chocolates and kuhlies..

[Tristan]

Hi guys...
Chocolate gouramies are suppose to be shy fish and all... but all the ones I've kept are highly aggressive and end up killing each other till only one is left... is this normal? all my other fish seem to be quite happy... tia...
Also... has anyone seen any kuhli loaches around? Thanks.

[DEA]

not normal
perhaps they're in the breeding mood
or more likely, you're overcrowding them too much
sherwin had 8 iirc, no problems with fraticide

[Tristan]

Thanks...
I don't think they are in the breeding mood... no bubble nest...
Might be the overcrowding. My tank is 2ft long... there were 3 in there.
The lone choc seems to be quite happy... he gets a little nippy sometimes. Chases my rasboras around during feeding time.

[stormhawk]

male chocolate gouramis will establish territories in which they will fiercely defend against other intruding fish. if the fishes are of differing sizes, they will establish a pecking order in which the weakest fish is likely to be bullied to death. i guess the fishes u had were all males.
they are not aggressive but once they adapt to their tank, the war begins.

[NinjaFly]

hmm .. initially I was interested in getting the chocolate gouramis in my tank, but after your post of them being aggressive and territorial, I think I will have to give up the idea of rearing them... coz I got lots of small fishes ...

[stormhawk]

Ninjafly, they're quite easy to keep provided u give them lots of hiding places. keep the gourami population low which lowers aggression. they're fine with most fish except for those that look pretty much like them. i kept them with licorice gouramis before. no problems. all are now in fish heaven though :P

P.S : oh yeah, the chocs just love live daphnia

[stormhawk]

oh yes, just for info, the chocs are mouthbrooders. not bubblenesters. one of the parents will incubate the eggs in the mouth cavity, just like some cichlids do. u can see whether they're carrying eggs just by looking at their mouths. bulging mouths = carrying eggs. try to reduce any disturbance to the tank and u'll pretty much be surprised if u see any tiny baby gouramis swimming around.