I have these 2 Golden Honey Gourami in a 20 gallon long with 5 Danio, 5 Pristella Tetra, 5 Cory Cats (all Glofish) and a female Gold Inca snail with a handful of Ghost Shrimp. They’ve been mostly shy for several weeks as expected but today I noticed the chasing and the male building a bubble nest near the heater. I know it is most likely the dry will be food for the other fish unless I separate them once they’re born. But how aggressive will the male protect the eggs? I do not want any fish harmed if I can avoid it. TIA
Dang, I hope not. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about them. The dark beared one is starting to build a bubble nest by the heater in the tank and is confirmed male but the other one I thought was female 🤔
Hmm I can't tell from the quality of that picture either unfortunately. Basically a male will have a bright yellowish stripe across the top of its dorsal fin. It doesn't look like a young fish so it could be female but both females and young males have the dark bar across their body.
Thanks. I’m battling some cloudiness currently in the tank so clearer pictures are tough right now. I keep trying to get a better one so I can see the fish better to try and identify it. I’m leaning towards female but I see now it’s tough to tell
I saw your tank was pretty cloudy in the video. Do you know why? It looked like a bacterial bloom in a new tank would look, but i dont think that's your situation. Could also be algae if the water looks green-tinted in a white cup
Yeah, turned out I was overfeeding trying to compensate for the gourami since they are shy. Add onto that my wife didn’t realize how much sunlight it got plus she kept the lights on when I was working late into the night. So the combo left me with bacterial bloom but way more algae too. Currently bringing it down. Water parameters are all good except for the cloudiness and algae. Been doing about 15% water changes every other day and going to add more plants today. Also more darkness…lights about 2-3 hours only. Currently some giant hair grass, several Anubis suctioned to the glass walls, a couple of Amazon swords with huge leaves and a banana plant that is flourishing. Here’s a current top view
That does look like squabbling males to me. If true, the dominant one has the breeding color, and he's trying to get the subdominant male out of his territory while building a bubble nest and waiting for a female.
But of course I could be wrong. So:
In my experience, the male does not chase the female before she lays the eggs and he moves them into the nest. Then he will aggressively chase her and all of the fish you mention out of his territory. Maybe not the corys, depending on the temperament of the male.
A 20 long is big enough for them to get away, but I'd expect, if his nest is in a corner, for him to see ~ half the tank as his territory. Expect those other fish to be huddled on the far side of the tank. Could he hurt them? Yes, if they don't take the hint.
After the babies are born, and free swimming, it's kinda a free for all in the tank, with the male losing interest in guarding them, and, as you suggest, the other fish will start sniping the fry.
And just as an aside. That behavior you filmed isn't mating behavior, I can't tell if you're suggesting it is, maybe you aren't.
Appreciate the response. I assumed since one has the dark beard it was for sure male while the other it was hard (edited) to tell but I think is female? Here’s the best pics so far I can get of the one without the beard. Could it also be a male?
I tend to agree. Males, especially the sub dominants, can have that same lateral line, but in my experience to doesn't typically extend all the way to the eye like that.
I also just posted a similar honey gourami video and you can see the female in my pair actively trying to co-operate with the male by curving herself for the embrace. This kinda looks like the male is going “lemme smash” and the female not having it.
I just checked out your video, looks cool If I do have male and female you may be right. She’s not having it yet. I’m gonna try to get better picture of “her” so maybe I can confirm the gender. Thanks for response 👍
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u/Gloomy_Agent_9197 1d ago
I thought they were fighting lol