FAQs on the Blue, Three-Spot, Gold/en, Opaline, Even Albino! Gouramis, Yes, The Same Species, Trichogaster trichopterus,Â Reproduction

FAQs on the Blue, Three-Spot, Gold/en, Opaline, Even Albino! Gouramis, Yes, The Same Species, Trichogaster trichopterus, Reproduction

the following is one of the many articles on the Internet for breeding these fishes: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Wilkinson_Labyrinth1.html

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/anabantoids.htm

hello young honey Gourami sex 8/1/18
hello I was just wondering on an opinion of the sex of my newer honey Gourami
<This is not a Honey Gourami (Colisa chuna) but a Three-Spot Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus).>
I have one adult gold male and one adult blue female my breeding pair from the past great fish my Gourami s are very calm surprised by what people usually say I own a 55 gallon tank with mixed tropical fish but I love Gourami s so much I always have 3 or 4 females with one male but 2 of my
females recently passed of from old age r.i.p.. amazing smart fish so I have acquired 3 more young 2 gold and one blue and they look all females but I know it is hard to tell so young but my one honey seems to start looking leaner and longer and the past 2 days of healthy diet always his or hers pectoral grew very long like an adults and they are still a smaller fish so juts would like an opinion because I'm thinking they might be male now.
pictures attached it's hard to tell lmk and I'll take more pictures .
<Looks like a female to me. Males have longer dorsal fins than females, to the degree that the male's dorsal fin may almost touch the tail fin!
Females have shorter dorsal fins, and also tend to be more rounded about the belly. Cheers, Neale.>

Trichogaster repro.? Constipation? What? 7/28/15
asking a question about my gold Gourami my female Gourami is pregnant and there is no male Gourami to build a bubble nest what to do .
asking a question about my gold Gourami my female Gourami is pregnant and there is no male Gourami to build a bubble nest what to do
<Female Gouramis don't get pregnant. Your Gourami is either constipated or has Dropsy. The former is caused by poor diet, typically too much flake and not enough fibre (fresh greens, frozen brine shrimp, that sort of thing).
Dropsy is a bacterial infection caused by a poor environment. Do read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/dropsyfaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
I checked and she has eggs 7/28/15
<How? How can you tell if a female Gourami has eggs inside her? True, females will appear a little more convex around the abdomen when 'ripe' and ready to spawn, but this isn't particularly noticeable. If she looks swollen, like she's swallowed a ball, then she has some other problem.
Constipation or else Dropsy, this latter characterised by the scales rising up from the body, very noticeable when viewed from above ('pine cone appearance'). 99 times out of 100, when casual fishkeepers say their egg-laying fish is pregnant, it's wishful thinking. Cheers, Neale.> do I use it properly? Pictures included below. Thank you.
<Bob may have some ideas. Cheers, Neale.>
<<Epsom salt. B>><<No pix anywhere>>

Female gouramis 2/10/13
I have a 2yo 29 gallon, very heavily planted, lots of drift wood, and gravel, 3 female blue gourami's and 1 male, a high fin plecostomus,
<Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps; needs a tank three times bigger than 29 gallons. Surely it's pretty big by now… 20 cm/8 inches or more… should be if more than a year old, and adults get to some 50 cm/20 inches.>
an albino bristle nose plecostomus,
<Ancistrus sp.; a much better alternative.>
2 peppered Cory's and 2 albino Cory's, and 8 hatchet fish my tank has a 40gl submersible filter and is kept at 80 degrees,
<Slightly too warm for the Corydoras.>
I have not checked my ph in a VERY long time as everyone has seemed extremely healthy
<So what is the pH now…? Changes in pH can occur in tanks between water changes, and these can stress your fish.>
and lively and I do %20 water changes every other week with purified water. First let me say, I do not want fry!! I asked for 4 females at the pet store and at the purchase time they did in fact all look like females but were a lot smaller/younger, anyway to the point my 3 females have looked FULL of eggs for about 2 months now and I had been hoping they would just eventually come out...obviously that's not the case, what do I do? Can this be dangerous? I have rationed food thinking they were just fat, and there was no change and wouldn't the male be fat also if that were the case? How do I help my females to get rid of their eggs without fertilizing them with the male? Should I get rid of my male would this stop this from happening again in the future? Would getting rid of my male immediately make the females drop their eggs? I don't want to loose all my gouramis!
~Erica~
<Gouramis don't get pregnant, they lay eggs, but is natural for females to seem slightly fuller than normal when they're holding the eggs anything up to a few days prior to spawning. If you have one or more females that appear dramatically swollen though, like they've swallowed a little ball, then they're either madly overfed or have Dropsy. If they've been overfed, then the male could be fat-looking too, as would other, random fish in the tank. If it is ONLY one or two fish that are swollen and the others are all naturally lean, then Dropsy is more likely. Other symptoms of Dropsy include a pinecone-like appearance when viewed from above, lethargy, a disinterest in food. Given your tank is likely overstocked, possibly severely, environmental stress would be the most likely reasons for Dropsy. Do read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/dropsyfaqs.htm
Treatment is possible; combine Epsom salt therapy with suitable antibacterial medication (like eSHa 2000) or antibiotic (Maracyn 2 seems as good as any). Do note regular salt won't help, and neither will doing nothing -- left alone, Dropsy is invariably fatal. It's a sign of organ failure, which clearly isn't welcome! Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Female gouramis
First, I'm not completely ignorant (in fact i believe i never once in my first email sad "pregnant" i said eggs, many times)
<Ah, meant only in the general sense that female Gouramis may swell up with eggs for a few days prior to spawning but not for weeks, months at a time… so they shouldn't look "pregnant" for long, if at all.>
and have done a lot of research on the breeding habits and egg laying process of gourami fish (before getting them and decided i did not want to do it hence the asking for 4 females) I have not found anything on what to do if you don't want fry and the females became full of eggs!
<There's zero chance of Gourami fry surviving if you don't make an effort to rear them. They are tiny, need infusoria to feed upon.>
(you assumed my fish are sick and did NOT answer ANY of my questions)
<Oh, did try to. If three fish are all swollen up, and have been so for more than a couple days, and you're sure overfeeding and/or constipation aren't factors, then do assume Dropsy or something similar.>
The 3 females are the only "fat" fish in my tank,
<Worrying indeed.>
I have decreased feeding when I first noticed it and nothing changed in there appearance, they are still VERY active and interested in food as is the rest of my tank
<This is promising, and means treatment should work.>
and they do not look like pine cones,
<Which doesn't rule out Dropsy. In any case, something *is* amiss, and you should proceed from that. Egg-binding is possible, I suppose, but it's (extremely) rare in fish. Epsom salt can help here. But I'd be more toward something else being wrong. Are these Dwarf Gouramis? These are particularly prone to bacterial and viral infections.>
if I treated and nothing changed in their appearance would you then believe me that my fish are NOT sick?
<You don't need to convince me of anything. It's about working through the probabilities, from most to least likely explanations, and where you can't pin down exactly what's wrong, you can at least treat for things so you can "tick them off" the list.>
wouldn't the salt effect my Cory's?
<Do note I said Epsom Salt, not aquarium salt, and no, doesn't harm Corydoras.>
My pH looks to be just above 7, using a testing strip from a local pet store, which if I remember right and through all my reading, is good for every fish species In my tank.
<Ah now, don't fixate on pH. It actually doesn't matter much; Corydoras are fine between pH 6 and 8. What matters is hardness, that's the bit fish "feel". All that matters for the fish is that the pH is stable.>
On another note The plecostomus is not as old as the tank, I didn't buy the plecostomas's until recently, after there was plenty of Algae in the tank for them to eat
<Do need more to eat than algae. Hikari Algae Wafers are a good balanced diet, rich in both algae and shrimp meal.>
(I plan to upgrade as the tank grows, in about 6mo and both Plecos are currently about 3in)
<Cool. But do bear in mind how large Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps will get, and plan accordingly. Anything smaller than 75 US gallons would be pointless (and dirty and smelly). Gorgeous fish though; kept two in a 200-gallon aquarium at university. So if you have the space and prodigious filtration (they defecate like its an Olympic sport) they're excellent companions for large community fish.>
~Erica~
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Female gouramis
I have a 55 with a NASTY eel
<What kind of eel? Spiny Eels won't be mean enough to damage a Plec too large to swallow whole.>
in it and a feather fin catfish? the high fin plecostomus will eventually end up there when it's big enough that I don't feel my eel will harm it and it will only house those 3 fish and those alone…
<I agree, but 55 gallons is a push for this many large fish.>
When I move into a larger space (hopefully with the next year) they will be upgraded to a 240 Plexi glass i have in storage
<Ah, now you're cooking!>
and from there i will try to figure out what fish can be housed with the eel (that KILLS everything)
<Not an adult Pterygoplichthys…>
and the gourami tank will be transferred from the 30 to the 55...so in short I do have a plan for how large the Pleco will get.
<Cool.>
My fish get (what i think) is a very good diet I actually pride myself on how colorful and healthy my fish are and i get many compliments on my gouramis! My tanks get Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, omega one shrimp pellets, Tubifex worms, omega one veggie rounds, cucumber, peas, lettuce, blood worms, earth worms (cut up) live Molly babies I breed myself, of course not all at once every feeding. But they never get the same thing two days in a row. With the exception of the omega one veggie rounds (all the fish LOVE these and fight over them)
<Your fish eat better than mine. Better than me, even.>
Now regarding the Three spot gouramis
<A tough variety, rarely problematic.>
I've decided to try to breed them as I feel the females are in fact full of eggs, and I have had "egg binding" happen before with Bettas, (this is why I'm concerned it has happened to my gouramis being that there was no "safe place" for the male to make a bubble nest and for the females to expel her eggs) I've made a "dead spot" in my tank using plants where the current is almost nothing at the surface (my male is already showing interest within the 30min of me doing this) my plan (if they breed) is to collect the eggs and use them to feed my eel. Hopefully this works... I'd really like to not lose my gouramis...
<Epsom salt can really help with egg binding. It's a muscle relaxant among other things, around 1-3 teaspoons per 5 gallons/20 litres should do the trick.>
With the tank and gouramis being 2yo with no previous problems... Why would a problem arise from seemingly nowhere?
<Egg binding is difficult to predict. It's very rare in fish. So it's hard to predict what would cause it. Genetics may be a factor, or age, or diet, or some combination of factors. That all three females are exhibiting egg binding at the same time is VERY odd and to be honest I'm not convinced. Some slight fattening up as per sexual maturity and prior to spawning seems more likely… do need to see a photo of these fish if possible. Would settle my mind whether this is really a problem or not.>
Water changes have never bothered them or the water much, they get a good diet and I keep the filter clean (in fact just got the new 40gl submersible a few weeks ago) and they are kept at a consistent temp, the only thing that has changed recently is the brand new filter...
~Erica~
<Cheers, Neale.>
Female gourami
They look full of eggs to me...these were just taken and he looks healthy (not fat) to me. I would imagine If it were over feeding he would look as plump as the females
~Erica~
<These fish do not look unusually fat or otherwise. I would do nothing more than increase fibre content of diet (brine shrimps are good) while using Epsom salt as described before. This won't harm any other fish, may do some good as a laxative. But provided fish remain active and interested in food,
I would consider these fish healthy. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Female gourami, no reading, using WWM 2/10/13
How much Epsom salt would you suggest for a 30gl tank
<1-3 teaspoons per 5 gallons/20 litres. It's as well to assume your tank doesn't contain 30 gallons; knock 10-15% off for rocks and gravel, i.e., your tank likely holds 25.5-27 gallons. So calculate on the basis of these, more conservative figures.>
and how do I "administer" it (i.e.: just pour it in)
<Dissolve calculated quantity in a small jug of warm water. Pour into aquarium in stages, perhaps 5-6 portions across an hour.>
~Erica~
<Cheers, Neale.>

Gourami breeding    4/3/12
Hello wonderful wwm crew,
First, I love all of you. You are my inspiration and my goal.
<Thanks for the kind words!>
Now on to my reason for contact. I have written to you guys a few times before about a 75 gal tank that was ill advised by a poor quality fish store. We have worked hard and lost some finned friends in the process of correcting our tank. Our current setup includes a Marineland emperor 400 filter, heater for up to 100 gals, and air pump. General hardness is 60, pH is 6.5, carbonate hardness, nitrite and nitrate are all zero. We currently are housing 3 Trichogaster trichopterus (2 blue and one golden) which are all under 2 inches, and one 9 inch Astronotus ocellatus.
<Okay. But surprised the Gouramis are doing well with the Oscars, but I guess Oscars are pretty mellow.>
I have two hypothesis as to my gouramis. First, I believe the two blues are females and the gold is male. I know sexing fish is difficult in fish but I do have basis to my guess.
<Actually, not so difficult with this species. The males have significantly longer (more "flag-like") dorsal fins.>
My blues are very docile while the gold is extremely aggressive (he even chases the Oscar who tends to be very docile). This leads me to believe there is a difference in hormones, i.e. testosterone vs. estrogen. Do fish have estrogen?
<Fish do have sex hormones, though not necessarily the same ones as humans.
What we call oestrogen (estrogen in American English) is actually a *family* of closely related chemical compounds. As it happens, there's some evidence oestrogen-like chemicals are causing problems for fish in some areas because they get into the rivers via sewage and agricultural run-off and end up "feminising" the male fish. That, needless to say, reduces the ability of fish to breed. With all this said, there's little evidence this is a problem among aquarium fish (which isn't to say it's impossible). Do also note that just as human males vary in their "pushiness" so too do fish, and you can easily have an alpha male becoming dominant and a lesser male who chooses to keep a low profile.>
The other basis to this hypothesis is my other hypothesis itself. One of my blues is VERY fat. I believe "she" is heavy with eggs. I have read about infections and am inclined to believe this is not the case with her. The male has been blowing bubble nests for the past year or so. And since I noticed her heaviness, I have also witnessed what I believe is mating rituals. He leads her to the nest (which I provided non weighted fake plants tied together and taped to the calmest area in the tank to eliminate drift), and while she is under it he "dances" and rubs on her.
<Yes, this sounds about right.>
This is all from what I understand mating rituals. He defends the nest viciously from the Oscar and while he will chase the two blues it is more like he is herding them. Well these are my hypothesis but I would love for you to confirm or correct my assumptions as I have NO experience with fish breeding. Thank you in advance,
<Do examine the dorsal fins of the Gouramis. The truth will out!>
Aesia
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Gourami breeding and uh oh, eggs are laid.     4/4/12
Hello again crew! Thank you for your quick response Neale. I greatly appreciate your help but I fear my fish has answered the question for me at the same time you did.
<Most welcome.>
Ha! Smart fish that she is, she laid her eggs last night and when I went to inspect my fish and take pics for you guys, I noticed she was much thinner and that is what led me to inspect the nest. My wonderful fishy father was very busy collecting the eggs and spitting them into the nest which no long has bubbles. The eggs are sticking to the artificial plants. They were very hard to see, though, as they are pin-point small.
<Yes. Gourami eggs are small, and while the fry aren't difficult to rear as such, they do require very tiny live foods, smaller than brine shrimp nauplii. Infusoria are widely used as their first food.>
Now, I had EVERY intention of moving the fish to protect the eggs but being that nature waits for no man, she beat me to it. My question for my guru fish experts is this: How do I safely move them to a less dangerous location i.e. another tank away from grownups?
<Would move the floating plants or leaves to a breeding trap, but otherwise leave in the aquarium. Once fry are big enough to move, then scoop out to a breeding tank if you want, otherwise, try rearing a few in the breeding trap. I'm very much a casual breeder happy to rear two or three from a batch of eggs, and this approach can work fine for that. Others aim to rear as many as possible, perhaps for the challenge, perhaps to sell on. You'll need a breeding tank for that. Chris Andrews wrote a lovely little book called "A Fishkeeper's Guide to Fish Breeding" that is good, widely sold online for pennies, and sufficiently good to provide lots of useful tips.>
I would love for my boys to see them hatch and grow. I also am trying to keep my Oscar from acquiring a taste for fish flesh. Now I know, I know.
Again I have little control over this as a fish has to eat and are opportunistic. I am not so naive as to think that I have the control (he already took out snails and a small catfish) but I am looking into a four tank setup I found on Craigslist that has the capacity to hold all of my little loves and some fish rearrangement is imminent. But for now I just want to save the babies. I am able to donate some to my son's school (which I have done with two tin foils already) and am willing to give however many more to responsible homes. Thank you for your advice and time. I just don't know what I would do without it! Much love and respect, Aesia
<And best wishes to you, too, Neale. PS. the girlf' thought your name sounded cool, but we couldn't decide on how to pronounce it!>
Re: Gourami breeding and uh oh, eggs are laid.    4/5/12
Hello crew (Neale),
<Salve!>
First, my mother is a rebel from the wild west (Phoenix, AZ) and took an odd name and added a letter to make it even more original. Take out the e and you have the continent Asia. :)
<I see.>
Now on to my new eyes with tails. Yes you guessed it, the eggs hatched yesterday morning proving that mother nature is faster than me again. I do have a spare breeder cage that I use to introduce fish to my tanks and have begun to round up babies. To my surprise/dismay I realized that less than half of the eggs even developed. I managed to collect around thirty fry and place them in the cage despite papa bear's constant attacks and the swiftness of the fry (did I mention they are swimming now?) I have read that once they are free swimming to put them in a tank with no filter.
Would it be okay to let them grow in my mesh breeder cage instead?
<Yes.>
Are they suppose to free swim so early?
<Does depend on the species of fish; Gouramis are free-swimming within a couple days of hatching.>
My research led me to believe it would take a few weeks.
<Oh my no.>
Also, I live in South Carolina and it is sometimes (like now) hard to find things I need. I tried a few stores today and could not find infusoria.
<Indeed not. You "grow your own".>
I read of a way to cultivate this but the website said it takes about a week. If I cultivate this, will at least some of my babies survive this time period or must they begin eating immediately?
<They need to eat when they use up their yolk sac, which takes a variable amount of time depending on the species. In the case of Gouramis, the yolk sac will be used up within a couple days of hatching, at which point they are free-swimming as well. In any case, infusoria is best, but you can have some (temporary!) success with hard boiled egg yolk, but this makes a cloudy mess if used carelessly, so be delicate when pipetting out tiny amounts at the fry where they can find it (you may want to switch the filter off for 5-10 minutes while doing so). There are also Liquifry type foods sold in pet stores that can work, though far less effectively than infusoria. There's a great report on breeding a closely related Gourami species over at the Microcosm site, penned by Mary Sweeney, a former editor of TFH Magazine:
http://en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com/wiki/Breeding_the_Pearl_Gourami
She covers the basics and gives quite a few useful tips as well.>
The guy at my new favorite fish store has experience with live bearing fish breeding. He grinds up flake food and has success with this method. Is this
method only viable with live bearers?
<To some degree, yes. Livebearer fry are much bigger than Gourami fry, and have better developed mouths and jaws. So they can feed on much the same foods as adult fish of their kind. Gourami fry are teeny-tiny animals that would be feeding on microscopic organisms and algae in the wild, and it's hard to replicate that even with finely powdered flake. That said, flake decomposes and cultures a certain amount of infusoria, so you might end up rearing a couple fry by default.>
Would it be worth a shot to try grinding and making a paste out of flakes, plankton and tank water? I also wanted to ask if my recent algal bloom has an effect on my gouramis i.e. causing good conditions for spawning?
<Could be. The art of "spawning triggers" is a mysterious one.>
The reason I ask is because I have read a lot of material stating that java moss, algae, or "green water" should be used in a breeder tank.
<For sure. Green water is infusoria rich, and Java moss traps lots of infusoria and algae that fry like to eat. It so happens that the conditions we favour in aquaria for aesthetic reasons aren't necessarily those best suited to the fish species we keep.>
Our parameters are at acceptable levels as stated in my previous email.
Therefore, we plan on allowing the tank to remain green until I can catch as many as I can to place in the breeder cage. As always it is a pleasure and honor to receive all of your wisdom and advice and hope to one day have the same experience and knowledge.
Aesia (Asia)
P.S. I will be starting a blog shortly to record my fish lives. My inner biologist feels compelled to record the different happenings in my aquariums, even if it is only to sharpen my research/observation skills, and I would love a true biologist's opinions and suggestions on how to make my research journals more observant and scientific. Thank you again and best wishes to you all.
<Glad to help and Happy Easter. Signing off for the long weekend, Neale.>

Gourami's, repro. 9/14/09
I have a 200 gallon tank with 3 gouramis 2 males one blue with the 3 spots and one honeydew.. {I am not sure he is orange with stripes}.. also the female moonlight Gourami she is with eggs.. idk how else to say it ..
<Hmm... female Gouramis might swell a little when gravid (to use the technical term) but shouldn't be dramatically so. Do be aware of things like constipation and Dropsy, which can both cause abdominal swelling.>
but also in this 200 gallon tank I have a 1 loach, 1 jelly bean frog. 6 Danio's, 7 Neons, 1 rope fish, 1 Lg Pleco, 1 large KOI and a med. goldfish
...
I do not know how far she is or how long till she will lay then or whatever you say for the fish I am just starting at this and already we are overran with guppies mollies and platys ;) .... I want to know what to do to "save" the fry... the males have not made a bubble nest ... and haven't began to build one yet .. I started last night putting lots of plants and other floating things in their tank.. I already had drift wood in there..... I
can accommodate the fish with other tanks if need be... but do not know which fish is the father we have 2 males.. should I place all 3 into a 40 gallon tank ? .... and wait..
<Gouramis won't normally breed in community tanks. Yes, a 20 gallon tank with lots of floating Indian Fern would be a good place for the male to build his nest. Obviously, only the same species will breed, so you need a male Moonlight Gourami (Trichogaster microlepis) and a female Moonlight Gourami if they are to spawn successfully. Use a gentle filter, ideally an air-powered box or sponge filter, otherwise the bubble nest will be destroyed. Raise the temperature to about 28-30 C. Provided they are mature, spawning should occur fairly readily. The female can then be removed, since the male will become aggressive once he is guarding. The eggs hatch within 3 days, but the fry are very small and need tiny foods, ideally infusoria and brine shrimp nauplii though some finely ground flake foods may work, albeit with a lesser success rate. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Gourami's 09/15/09
thank you
<Happy to help.>
I have looked her over and over before I wrote you .. she doesn't have the signs of dropsy.. or constipation..
<Good.>
I have dealt with both of these in fish and this isn't it she is not hiding she is eating more than usual she is out and active more than usual ... they are the same species.. they are gouramis.. all 3 are Trichogaster microlepis .. as I did state one blue with the spots one gold and the moonlight which is the female...
<Gold Gouramis and Blue Gouramis are both Trichogaster trichopterus.
Moonlight Gouramis (which are all-silver) are Trichogaster microlepis. So far as I know, they do not hybridise.>
she has been this way for 2, 3 days now, there is no bubble nest..
<Are you sure you have males? Sexing Trichogaster spp. Gouramis isn't easy, but usually males have longer dorsal fins.>
I am putting all 3 into a 40 gallon tank to separate them from the other fish.. and will provide them with lots of floating plants etc. . I already have the low flow filters.. and will raise the temp to aprox 80 F. thank
you for all your help sorry for any inconveniences
<Cheers, Neale.>

Breeding Gouramis Hi dear Anthony How are you , I'm fine ,I am Nader Afshar from Iran, <yes, my friend... I remember you. It is good to hear that you are well> Thank you for your help my mollies babies are very good and send best regards to you, <thank you kindly> I have 4 yellow Gouramis 2f/2m, The female are pregnant ,how can I reproduce them? <not difficult but little bit tedious to do successfully> What is the situation for laying ? <they build a bubble nest at the surface of the water... some floating plants will help them build this nest> what eat babies in first 10 days? <that is partly what is difficult... they need very tiny live food: infusoria> please write me anything need for reproduce them, <the following is one of the many articles on the Internet for breeding these fishes: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Wilkinson_Labyrinth1.html> Thank you very much, your friend Nader Afshar <best regards, Anthony>

Why can't we Gouramis be friends? Hi there, <Hello Ross> I have a small freshwater tropical tank with two blue [three spot] Gouramis. I bought the first one a few days ago, and added the second about 24 hours ago, thinking that the first one could be lonely, and no-one likes to be lonely. <Mmm, not everyone...> However, the first one [Mr. Fish], now just attacks and torments the new one non-stop! I believe they may be a pair [purely by accident], as Mr. Fish has a noticeably bigger, more pronounced dorsal fin, and his head and back are more angular. <Good description... likely the first is a male> When he attacks, he changes from a blue-tinged silver to quite a deep blue marbling. Poor Mrs. Fish spends most of her time trying to seek refuge behind the filter, and I think her tail fin may be getting torn. Is there anything I can do to stop this quarrelling? Or are they just sorting out who's the dominant one? I'm reluctant to add more fish as the tank is only 30 litres. But at the same time I don't think Mrs. Fish is going to last very long under all this stress... Thanks for your help, Ross Dougall. <I would put Mr. Fish in a floating contraption... a breeding trap or just an all-plastic colander for a week or so and see if this calms him down... do this NOW. Bob Fenner>

Gourami Breeding, or not I have spent the last 3 hours looking through and searching you site for info on breeding golden Gouramis. I couldn't find squat. Anyway, I have a male and female set of goldens in a 30gal tank that they have had to themselves for about 3 months. I have noticed in the last few days that the female has started fighting the male for food. Actually, fight is a strong word. She's racing him to the food. And she's gotten really round. On top of that, the male sits on the bottom of the tank unless it's time to eat. Then he seems to wait his turn for food. Is this normal behavior for golden Gouramis? Do I need to remove the babies once they are free swimming? I'm used to dealing with my many different kinds of cichlids and have never had my Gouramis breed. I need help! And advice. Thanks, Becca <Try here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/anabantoids.htm Don>

Pregnant Gold Gouramis I just bought a pregnant Gold Gouramis and I have it separated from the rest of my fish. What do I do now? Thanks, Katie <... what do you mean? Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/anabantoids.htm and the Related FAQs linked at top. Bob Fenner>

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