Introducing more veggies in their diet should help with the poo as well

Around here males and females are commonly sold. You may have two males fighting over a female and one is being bullied and staying away. If that is the case it's probably better to rehome the 3rd wheel

 

I confirmed I have 3 females. They are all identical and dullish in color compared to the male I saw at the store

 

I'd just keep an eye on them then. See if the new diet helps

 

I have 3 sunset thick lipped gouramis in my 20 gallon long tank. I believe 2 are males with the pointy dorsal fins and they are starting to turn black. The darker male is chasing the other one away from wherever it is in the tank then head back to the female. The tank is lightly-moderately planted. My entire stock is: 2 hatchetfish, 5 neon tetras. 1 bn pleco, 3 gouramis and 4 corys. I was wondering how I could lessen the aggression between the 2? Could I possibly try to add more females? I have had them for only a couple of days.

 

The only way you'll get them to stop is by removing one of the males unfortunately. More females also wouldn't help sorry.

 

The only way you'll get them to stop is by removing one of the males unfortunately. More females also wouldn't help sorry.

Should I remove the more aggressive one or the other? I was also planning on adding a GBR to the tank. I know they need warmer water but its 80F without a heater. Would the gouramis be ok with one too? Also thank you for the quick reply!

 

Well, the one that's been bullied probably has a lower chance of survival, so in this case I'd actually keep the more aggressive one.
They would be fine with the GBR since their temp range goes up to 84, but I wouldn't add anything else honestly. Maybe complete the schools, but that's all I'd do

 

Well, the one that's been bullied probably has a lower chance of survival, so in this case I'd actually keep the more aggressive one.
They would be fine with the GBR since their temp range goes up to 84, but I wouldn't add anything else honestly. Maybe complete the schools, but that's all I'd do

I also just saw the aggressive male chasing the female around the tank for about 15 seconds non stop. I was thinking of trading 1 in for a GBR. The aggressive one also has more black on his fins and a darker shade of orange.

 

I just don't think there's enough room in that tank for everyone to have their own space, there's not enough structure to break up sightlines. No matter where they go they can still see each other.

That said, I have female thick lipped Gourami and need a male. Maybe we can work something out!

Two of my girls here...

 

To keep multiples it’s going to work most often with four of them at least so the 20 gallon won’t work. More ladies than males the boy will be bossy. A male/female pair is fine if you’re up for breeding behaviours, female/female may work together til they don’t. the males are Beauuuuuties for sure but you’ll see aggression w. These guys irregardless... Stresses them out if you’re not careful tho. Aggression is completely normal and has levels.. for me it’s worked better if there’s higher water agitation bc bubble nests won’t take as well but if you do get a good papa guarding a nest you would likely need to remove the female AND the fry at different points. Lotta work... My best setup so far without breeding/nest/fry business I had them in my 40 gallon: one large nice female Gold gourami, the Alpha- a Big Red female Crowntail who’s borderline giant along with one male and three female thicklipped with very good luck. Lots of nooks and sponge filter, and powerhead filtration x2 (one hob/one canister) 8 Diamond Tetra and 8 panda cory for some dither schooling action. Even still theyve all grew out and have since been delegated to different tanks :-/ gourami = so touchy ;-D

 

Strangely Thicklips are the only gourami I've ever seen being kept in a school / group.

 

Strangely Thicklips are the only gourami I've ever seen being kept in a school / group.

Really? You've never seen honey or pearl gouramis in groups? Saprkling gourami?

 

Really? You've never seen honey or pearl gouramis in groups? Saprkling gourami?

Not in a school like these.

 

I have a single Pearl in the tank with my Thicklips and it will on occasion give chase. Nothing violent, just a short "get off my lawn" type thing. I can't imagine having 2 Pearls together. Maybe they'd get along, I don't know but given how the one I do have is the only aggressor in the tank I'd be leery of adding another.