dwarf gourami. Can they co habit?

Question

I have a community tank wich include 2 dwarf male gourami. The have started fighting. Is this normal? Will they fight to the death? There is no female Gourami in the tank.

Answer 1

It depends on the size of the tank. I'd be concerned if each one doesn't have at least 10-15 gallons. All gourami fight with their fellow gourami. (Even the peaceful pearl gouramu will still chase it's fellows a bit.) The real thing to be sure of is that there are lots of hiding spots.

PS- Like most gourami, and their betta cousins dwarf gourami are wife beaters. Generally you need 2-3 females per male to spread out the aggression. Of course it's really not an issue as few stores carry the small grey female.

Answer 2

Gouramis and bettas are very close relatives. Bettas are a species of gourami actually. Their habits are very similar, and your gouramis will fight until death unless your tank is big enough for the loser to escape and hide. But you would need at least 100 gallons for that to work IMO, even then it still would be very likely to fail.

Answer 3

Gouramis are quite territorial. They don't fight like their well known cousin the betta, but they will fight over space. Once one becomes dominate, he will continue to try to push the loser out of his territory. Of course the loser has no where to go and will continue to be attacked. This will eventually lead to the death of the weaker fish. The only solution is to seperate them.

MM

Answer 4

Males will fight but not like bettas -- one will eventually dominate and the other will look pretty ragged. They should be separated or at lease provide a hiding place for the weaker one.

Answer 5

That is very normal. They are very territorial and it is very likely that they will fight to the death.

You can have one male, or one male and females