chinwall@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Chinwalla) (04/11/88)
I bought two kissing gourami at the same time. Once I released them into the tank, the larger one started a continual pursuit of the other until the smaller one was reduced to hiding in one corner of the tank. Sometimes the larger fish would deliberately hunt the smaller one out of the corner and chase it. Finally, after two days, this smaller fish died. I recently got a second gourami the same size as the larger fish. The first, larger gourami was attacking the plastic bag that held the new gourami. Then, it started chasing it like it did with the first fish. This one chased back for a while but eventually retired to the corner like the first and died. What is going on here? Should I give up on adding gouramis and just leave this one a loner? Jean Chinwalla
steveb@ihlpa.ATT.COM (S.R. Bodenstab) (04/12/88)
In article <7621@ihlpa.ATT.COM> chinwall@ihlpa.UUCP (Chinwalla,J.M.) writes: >I recently got a second gourami the same size as the larger >fish. The first, larger gourami was attacking the plastic bag >that held the new gourami. Then, it started chasing it like >it did with the first fish. This one chased back for a while >but eventually retired to the corner like the first and died. >What is going on here? I had a similar experience: I purchased a blue (three-spot) gourami followed, about three weeks later, by an opaline gourami only slightly smaller in size than the blue. The blue went on the attack immediately upon introduction of the newcomer and made its life miserable through chasing, fin nipping, etc. for about a week or so. They seemed to settle down, after that, into a grudging tolerance of one another, and that's where things stand today. About all I've been able to surmise is that both of my fish are males and, though they coexist well with other families of community fish, appear to be either territorial or instinctively need to establish a "pecking order" (i.e. which one gets to be the "bull-moose" so to speak). I've never come across any reference to this kind of behavior in anything I've ever read concerning gourami, however. -- Steven R. Bodenstab UUCP: ...!ihnp4!ihsybil!srb AT&T Bell Laboratories
fritzson@hamlet.PRC.Unisys.COM (Richard Fritzson) (04/12/88)
In article <7621@ihlpa.ATT.COM> chinwall@ihlpa.UUCP (Chinwalla,J.M.) writes: >I bought two kissing gourami at the same time. Once I >released them into the tank, the larger one started a continual >pursuit of the other until the smaller one was reduced to >hiding in one corner of the tank. >... > Finally, after two days, this smaller fish died. I was amazed to read this today, because I had the eerie sensation that I had posted it and forgotten. I had the very same experience with the very same fish last week. The owner of the store I bought them from (a knowledgeable fellow) said it was quite unusual. I had intended to buy a slightly larger kissing gourami to add to the tank in the hopes of arranging a stand off, but I couldn't find one. Instead I added two Pearl Gouramis, both of which are larger than the kissing gourami (This is a relatively new tank and I'm still adding fish to it on a weekly basis.) The tank is peaceful and the kissing gourami just looks lonely. But after your experience with a second one, I may just leave him lonely.
Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (04/13/88)
I have two dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia), one male and one female, and they get along well, except at feeding time, when the male chases the female pretty aggressively whenever he sees her. But one the food is gone, they get all friendly again. In fact, if I separate them, they get pretty agitated, rushing around as if looking for something. I haven't tried two males, though. -- Ashwin.