# My gold gourami is a murderer-now what? need new tankmates



## Kreutz

In a 50 gallon tank I have

1) aforementioned gold gourami.
2) 5 neon tetras
3) 1 pleco
4) 1 small bala shark
5) a few ghost shrimp
6) 2 african dwarf frogs
7) had two sunset platys

Ok, the gourami killed my two sunset platys. Its harassed and chased them constantly, forcing them to constantly live under cover...one went into a shell (a literal shell, not a metaphorical one) and starved to death as it just never came back out and I discovered him during a routine gravel cleaning. T

Today it just bit and rammed the other one to death, didnt know toothless fish could draw blood...but it did. 

It has shown *no* interest in the tetras or anything else on my list, but now the last platy is dead its starting to show aggression towards the bala shark...who is twitchy and paranoid enough as it is. 

This forces me to ask...what else can I put in my tank that will either be ignored, defend itself, or keep the gold gourami in check? This guy is due for an *** kicking IMO. *c/p*

Help is appreciated!


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## Lil Gashog

Hang him!!! jk that does sound weird never heard that happen before can you put more gouramis in the tank???


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## Kreutz

Lil Gashog said:


> Hang him!!! jk that does sound weird never heard that happen before can you put more gouramis in the tank???


Id like another gourami (ideally a powder blue), so im consulting the experts here for input on what to get next. :fish5:


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## NeonShark666

I have had a lot of experience with Blue Gouramis and have not noticed them to be bullies, though some of the literature says they are. Remember the Gold is just a color phase of the Blue. Some fish often become bullies when isolated from others of their kind. I would suggest you get 2 or 3 more Golds and not buy a fish smaller than your Gold again. Any of the larger Catfish would not be bullied by you Gold. Kribs and small Angels would also not be intimedated by you Gold. Congo Tetras are much too fast for the Gold to catch them and are lare enough to scare the Gold. Make sure your tank has plenty of hidding places, like large plants and rocks.


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## susankat

Believe it or not, but they do have teeth. Just so small sometimes that they are hard to see.


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## brightobjects

I have a similar situation. My Gold Gourami chases everyone around but mostly bothers the blue gourami. 

1 gold gourami
1 blue gourami
6 rummy nose terta
1 red fin shark

I was thinking of taking the gold one back and getting another female blue.


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## Kreutz

Well, after getting another gourami in the hopes that would calm it down, it immediately started biting the new gourami, when he fled it went after the guppies.

Tiring of this, i decided to take matters into my own hands. I decided a final solution was necessary, and with a heavy heart, I dropped the gold gourami into the water dish of my snake, who handled it. 

He will be missed. 

Curiously the fish in my tank are in a much better mood now; even my bala shark, who it never directly attacked, is now no longer twitching and swims around freely.


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## ReganH22

I am having the same issue with my blue gourami now. He keeps chasing the gold gourami around and wont even let it up to the top of the tank. He hasn't started messing with the other fish yet, but after reading your thread, I'm a little nervous.


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## jerichodrum

My boss has three blue gourami. Recently they have started a killing spree. 
they leave the bala's alone. Probably becase the bala's are large. (4 inches).
the gourami have killed all the barbs (5) and have started attacking one of their own. 
HE has had the fish for years so Im thinking its a maturity thing.


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## croatian2

I have a large gold one and an opaline one .
The gold one is now become aggressive to the opaline one in my tank aswell.
Seems to be a gold thing


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## jerichodrum

My boss has decided... 
his blue gourami has to go. 
The larger blue has started chasing the others into hiding. So they stay in the plants. 

So.. the decree was.. "get him outta here or I flush him"
Gonna go pick him up in a few.


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## chris oe

Blue gouramis - every one I have every been even tangentially aware of has turned out eventually to be a monster. That's not to say every blue gourami is a monster or will be, only that every one I've had, my family has had or any of my friends have had have turned out to be blood thirsty killers waiting for their opportunity. 

Truth be told it isn't the fish's fault. They're likely very territorial and misunderstood. Probably under the right set of circumstances with the right tank mates and conditions they don't feel the need to murder anybody, but if they are uncomfortable, if they do feel threatened or crowded or like their living space isn't right in some way they have the power and the will to kill whatever fish stands in their way. Probably not a beginner fish, no matter how hardy, probably only marginally a community tank fish.


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## jerichodrum

LOL blood thirsty killer LOL

He would only chases the other gourami
'Course the sharks are 4" inches long. So i think he was afraid of them. 
and he didnt bother the tetras after he killed one.

so dunno.. .. either way. going to put him in a 10 gallon. 
And he is pissed


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## jrman83

My blue dwarf has killed 3 other Gouramis, but tends to leave everything else alone. I've never seen them aggresive toward other fish, just each other.


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## chris oe

Our first blue gourami (which we were given as tweens) killed two goldfish twice his size. (I'm sure you'd like to tell me about not putting gouramis and goldfish in the same tank, but you'd need to time travel back to the seventies and convince my sisters as well, who were I think around 11 and 6 at the time).


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## jerichodrum

chris you are hilarious. 


this one is a psycho
put him in tank with my boesmani while I got the tank ready. 

He went nuts. Attacked while I was setting up. 
So I had to do a rush job. 
now hes sitting in a corner mad cause I isolated him


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## pringleringel

I have a large male gold that has a 55g all to himself. Only because he came with the tank. 

I put 5 BS Tetras and a small eartheater in with him and they were all dead the next morning.

He's going up for adoption as soon as I have the tank ready for some cichlids though. 


Now, I have a young female gold in my 20g with 2 white tetras, 5 neons and a couple mollies. She is a sweet fish so far. She doesn't mind the other fish at all so far and she loves attention. I think she doesn't bully the fish because when we brought her we had another female with her that constantly bullied her to the point she was VERY stressed. I took out the mean one and she is appreciative I think.


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## Mrmike

The thing to remember is that anabantoids (gouramis and bettas) are old world fish comapable to cichlids.... but with air breathing added. So yeah, territorial as anything, feisty, aggressive..... and if mixed with cichlids enough alike to really have issues, but with enough difference in body language to make the issues usually fatal for someone.


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## jerichodrum

Yep.. this guy is hateful as all getout. 
Think I will call him Terminator. Cause he's got that "blood thirsty killer waiting for the opportunity" .. _(thanks chris_oe)_ style to him.


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