Two male honeys in a 15g?

I've had a planted 15g fluval flex running for a month now, last week I got two male honey gourami. The lfs worker said they may or may not get along and I could return one if they didn't, but that these two grew up together and got along fine from what he could tell (*there was a third one too, but figured that would be too many in 15g so only bought two. They only had males or I would have gotten a m/f pair).

Their relationship has evolved daily. The first two days then were fine with each other, then the third day some chasing started. One is a little bigger and brighter and is definitely dominant. He has claimed 3/4 of the aquarium as his territory and the other one has the back 1/4 (which is the most heavily planted area), and he will chase the other one if he sees him out of that corner. It was a slow kind of more guiding him away at first, yesterday it turned a little more aggressive and he now chases him really fast and looks like he's trying to bite.

The good news is he seems respectful of the other fish's 1/4 and won't go in there, though he will patrol around it. Just now I watched the dominant fish get close to the territory line and the more gentle one stood up for himself, lunged at him a little bit and the dominant one backed off. They also do not fight over food. They are too distracted by food to care what the other one is doing I think lol. They are also less aggressive with the lights off (the lights are on a 10 hour timer for the plants), they can hang out near each other with lights off, maybe they just don't see each other.

Just wondering if this is normal behaviour or something to be concerned about? I want to get schooling fish when the tank is a little more mature, would that affect the dynamic? I've seen so many mixed things online, I went for two because most places said they are social and are better off with at least one other. Never owned gourami before. Thanks.

 

I've had a planted 15g fluval flex running for a month now, last week I got two male honey gourami. The lfs worker said they may or may not get along and I could return one if they didn't, but that these two grew up together and got along fine from what he could tell (*there was a third one too, but figured that would be too many in 15g so only bought two. They only had males or I would have gotten a m/f pair).

Their relationship has evolved daily. The first two days then were fine with each other, then the third day some chasing started. One is a little bigger and brighter and is definitely dominant. He has claimed 3/4 of the aquarium as his territory and the other one has the back 1/4 (which is the most heavily planted area), and he will chase the other one if he sees him out of that corner. It was a slow kind of more guiding him away at first, yesterday it turned a little more aggressive and he now chases him really fast and looks like he's trying to bite.

The good news is he seems respectful of the other fish's 1/4 and won't go in there, though he will patrol around it. Just now I watched the dominant fish get close to the territory line and the more gentle one stood up for himself, lunged at him a little bit and the dominant one backed off. They also do not fight over food. They are too distracted by food to care what the other one is doing I think lol. They are also less aggressive with the lights off (the lights are on a 10 hour timer for the plants), they can hang out near each other with lights off, maybe they just don't see each other.

Just wondering if this is normal behaviour or something to be concerned about? I want to get schooling fish when the tank is a little more mature, would that affect the dynamic? I've seen so many mixed things online, I went for two because most places said they are social and are better off with at least one other. Never owned gourami before. Thanks.

Honey gouramis are the most peaceful gouramis, besides maybe pearls. 15g is not ideal for 2 especially since they are both males, but they should be fine. Just keep an eye out for bad fin damage and that they both keep eating.

 

Okay, yeah in hindsight they could have used even just 5g more of floor space.

Okay, good tips, I'll keep an eye on it and make sure they keep eating well.

 

Can you post pictures of the honeys? Just because it seems so many people get what they think are honeys and they turn out to be dwarf gouramis or thick lipped.

 

Yes, of course! They are quite small, I'd say maybe an inch and a half, LFS said they might get a little bigger since they're still young, but they were much smaller than the dwarf gourami they had in stock.

Dominant male:




Less dominant male:



Them being cute and nice the day I put them in the tank before they became enemies. :<

 

I am amazed that someone actually got honey gouramis when that is what they wanted. So many people end up with another gourami they thought was a honey- even had one recently calling a gold gourami a honey. Honeys are usually pretty easy going. They do like tall plants and floaters to hide amongst so if you don't have some I would recommend it. That would also give the submissive one a place to hide while they figure out the pecking order.

 

It's a bit difficult to tell from the photos, but I think at least one of them is female.

 

I am amazed that someone actually got honey gouramis when that is what they wanted. So many people end up with another gourami they thought was a honey- even had one recently calling a gold gourami a honey. Honeys are usually pretty easy going. They do like tall plants and floaters to hide amongst so if you don't have some I would recommend it. That would also give the submissive one a place to hide while they figure out the pecking order.

It was a pretty reputable little place I got them from. I sort of wonder if I move the driftwood over and up a bit to give him more space (he's basically in the corner behind the driftwood) if that would help, or if that would just mess up their territory line. I have stem plants in the back but they're still growing in, might not hurt to add some more.

It's a bit difficult to tell from the photos, but I think at least one of them is female.

Oh really? They both have a more pointy maleish dorsal fin to me, but a second opinion would be great. If one was female that would be good news, I think, but I did just watch them have a little face off at the territory line so don't think it would change anything. Here's more pics:

Dominant:




Submissive:

 

IMO they both look male. They both have the yellow base and orange edge on the dorsal fin.

 

IMO they both look male. They both have the yellow base and orange edge on the dorsal fin.

Really? They both look female to me. The orange rims on the fins indicates female. My male has a lemon yellow 'mohawk,' but my females have orange-rimmed fins.

OP, I'd just take a closer look at them as they grow. If one of them develops a vivid lemon yellow dorsal fin, that one is male. Otherwise the bright orange edges indicate females. They'll work out their social order with time and should be okay.

EDIT: I'm also assuming these are two GOLDEN honey gouramis.

 

Really? They both look female to me. The orange rims on the fins indicates female. My male has a lemon yellow 'mohawk,' but my females have orange-rimmed fins.

OP, I'd just take a closer look at them as they grow. If one of them develops a vivid lemon yellow dorsal fin, that one is male. Otherwise the bright orange edges indicate females. They'll work out their social order with time and should be okay.

EDIT: I'm also assuming these are two GOLDEN honey gouramis

Oops. you might be right. I think I got that backwards. The orange dorsal is usually female.

 

Interesting, thanks everyone. They are still young also so might be a wait and see thing.

They seem to be doing a little better today, if only because the more submissive one is more cautious about the dominant's territory. But he/she is also standing up for themself more and will chase right back if the dominant one gets in their territory. It's a fun dynamic to watch so long as nobody gets hurt. Most of the time they are in different parts of the tank anyways so it's not an issue.

 

I really wouldn't worry much about them. They look like two females the more I look at them -- male golden honeys have very vividly orange tails and bright lemon yellow dorsals. They'll work it out and become friends before you know it.

 

Update - I've added some longer stem plants in the back, forget the type of plant but lfs said could either be planted or left floating, so I have a few cuttings floating also. The more dominant one loves the floating plants, always playing in them. Also added some cardinal tetras. The dominant one still chases but not as frequently and not as aggressively. I see the more submissive one out of its corner a lot more now. I think at least the submissive one is definitely female because that dark line is more prominent now than those photos I posted before. And the other one never developed the male colours so I think I got two girlies, which is better for sake of them getting along. Thanks for the help!

 

Update - I've added some longer stem plants in the back, forget the type of plant but lfs said could either be planted or left floating, so I have a few cuttings floating also. The more dominant one loves the floating plants, always playing in them. Also added some cardinal tetras. The dominant one still chases but not as frequently and not as aggressively. I see the more submissive one out of its corner a lot more now. I think at least the submissive one is definitely female because that dark line is more prominent now than those photos I posted before. And the other one never developed the male colours so I think I got two girlies, which is better for sake of them getting along. Thanks for the help!

That's a wonderful update! So glad things are working out. I think the more dominant female will chill out even more the longer they live together. My previously-dominant-female in my tank has become mild-mannered, huge sweetheart. The male can be a bit pushy but they have plenty of space to get away from him. Good luck!

 

I recomend adding more hide outs If all you have are live plants.

consider somthing narrow and tallish, not neccassaraly hallow. Something to creat a wall were the can hide from each other and also from you looking in the tank. This can reduce there stress, which can reduce there aggression.

 

This is what the tank looks like - they aren't bothering each other because they see me and think they will be fed.. lol. The driftwood helps provide a wall / cover. Usually the dominant one is on the left of the driftwood and the submissive one on the right.

 

Those are two beautiful female honeys in a beautiful tank! I hope you enjoy them and they settle well. <3

EDIT: I want to correct myself. I actually think you have a pair. The top one looks like it's taking on male coloration, the bottom looks like a definite female!

 

Thanks so much! Oh, really? Hah, these guys or girls really are a mystery.

 

Honey gouramis drive me bonkers. Sometimes, when they're either too young or they're a wild type, they can be SO difficult to sex.