# Well this is embarrassing. . .



## waterbox (Nov 26, 2011)

So, I consider myself a reasonably conscientious aquarist. I have a large freshwater tank with three species of gourami, a big school of cardinal tetras, six clown loaches, six otcinclus cats, several corydoras cats--nothing too exotic.

Today, I saw two fish I have no recollection of buying swimming around near the back of the tank. They are clearly dwarf gouramis--you know, that nice orange "flame gourami" variety with the blue-tipped dorsal fin. I thought I just had two adult males and one adult female, but these two fish were clearly well below adult size--about 2cm long, including their tails.

I have been seeing one of the adult males back there behind all the water sprite tending a bubble nest, but every time he went near the female (who is incredibly fat!) she would chase him away, so I just assumed he was incredibly frustrated and having no luck in getting her under the nest. I was worried the female was either egg bound or maybe had parasites of some kind.

And then I see these two female dwarf gouramis I'm certain I never bought swim out into the open.

I mean, how old is a two-centimetre-long dwarf gourami? At least a couple of months? I hate to think how many fry were probably eaten. Or sucked into the filter.

I know these fish aren't particularly difficult to breed, but I feel as if my teenaged daughter just came home with a toddler and it's the first I've heard of it.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

hahah thats awesome, well at least you dont need to buy any more fishies, at least its one or 2 not like 300 or so when my sa cichlids go off


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## waterbox (Nov 26, 2011)

That's what I mean, though: it probably _was_ a couple hundred when the brood started out!

What the hell have they been eating? I guess just algae and microbes until they were able to choke down bits of flake food.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

scraps , grazing, its the way it goes, and yeah your filter or the other inhabitants of the fish tank most likely ate the others


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

I have cleaned out my sump and found 1/4 inch red devils living in amongst the filter media totally healthy and I ad no idea there were any survivors


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