Re: Gourami Behaviour

[NetMax]

"Rod Bacon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Last week, I thought all my tank warfare problems were over with the
> departure of my CAE.
>
> As part of my new fish stock, I purchased 2 gouramis, a gold one
> (approx 3") and a blue (2.5"). I had suspected the gold would soon
> establish him/herself as the tank boss being the largest fish in the
> tank, but to my surprise, it's suffering at the hands (fins?) of the
> smaller, blue gourami.
>
> Neither fish bothers any other inhabitants of the tank, but the blue
> will violently harass the gold for hours on end, then in a truly
> schizophrenic metamorphisis, they'll happily swim together for the next
> few hours, only to start-up again at random.
>
> Could this be some sort of mating tension? How does one sex gouramis?


Behaviourally, gouramis can be almost as bad as cichlids when it comes to
pecking order and territory. They are sexed when older, by a slightly
pointed dorsal and anal fin (like many cichlids too). Your blue might be
a male and the gold an uncooperative female or less aggressive male. I
don't think they are as aware of their sizes as we are. Gaul wins a lot
of fights.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Rod Bacon]

I went home last night, and had a closer look at them. From the dorsal
fin shape, I think the blue is a male, and the gold a female. I spent a
few hours observing them last night, and everything now appears to be
fine.

It seems as though they just needed a few days to settle in to their
new environment, and establish some relationship rules.

[NetMax]

"Rod Bacon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I went home last night, and had a closer look at them. From the dorsal
> fin shape, I think the blue is a male, and the gold a female. I spent a
> few hours observing them last night, and everything now appears to be
> fine.
>
> It seems as though they just needed a few days to settle in to their
> new environment, and establish some relationship rules.


Glad to hear that. The problem is sometimes not the time it takes to settle
the pecking order, but for the winner to understand that the loser cannot
leave, (being in an aquarium). Some winners will simply never allow the
loser inside his territory, which is often larger than the dimensions of the
tank.

Being male-female, the dynamics are very different than straightforward
pecking order. Here (imo) we rely on the male simply giving up the chase,
but it might be temporary. If the female is uncooperative, then the male
will chase her away, keeping the territory open and available for another
female to wander through. If the male thinks the presence of the
uncooperative female is discouraging other females from swimming by, then
the trouble starts again.
--
www.NetMax.tk