Typical Male Dwarf Gourami behavior?

[CSM]

I am a little concerned about my male and female dwarf gourami. The male tends to harass her when comes out in the open. So the female is usually hiding behind the plants or rock. Is this typical behavior? I am thinking that I got a male that is just more aggressive than normal. Because when i was researching the fish most people said that the fish tend to swim together.

My tank is a 5 gallon. M/F Dwarf gourami, M/F Sunset Platy, 3 ghost shrimp, and bundle of Hornwort.

Thanks in advance
Jason

 

[CSM]

I bought the pair almost a week ago from a lfs. Could they still just be adjusting? The lfs only has a 48 hr replacement policy. Should I take him back and try and get a different male.

Also, the female is about half the size of the male. I know they are smaller than the males, but could the male just be older than her and therefore not interested in a younger companion?

The male has not built a bubblenest.

 

[dana307]

Gouramis

I have two gold and two blue Gouramis. The blue male was a beast and I swapped him at the LFS. I was told by an experienced friend to not worry about the darting and bullying behavior though and in hindsight, I may have kept him. Have to have one bully in the tank, I guess.

As far as bubble nests, I read somewhere that some males might not know how/ when to build one. I think my female gold gourami is pregnant but no bubble nest. Males can be stupid, fish that is. Read up on this board re: bubble nests. There's some good info. Hope that helps.

Dana.

 

[adamj]

that tank is just a bit too small for this type of fish, if they havent already, they will outgrow it very quickly. And yes, its normal behavior, they are related to bettas. get a bigger tank for them, and the symptoms might lessen. good luck

 

[CSM]

so no one is actually worried about the physical size difference between the male and the female?

 

[CSM]

i called my lfs where I bought the pair. A guy told me I could try putting her in a breeding net/divider or something like that. So that the male can't get to her and eventually he will get use to her presence.

 

[Jubilee]

In the wild, gouramis are found in huge groups - together. If you want to keep male/female pairs, buy a group of them so the aggression is spread out and no one gets picked on exclusively. However, a 5 gal. is much to small.