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I have a Golden Gourami in the tank that used to be bullied by his larger female counterpart, so I returned the female in hopes that he would be more active and peaceful. While he seems to get along fine with his tankmates, he goes berserk whenever I've added a new fish, singling it out and hunting it throughout the entire tank and freaking out if I even come near the glass [EDIT] And sometimes he does that without me even doing anything [/EDIT]. He then flees to an upper corner of the tank with his fins as erect as can be, as if he's paranoid or something.

It doesn't seem to matter what I add. The first time it was a smaller female golden, this time it's two swordtails. Is he just trying to establish dominance or should I be concerned? I did feed him and the others a worm and changed some of the scenery in the tank to confuse territory and take the focus off of the new fish before I added them, but it didn't seem to matter. It has been only a couple of hours, but now both the gourami and the swordtails are hiding apart from each other.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-29 20:54][/span]

I had the same problem with a blue male. I put him in my 5gal hospital tank for a few days and then changed the decor around and put him back. No problems since. This also worked with a male electric yellow cichlid.

Kim

What size tank is it, what are your test results in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.

Thanks, Kim, I'll try the tank-swap thing. It might be better if he thinks he's the newbie to the big tank and it sounds like you've had success.

@kitty
I don't think water quality has much to do with it, as it is only when I introduce new fish to the tank that he freaks out. Otherwise he's as happy as a clam.

Gouramies, probably most of them, are super territorial and will fight all newly added fish...

Even without a territorial issue, the Golden's will pick fights just for the fun of picking fights.

An angry fish by nature, I used to match adult Golden Gouramies with large adult black Angels and watch the intense standoffs when neither one would attack.

Some Hobbyists, frustrated with the Goldens, have taken them back to the store because of their attitude.

Rearranging the interior of the tank is an excellent strategy that will fool and confuse the Gouramie into thinking he is the new guy on the block and peace may prevail.

--garyroland.

A quick question: how many days should I wait before reintroducing him? I think two should be enough, as I doubt he would have a long enough memory to recall where he was two days ago.

That's a good question...

You'd be surprised about the intelligence of certain fish. Their sensory perception, in many ways, is superior to ours.

A week in solitary confinement should be plenty to change the Gouramie's attitude when returned to a rearranged tank.

Let's discover just how smart he is.

--garyroland.