# Dwarf gourami's not getting along



## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

My 30 gallon recently went through an ich breakout (didn't quark teen the new bs pleco) and it killed off a lot of fish... One of which was my blue male dwarf gourami. I still have the female red one. So yesterday I actually tried a lfs instead of petsmart or petco! Amazing  even got 2 angels! (In another tank) and I knew it might happen but the two don't seem to get along.. The female (who is a little smaller, my other male was smaller than her) keeps on chasing and nipping the body and apparently fins (slightly torn now) of my new boy, who has a lot of blue in him but is just a regular dwarf gourami. I'm not sure on their return policy, but he is so pretty! I want to keep him. But I want him to be happy. He doesn't fight back, is there anything I can do? I tried moving the decor a little, but not much.. Do they dislike high flow? I got 2 hob's working right now, but one is rated for a 60 gallon so eventually I'll have just that one, but the one for the 30 is in perfect condition so I'm reluctant..
Would floating plants help? More tank mates? Most of them died with the ich but I'll hopefully eventually get back to having 5 gold barbs, 1 bs pleco, 2 dwarf gourami, and 6 flame red tetras(or some kind of small tetra)


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

What makes you think it's a female? Can you post a profile pic of the fish?

There could be any number of reasons why the fish is not fighting back. I noticed you did not quarantine - I hope it doesn't come back to bite you again. One of the reasons to quarantine fish is to observe them in a low stress environment. Had you done this you would know if this is "normal" for the fish or if it's a change in behavior, which can help you determine the nature of the problem.

Dwarf gouramis are generally territorial fish that fight one another. That's just their nature, so its difficult to really provide any advice for making the fish not do what it wants to do.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

jaysee said:


> What makes you think it's a female? Can you post a profile pic of the fish?
> 
> There could be any number of reasons why the fish is not fighting back. I noticed you did not quarantine - I hope it doesn't come back to bite you again. One of the reasons to quarantine fish is to observe them in a low stress environment. Had you done this you would know if this is "normal" for the fish or if it's a change in behavior, which can help you determine the nature of the problem.
> 
> Dwarf gouramis are generally territorial fish that fight one another. That's just their nature, so its difficult to really provide any advice for making the fish not do what it wants to do.



I just don't have a proper quark teen tank.. And I guess it wasn't that stocked so I didn't think it'd be a big problem. Also that I figured maybe the lfs would be better with health?







she keeps moving so i didn't get that great of a picture, but she has the little binge in the front, for the babies, and her bottom part is a little transparent, like on guppies and such fish. Plus I have another dwarf gourami of the same color and he is bigger, and doesn't have the bulge or transparency.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Dwarf gourami disease is a pretty big concern with regards to keeping DGs. I certainly hope that that's not the reason the fish is not standing up for itself.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Looks male. 


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Agent13 said:


> Looks male.



Looks that way to me too, and it sounds like it.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

I know the new one is male for sure, the lfs labeled it. From what I remember he was happy and active at the shop, came to the top for food with the rest of them and was quick so it took a couple tries to catch him. While he was floating in the bag, after he calmed down, he was nipping the sides of the bag and all.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

I feel very certain they're both male.. My male has the same bulge . Floating plants can help. They like to build nests in the territories they choose but that can be hard to do with no floaters and no real plants to rip up and float (my brats do that -_-) . Would help reduce their issues I believe . 


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Well I'd they are both males, should I see if one can go into my 20 gallon? Are there fake floating plants? I have a tiny but of java moss in there, but it's grounded. I think my pleco doesn't get along win live plants.. So only my 20 gallon is planted. I don't really want to buy a new light and special things for plants again..


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

They might be ok together . I'm not sure but don't see why there wouldn't be fake floaters . If you want to try real a lot of them don't need any special treatment . Water sprite is easy to grow and can float or just a tall fake plant to break up territories .


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Would the filter outtake push them around too much? I also wanted some floaters for my 20, sprite would be good? Maybe a lily? Since there is a very high output, nothing ever really stays... But I could probably change that


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

It'll get pushed around a bit but I don't find it a problem. Water sprite seems to grow so fast you'd easily be able to grow done for your 20 out of whatever you get for your 30. I don't know about Lilly's .. Perhaps tiger lotus plants ? They shoot leaves up to the surface . My banana plants shoot leaves up like that too . 


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

I know 100% both are male. Female DGs are completely silver and the honeys are silver with a brown/black stripe down their center like so -









Colisa (dwarf) aren't sexed by dorsal like the larger trichogaster are. I guarantee that is the source of your agression.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Actually they are sexed by the fin shape. And females can have color just highly unlikely to be as colorful as the one he is questioning .





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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

Off-topic question, but I was browsing the fish at Wal-Mart the other day and noticed almost all of the DGs they had were female-looking like the photo you posted. What are the chances they are female vs stressed?


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Someone's gotta buy the females somewhere lol. I think the chances are 50/50. 


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

They sell fish wal mart? Odd... I don't know if I'd trust that.. Ok, so after some research I guess it's possible that the dg is a male, oops.. Well I guess I got lucky that him and the old one got along then! I'll look into the plants mentioned. Should I give floaters a try then? It'll be a few days since I have never seen fake floaters in the petstore, so I'll have to order online.. Would it be better to do something else in the meantime? I'm not sure how well one would do in the 20 gallon or if the new dg would get along with the one in the 45.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Females are pretty rare in the hobby, so it's understandable that there would be some confusion. Not that I am an authority on female DGs, but I have owned one and seen one. As far as I can tell, the females do share some of the characteristics of their color morph. The blue females (what I had) are primarily silver with some faint blue streaks. The female red (standard/wild color) has some color but it's clearly not equal to the males.

What I saw as the difference, beyond color, is the body shape. Females bodies taper off more abruptly to the tail, while males bodies are thicker (taller) through the tail.

I think what flint meant by not being sexed by fin shape is the method used to sex the big gouramis doesn't apply to dwarf gouramis.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

So I'm going to try taking the bully out for a few days, I put him in my 5 gallon frog tank. Maybe 3 days. Also in my 45'gallon I have a dg and he is always hiding, always has been, I've had him maybe 2 months? From Craigslist. I manage to get him food after many tries, but it's a struggle, and I see him sorta laying on the sand rocks pit from a distance sometimes, upright and all but I can't get a good look since he shoots away as soon as anyone approaches.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Ok I did some research, and I think that the reason that the two are so timid is because dg's don't like currents! He loves the nice frog still 5 gallon! I know it's too small for a permanent home though.. And I'm sure the frogs don't enjoy the appetite, who doesn't eat frozen bloodworms ferociously? 

Well e 45 gallon has a few really strong currents, I'm not sure how to fix his life.. But I turned off the extra filter on the 30 gallon, so now the stronger filter is running, but instead of one powerful current it lets out 2 weaker ones  hope that'll help. I've found some really cool fake floating plants, is it ok if they're soft plastic and not silk? Since they aren't actually rubbing against them much? 

Maybe I'll see if my bully like the 45 gallon instead of my current one.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I don't think the current is the reason your fish is so skittish. Would be nice and convenient if it were, but I would not close that case. I think it's far more likely that the DG iridovirus is to blame.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

jaysee said:


> I don't think the current is the reason your fish is so skittish. Would be nice and convenient if it were, but I would not close that case. I think it's far more likely that the DG iridovirus is to blame.



Oh, well in the 30, yes. But in the 45 he is alone and super skittish 


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

I have a very strong current in my 10g and my DG is in the current more often than not. I wouldn't feel comfortable shifting the blame to that.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

It can take several months for a fish to succumb to the iridovirus, during which the fishs behavior goes through some clear changes.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

I might try to move the 45 gallon dg to the 30, and if they get along try moving the other dg to the 45.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I think we've all played musical tanks


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Haha musical tanks! Alright, well the new one seems a lot happier without the bully and extra current, then the one I mover there is coming out way more than in the 45 gallon. However the me dg picks on the one from the 45. But not nearly as much as with the other one. I moved the decor around and that seemed to help.

The bully is still in the 5 gallon now, I'll wait to see how the 30 gallon works itself out before making more decisions.


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## Crazyfish (Feb 3, 2014)

I recently seperated 2 Male Dwarf Gouramis. The Flame Red Gourami would always attack the Powder Blue Gourami. They were in the same tank for a month or two and neither got hurt from the fighting but the Powder Blue one kept getting harassed and attacked anytime it came around to the front of the tank. It wouldn't fight back all the time, just once in a while it would bite back but usually it would just swim away. The Flame Red DG was a bully. He would even pick on my Angels so he's now in a tank with my RTB Shark and some schooling fish which he leaves alone.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

They seem to be getting along now. And I finally bought 3 more gold barbs and 4 harlequin rasboras (that's all they had) but I really don't trust chain stores anymore, I bought from petco this time instead of the ich giving petsmart though, all of them are currently with my frogs int the 5 gallon, so if they have ich the frogs will be ok. I'll keep them there maybe a week.

The gourami I moved to the 45 (the bully) seems ok with the angels, but has found the hiding spot of the old one. She is there a lot too, but she actually comes out a lot  it's the current, isn't it?


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

I would lean more towards the angels bullying. What else is in the tank?

As far as quarantine on the new additions, you should be doing that for at least a month. Ich is just one of the many things new additions can bring to your tank.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

I'm not going to keep them in a little overcrowded 5 gallon for a month though... I haven't done it much before and most of the time it turned out ok. They seems healthy now, except the one who had his mouth open at all times and died.


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

This is why you should have a separate at least 10 gallon quarantine tank. Even ich will take 2 weeks to die off in high temps.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Yes, but I'm restricted, my parents will absolutely not let me get anything else, at least not now. I'll keep them longer if they show symptoms, but if there's nothing wrong with them, I don't see why keep them there longer.


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

The point in keeping them there longer is because not every disease shows up right away - it may seem like they are fine but something could come up.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I'm pretty sure I mentioned earlier that it can take months for DGD to become apparent. Of course that's only a concern of you are keeping more than one DG together.


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## Vpaw (Apr 21, 2013)

Dgd, yes. There's also angelfish disease? They weren't really quarantined. But I know the one I already had is fine, I've had him since December.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

After 6 months I would be feeling a bit more confident.


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