Blue and Gold Gourami mating?

Question

i have 2 male blue gouramis and 1 female gold gourami in a 29 gal tank. it seems that they chase each other. the blue gouramis became darker in color. the gold gourami sometimes chases back. are they fighting or are they mating?

Answer 1

Most likely they are all the same species. Trichogaster trichopterus aka the 3 spot gourami. (3 rd spot is the eye)
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Like most gourami they are territorial. Even between males and females. Color changes are common in both courtship, and aggression. Early on with gourami you'll see a fair bit of chasing, and even fighting. Once they establish a pecking order thing generally calm down. Mating with gourami involve the male building a bubble nest, and courting the female. Given the 2 to 1 gender ratio I doubt mating will ever happen.

PS- Ideally you want more females than males so any given female isn't being picked on too much. For a 29 gallon tank I'd prefer a male, and 2 females. Adding another female might help, but 4 3-spot gourami in a 30 gallon tank is a bit crowded. More hiding spots might be a better solution. Also other non gourami will provide distractions.

Answer 2

If you really have a male and a female, it's quite likely that they will eventually mate. Blue and gold gouramis are the same species (Trichogaster trichopterus); they are just different color morphs. They almost always make their bubble nests at the surface of the water, but I suppose if this is impossible for them, there's some remote chance that the male would build a bubble nest in a hollow log. If you want them to breed, turn off the "bubble wall," and put something such as a floating ring, or half a styrofoam cup (cut lengthwise) to float at the surface as a place where the male will have enough still water to build a bubble nest. Floating plants can also serve the same function.

Answer 3

The first person is right, they are establishing territories. They will only breed if certain conditions exist in your tank. the males need to think it is spawning season and then they will most likely battle over the lone female.

To breed your Gouramis you need to raise the water temp to 80 - 82 degrees and lower the water level in your tank. You should also make sure the water surface is very still and there are some good floating plants to build a bubble nest in.

I suggest you change your set up to 1 male and 2 females.

Answer 4

I would check their behavior a little more closely. Their mating rituals are similar to that of Betta's.(same family) If the male is chasing the female into a hiding place and she is staying there for a little while and then going back out into his sight to be chased back that is often the start of mating for them. The gourami bubble nest is a little different in that they normally use the leaves of fine-leaved plant incorporated into the nest. If you don't have any fine-leaved plants it may stunt the ritual a little.

Answer 5

They're trying to pair off, the two males are fighting and the female is selecting, one imagines the female is only attacking one male, if so she's made her choice and you should remove that male, then they would probably get down to business.

Answer 6

they wont be mating because they arent the same type of gouramis they are probably fighting and the color changes is because there mad

Answer 7

They are establishing territory