Gouramis are one of the loveliest fish to keep in the home aquarium, they are very colorful and could be quite funny sometimes due to their behaviors. They are freshwater and also tropical fish too. There are many species and subspecies of Gourami fish such as dwarf Gouramis, Pearl Gouramis, blue Gouramis, etc. Some are very aggressive, and some could be specified as semi-aggressive, but all Gouramis are aggressive. In this article, we will know if Gouramis fight each other or not.
Do Gouramis fight each other? Yes, all Gouramis, especially the male are very territorial and aggressive, and they usually perceive others as threats and will fight with them.
There are many reasons why they do fight themselves, which we will discuss later in this article.
Talking of Gouramis fighting each other, this is seen more in the male side than in the females.
The males fight each other, for many reasons which are as follows:
Reasons Why Gouramis Fight Each Other
1. They fight themselves because of territory:
As I mentioned above, all Gouramis are territorial in nature, especially the males.
So they perceive any other fish around their self-acclaimed territory as an invader that needs to be dealt with, so they will become so aggressive with the perceived invading fish and will try to fight him off his acclaimed territory.
2. Another reason why they fight each other sometimes is to establish the dominance of the tank, and to get the best females:
This normally happens when there is more population of the male Gouramis in the tank.
When the population of the male is bigger than that of their female counterparts, then, they will become very aggressive toward each other to get the best female for themselves to mate with.
The recommended ratio of mixing both genders of any species of Gourami is 2-3 females per 1 male. With this ratio, they won’t fight over the females because they will all have enough females to mate with.
Again, you might want to keep them in a very large tank, depending on their population, so that, they won’t be domineering and territorial too, as they will all have enough space on their own.
3. They could sometimes fight over food:
Although all animals do this, so do Gouramis too, more especially their male folks.
When food is introduced, you might see the bigger ones chasing the smaller ones away from the food.
4. Sometimes they could become very aggressive and start chasing or bullying the smaller ones among them for no particular reason.
This is sometimes done by females, especially when they are pregnant.
Pregnant Gouramis could sometimes get very aggressive, and again the males could be very fierce when guarding the bubbles or the eggs inside the bubbles they made which were laid by the females.
5. Another factor that could make them more Aggressive is the type of water they’re are in, and also the size of the tank.
Naturally, once they are in a small tank, they must be engaging each other in a fight, whether males or females.
The type of water they are in, such as wrong water parameters, and the toxins that breed in the water such as nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, etc could breed frustration in them, thereby making them far more aggressive than they were than they become very intolerant of each other.
Do Gouramis Fight Themselves?
Yes, they do fight themselves for some reason because they are naturally aggressive, although some could tolerate each other to some extent.
Although some are considered to be semi-aggressive like the Pearl Gouramis and some are considered to be very aggressive in nature, but in all, they do fight themselves sometimes.
Any species of Gourami you could think of could fight each other, be it Pearl Gouramis, Dwarf gouramis, Blue Gouramis, Honey Gouramis, Golden Gouramis, etc.
How To Stop Gourami Aggression
There are some factors I stated above that could trigger more aggression in any species of Gourami, so for you to stem their aggression, you must first of a have to discover the main cause of the aggression, then solve the issue once and for all.
If it is about small tank size, then you must have to get a very big tank to keep them, to provide more rooms for them.
If it is about food, pregnancy, or all about a bully, then, have your tank planted and put in place many hiding places such as caves, pipes, and substrates, where they will hide and get out of each other’s way and territory.
FAQ about Gouramis aggression:
Are Blue Gouramis Aggressive?
Blue Gouramis are considered the most aggressive species of all the Gouramis. Their male is highly intolerant of each other and other animals too, while their females are semi-aggressive.
So, if you choose to keep this specie of Gourami, then you must have a very large tank, and hiding places, depending on how many you want to keep.
How Many Gouramis Can You Keep Together?
The recommended number of Gouramis to keep in a tank is 4-8, with the ratio of 2-3 females per 1 male.
This is highly recommended because it will go a long way to curb their excessive aggression.
Although they could sometimes fight each other, but they do very well in small groups of 4-8 which consists of more females than males.
