I have 4 Fire Honey gourami (1 male and 3 female). Last night when the tank lights were off, the one male and one of the females were swimming tightly up against each other, with the male facing the females tail and vice versa. It looked like some sort of courtship thing almost....

But then today, we noticed 2 of the females doing the same thing..... so, is this an aggressive sign or are they just confused females trying to mate, lol?

They are supposed to be the most docile gourami available, and we got 3 females so the male doesn't pester one to death trying to mate.

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If you have read through threads on here you know Gouramis are far from docile when it comes to another Gourami. That does not sound like a mating ritual, but more one of dominance. I have seen the same thing with male to male. Also, I personally don't believe you do the same male/female ratio for egg laying fish as you would for livebearers. 3 to 1 is a bit much for a tiny tank....remember fish personalities change in confined environments. Even if a Gourami is suited for a 20g tank, it does not mean you can load it up with a bunch of them. A moot point really....I don't think you'l have to worry about having 4 in there for very long.

Oh..... o_O!!!! Three of them seem to be hunky dory together but one female hangs out at the surface a lot.... I'll keep an eye on her.

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You did not get the least aggresive Gourami. The least aggresive is probably the Lace Gourami. What you saw is a mating dance. Has the male built a bubble nest? In most bubble nest builders, once the eggs have been laid the male tales care of the eggs and spawn and the female is useless and is bullied and driven away.

I haven't noticed a bubble nest as of yet, but I'll keep an eye out.

The lone female has re-joined the group. She's still a tad more shy that the other 3, but is definitely not getting bullied.

I haven't noticed the weird dancing anymore. Just the main 3 swimming together, with the shy one joining them often, then going off on her own in the plants to forage.

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