Gouramis as "the butler"
The angelfish are both babies, and SEEM extraordinarily peaceful. In regard to the Gouramis, I had to return the gold Gourami to the store, as he was terrorizing the powder blue one, but he would have been in the tank a full 24 hours before I added the powder and realized they couldn't co-exist.  He only seemed aggressive towards his own kind, but I suppose he could have done it.  Also, the Danios are about the same size as the tetras and they play chase with each other quite a bit-although neither seems to dominate.
That said, however, the tetras ranged in size from babies to adults, and I think the one that got killed was one of the smaller ones.  Could one of the Danios have done it?
<If the fish was weaken or damaged by another fish then the other fish start looking at the wounded fish as food. At that point they are probably all guilty.>
There's still 5 out of 6 in there, though, and I would think that if it were a fish still in the tank that he would have taken out another one. I plan to clean gravel and change water today, so I guess it's possible that I'll find his body and find that he died of natural causes-although I still imagine he'd be viewed as food and eaten already if that were the case.  Is that correct?
< I think any dead fish soon becomes looked at as food by the others.-Chuck>
Cyndy Monarez/Thomas Nelson

Gourami shredding goldfishes
I have a 20 gallon long with 3, 4 inch goldfish in it. And 1 blue Gourami. I have had the tank for 2 years with no major problems. About 2 months ago, I bought a shubunkin fish. It swam with the pack almost immediately. This morning when I woke up I noticed that my blue Gourami was chasing around one of my 2 year old goldfish whom he's lived with all along. His fins are almost shredded and he is floating sideways. I love my fish dearly and am very confused at why this is happening.
<Blue/two-spot/Opaline/gold Gourami (all color morphs of Trichogaster trichopterus) tend to be rather aggressive.  Chances are, with the addition of the new fish, the Gourami felt crowded, and decided to, 'uncrowd' the tank - his way.>
I put my Gourami in another tank for now.
<Good.  Keep him separate from the goldfish, or this'll probably happen again.>
Can I save my Fish in time?
<Hopefully!  Keep your water quality as good as possible, keep up with water changes, and stay on top of ammonia and nitrite.  It might be a good idea to medicate with an antibacterial like Kanamycin sulfate (Aquatronics sells this as "Kanacyn") or Nitrofurazone (Aquatronics sells this as "Furacyn").  Watch him closely for bacterial infection if you don't medicate; wounds are an open door for illnesses to set in.>
All the other fish are fine. And my pH and ammonia levels are normal.  Katana
<Wishing you and your goldfishes well,  -Sabrina>

Gourami question
Hi all,
<Hello Mark>
Can't say enough good things about the amount of help you've given us fish lovers.
<You would, perhaps will do the same>
I've got a 10 gallon freshwater tank.  Some fish have come and gone, but the mainstays in the tank are a 2 1/2 inch Gold Gourami and a 2 1/2 inch Iridescent shark.
My problem is that I've recently begun to add fish to the tank...I added a 2 inch silvertip shark who gets along great with everyone one, but the Gold Gourami seems to be attacking a 1 1/2 inch Blue Gourami that I added.
<Mmm, really, the root of the difficulty here... the size of the tank... too small>
The Gold Gourami has always been aggressive to smaller fish (small leopard puffers and mollies).  I figured that adding a larger sized fish (the Blue Gourami) would help to calm the Gold Gourami down, but he just cant seem to break the habit of chasing all of the other fish around the tank.
<It might work... to isolate the original... gold Gourami... in a breeding trap, or even just a good sized net, hung on the corner of the tank... for a few days... This often re-sets the "dynamics" in a system>
Barring total isolation of one, is there anyway that I can keep the Gourami's together?  The attacking never goes beyond chasing and the occasional nip, but I'm just afraid that the stress will do him/her in.
Thanks for the help,
Mark
<You are likely right... try the isolation trick... and if this doesn't work? Perhaps a larger system? Or a trade-in. Bob Fenner>

Blue Gourami Aggression
I have a blue Gourami fish and just the other day it started chasing around my 2 Bala sharks. When I bought them they were in the same tank.
And the Gourami doesn't seem to care about the other fish in there. I did hear that blue Gouramis can be territorial but at the same time peaceful. Do you think that the Gourami is really out to kill the Bala sharks?
Nick
<Well, some Trichogaster Gouramis do "turn mean", but Bala Sharks are fast and smart... able to stay out of the Gourami's way... if the tank is large enough. Am sure you're aware of how large these minnow-sharks get, their propensity for jumping... Bob Fenner>