Guppy/Gourami Relations

Question
Hi Stephanie.  I have a nice 30G tank with several fish including two very docile turquoise gouramis and five guppies.  One of my female guppies has recently taken to sucking or maybe nibbling on the sides of a male gourami.  I don't think she's nipping or biting because often the Gourami will not know this is going on until he sees her and he has no visible marks as a result.  What in God's name could be causing this sort of behavior?  I've been keeping saltwater tanks for the last year or so and I haven't seen anything like this before!

Answer
Hello,

As odd as this is, I would not worry about it if she is not causing any harm to your gourami. I am unsure why she would do this, but since she is not biting or injuring him it is something that can be ignored.

However, if she ever wounds him or if you see that she is destroying his slime coat then you may want to seperate them.

Sorry I couldn't shed any light on the cause of this behaviour, but very little research has been done into the odd behaviours of fish. As I mentioned above, you shouldn't be too worried about it.

Best of luck.

Regards,
Stephanie