[Jacob]

Thanks for the tip, I am a huge fan of chocolate gouramis and there does seem to be some mystery about how they can be kept without killing each other.
It happens again and again with fish it seems, keep them in big enough groups and they are happier. Obviously tons of exceptions, but in fish stores I see big tanks with lots of schooling fish and some ctenopoma acutirostre, and the ctenopoma are active and out in the open. With no other fish around they are aggressive to each other and hide constantly.
And with African cichlids it’s always recommended (or often recommended) to crowd them.
But that’s a little different than keeping a group of one species in the social arrangement they would form naturally in the wild. Then again that probably is the social arrangement African cichlids have in the wild, tons of different species everywhere and lots of commotion.
Introducing the gouramis together all at once, and getting a group that is young might be helpful. Like with piranhas, they will be less likely to kill each other if they have a familiarity that starts at a formative or pliable period of their life. I had a male and female microctenopoma ansorgii in a 5 gallon, the male bullied the female and eventually they bred and after that all the fish tolerated each other, the young were not eaten either.
I wonder if crowding chocolate gouramis helps, in a bigger tank with room to make the school looser, maybe they aren’t forced to tolerate each other and live in a truce. My tank has a root structure, several roots overlapping, and a layer of water sprite, and will have lots of almond leaves, I’m thinking this will give chocolate gouramis hiding places, close proximity to each other, and a safe feeling that will maybe contribute to less aggression. I am going to get information soon from the supplier of these fish to help know what they do that works.