Gourami and other fish help....?

Question

Okay so in the last two weeks I have lost three fish mysteriously in the middle of the night. Now originally I thought it was my Pleco, since they can become aggressive and territorial.

So I have been feeding him and watching for a few nights now with no aggression from him, he does shoot out of his castle pretty fast but then gently searches the floor for food. But tonight I notice my 3 inch blue 3 spotted gourami "suction cupping" so my full grown dwarf gourami, and the dwarf just kinda took it... it seemed kinda like it was trying to get away then kinda sat there and took it, I broke it up (the three spot is terrified of people) and didn't see any scales missing from the dwarf but he was breathing awfully hard. Is this normal? Or is this something I should be worried about? About the time I started losing fish I had re-arranged the plants (they are fake) and took some out so the two gouramis could fit in between them, and I have noticed the three spot coming out of hiding in the castle a lot more now and he seems much happier. Could it be that he is now becoming territorial and is killing the other fish? The fish I have lost are two guppies and a otto cat fish.

All the other fish are small and non aggressive types, so it is either the three spot or the pleco. and the three spot seems afraid of his own shadow and the pleco seems pretty docile. any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I would seriously doubt it's the pleco. Try isolating the three-spot in another tank to see if the fish stop dying. It could be you have an illness in your tank. See how it goes.

Answer 2

Are your gouramis male? If so, only one can be in the tank (gouramis are like bettas, only one male per tank), they will get territorial with other kinds of male gouramis.

Answer 3

It's either your Gourami or circumstance.

Gourami, as mentioned above, are territorial with other Gourami and male Gourami are like Betta's.  They have a labyrithn organ like the Betta's that allow them to live in water with low oxygen content.

Males will fight other males.  However, it is possible to have 1 other Gourami with a big tank and heavy plant cover.  But you would need a larger tank for this due to the territorial instinct the tank...needs to be big (55 Gallons or more) for 2 Gourami.  Yet, generally only one male to a tank.

Dwarf Gourami get only bout 2.5 to 3 inches.  Either way, Gourami are Gourami and if the space is small the more aggressive one will dominate the other to submission and even death.

What size tank do you have?

Pleco's are usually only aggressive to other Pleco...therefore it is wise to have only one of these in your tank.  Pleco do not usually show aggression to other fish.  Also, beware, your Pleco can grow up to 18 inches and will need about 75 Gallons.

Another key point is hiding spots.  Lots of Plant Cover (plastic or silk) is best with a couple of "castle's" or logs.

Another point on the Gourami...I have a Kissing Gourami that is 8 inches and a Dwarf Gourami in the same tank...the tank they are in is 55 Gallons and I have had no problems to date.  My tank has light to medium plant cover in some parts and heavy cover in one part.  They both utilize the whole tank.  So it can work.  If your tank is under 29 Gallons, you will continue to have issues.  20 Gallons is the minimum you want for one Blue Gourami "3 spot".  Though they only usually grow to about 4-6 inches...they can be aggressive to smaller fish...so to keep it with fish similiar in size is smart.  The Blue Gourami (3 spot) is one of the most aggressive of the species...though they seem afraid and timid...they tend to come out at night more and are afraid of loud sounds or tapping on the tank....dont let this fool you on it's nature.  They are considered semi-aggressive.

Best of Luck!