Did I make a mistake?

[DrNic]

I have a pearl grourami in with my neons tetras and corys. Everyone has gotten along great and the pearl hasn't picked on anyone.

This past weekend I went to the pet store and saw 2 dwarf flame gouramis on sale. I've wanted to add some to my neon tank for a while so I couldn't resist buying them. I got them home and acclimated them without a problem. What I've found today however is that the 2 dwarf gouramis are hiding in the back of the tank. When they poke their heads out the pearl gourami chases them off.

I haven't seen any actual nipping yet, and neither of the dwarfs seems to have any damage yet but I'm worried that if this keeps up I could lose the dwarfs.

In theory I can move the dwarfs into my platty tank. I also have a 10G farm tank. I'm not sure what it's cycling state is currently as I don't actively keep fish in it.

What do you guys think? Should I just wait it out or should I pull the fish now before anything happens?

[rich311k]

Not unsual for gouramis they can be very territorial. you could wait a little but it is unlikely the pearl will change. The odd fact is that pearls are one of the milder mannered gouramis, the only reason I think waiting a bit may work.

[DrNic]

Not unsual for gouramis they can be very territorial. you could wait a little but it is unlikely the pearl will change. The odd fact is that pearls are one of the milder mannered gouramis, the only reason I think waiting a bit may work.
Yeah I knew that pearls were pretty passive, that's why I wanted one for this tank. I was really surprised at what I was seeing though.

[Lab_Rat]

You added two threats to the pearl's established territory. This is asking for trouble. If you can I would return the dwarfs. Also, two dwarf males in a tank together is asking for trouble, even without the pearl in the mix. So to answer your question, yes, you made a mistake. That is ok, just take steps to correct and learn from it.

[DrNic]

I was home for a good portion of the day writing my thesis. I was reasonably happy to see the new dwarfs out and about in the tank. The pearl was chasing them a little but he seemed to tone it back again.

I'm going to give this another couple of days (maybe the week). If there are still problems I'll move them into another tank or something. Because the fish were on sale I can't return them, store policy.

[Northernguy]

I think the pearl will always chase them a bit.I don't think it will get too nasty.Some floating plants to block line of site will help.

[DrNic]

I think the pearl will always chase them a bit.I don't think it will get too nasty.Some floating plants to block line of site will help.

Yeah, I was thinking that too. I have the tank setup with a rather open space at the moment so the neons are easily visible. Maybe I'll try to toss some larger java ferns in or something...

[Taurus]

If anything is going to work (and it may not), adding the Java Fern will provide more structure for the gourami. The gourami may settle down and accept each other, but I wouldn't count on it. If you could fit more drift or bogwood in the tank, that would also help.

Good Luck with the attempt though Nic. :22:

[DrNic]

Well the situation isn't getting any better really. I added some larger plants into the mix. It helps break the line of sight sometimes but as soon as I feed the fish the pearl just chases the heck out of the dwarfs. I'm working from home this week so I am going to pull someone from the tank tomorrow morning, the question becomes who, and where do they go. I hate to do it but something has to give in that tank before a fish ends up dead.

My instinct is to leave the dwarfs where they are (they seem to be getting along fine), pull the pearl and put it into my angelfish tank. The angelfish are big enough to fend for themselves and are bigger than the pearl so if it has anger issues it might find that it has another thing coming.

How does this sound? My available tanks are listed in my signature (See first post). I'm worried that if anyone goes into the barb tank the barbs will nip them to death and if they go in with the platties the platties will end up getting chased around.

Unfortunately I'm not going to have time to hit the fish store before Sunday at the earliest either. Grrr..... I guess it just goes to show you, make sure you have an exit strategy BEFORE you buy the fish!:hmm3grin2orange:

[rich311k]

My pearl lives happily with angel fish. That should be fine.

[mac]

I see no trouble with Angels and Pearls. I have had no trouble.

Just IMO a 29g would be a bit to small for a Angle, and pearl group IMO.

mac

[Taurus]

I see no trouble with Angels and Pearls. I have had no trouble.

Just IMO a 29g would be a bit to small for a Angle, and pearl group IMO.

mac

Yeah, I gotta agree with that mac. It's not a good situation for the long term.

[DrNic]

Well I moved the pearl into the angelfish tank this morning and things went fine. The angelfish were a little curious about their new tank mate which was kind of fun to watch, but there hasn't been any aggression either way thus far.

The dwarfs are also acting a little calmer for the moment. They've come out of their hiding places and started to explore the tank more. Now that I can see them better I noticed that there were a couple white spots on their tails, so I'm treating with anti-fungals now.

For the moment things are looking better.