I'm worried about my Gourami

[Lakea]

Last week one night my Gourami went nuts and started thrashing around the tank banging into the walls. I figured he must have gotten spooked cause this was the first time he ever did something like that. A couple of nights later he did it again. Once again I figure something must have scared him. I changed his water and all that. No problems for a few days and then one night he thrashed about his tank, but he did it like five separate times that night, it last for about a minute and as far as I know he has never down it during the day. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[MissFishy]

Is this a new tank? When was it set up and how long has he been in there? When he does the thrashing, does it do it when you just turn on the lights? When you just walk up to the tank? See if you can figure out what is spooking him.

 

[S-kate]

I read somewhere that Guoramis are more sensitive to sound and vibrations than other fish. Does it happen when loud music is playing or with other loud noises?

 

[Lakea]

He has been in his tank for about eight months. He does this at like 2 am when its completely dark, no loud noise, no one is moving around I just wake up to splashing. And it happens so randomly he'll go days without thrashing about. I just don't see any event, anything different that would cause this.

 

[S-kate]

Thats strange. Have you looked closely at his gills and scales for parasites? Fish will thrash about to try to get flukes or fish lice off. I really can't think if any other reason.

 

[Lakea]

I didn't see anything, I'm not sure what I was looking for but they look perfectly normal. He hasn't done it in a few days, but now all he does is hang out by the carbon filter thing where the bubbles come out. He ate some, but not his normal amount.

 

[MissFishy]

I would get some water parameter measurements ASAP. Please post those.

What is the temperature? If he is hanging out by the air bubbles, it may mean the tank does not have enough oxygen. This can happen when the water is too hot, as hotter water holds less than colder water.

 

[Lakea]

Well since the last time I posted my gourami has not thrashed about at all and he has been eating good, still hangs out by the filter, but swims around the tank more. My ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all about 0 my pH is between 7.0 and 8.0. The temperature is about 74. I did change the filter and got a new airstone. I haven't had anymore problems so far, I still don't know what happened, but he seems to be over it.