# Help, gouramis!!?!?!!?



## Angelfish2 (Jun 26, 2012)

Hi, I currently have a 55 gallon tank with 2 Angelfish, one black ghost knife fish, 1 pleco, one male dwarf gourami and 4 gold gouramis. My Angelfish are actually really relaxed, same with the BGK, pleco and male dwarf gourami. My issue is the 4 gold gouramis. I specifically asked for 3 females and a male, and that's what I got. But they all chase each other around and nip sometimes. One female already lost some fins  So i put it in my 20 gallon where it's all calm. I took the male out and put it in a jar for now (just for 3 hours) so it forgets his territory. The 2 females left still chase each other a bit but it's better :/ Is there anything I can do? I want the female in the 20 to stay there but I don't know about the male . Please help. 

P.S. I just put another one of the gouramis in my 20 since it was getting attacked and the 2 females in my 20 don't notice eachother.


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## Beverage (Mar 22, 2012)

"Gold Gouramies are very hardy and pretty fish which are often sold to and chosen by beginners because of their hardiness, but they do have two points against this choice: first, they grow rather large (~15 cm) and may overcrowd smaller tanks. Second, the males tend to be very territorial and with their large size will often bully all the smaller fish, forcing them to stay hidden in some corner of the tank. This can be very frustrating to beginners, especially kids. *The solution is to keep them in large, well planted tanks, or to keep only females*."

5 min google search. You have neither. I would suggest taking your male back to the shop. Or getting a much bigger tank. 

Good Luck


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## Angelfish2 (Jun 26, 2012)

I have lots of decor, and even when I took out the male, the females were still chasing each other. They don't chase any other fish just themselves. And I've read that 55 gallon tanks are plenty for them, have any other advice?


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## Beverage (Mar 22, 2012)

I'm afraid there isn't much of a solution other than to remove and rehome offending fish. I've had 3 spot gouramis that have been horrendously territorial even with bigger cichlids. 

I've not ever heard of the jar technique but I can't see it working for very long as he would soon remake his territory.

I would say that your tank is nearly at breaking point with all the gouramis gone. But opinions on this vary wildly. Also, depends on the type of plec.


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## Angelfish2 (Jun 26, 2012)

One more thing, is it normal for them to have a little bit of their tale bitten off? Or is that already getting to severe?


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## Angelfish2 (Jun 26, 2012)

Fish are never gentle, haha


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