Two Really docile Gouramis

[JestersCourt05]

Need some advice on this one. 2 of my gouramis are just kind of huddling together at one of the corners in my tank, and I'm not exactly sure why. I don't know if they could be mating, as I'm unfamiliar with their behavoirs with this. However, when I feed them, they come to eat, but the right back to the corner. The other fish in the tank are swimming around like normal, and I have another gourami that is just fine.
Anyone have any ideas? I've also noticed some orange/reddish strands in the tank. It looks to be maybe just fish waste, but it's the first time I've ever seen it?? Anyone ever come across that??
Thanks

 

[bravefish90]

Hmmm, Sounds wierd, but What are your water parameters? Mollies do that when there is 1) Nitrates above 30 ppm 2) when there is ammonia present IME, Soooo, maybe they are responding to one of the above. About the red strands, no Idea, but when I have hair algea at the shop, on fake plants and such, I douse(SP?) the plant with HOT water and put it back in the tank, and when the algea dies it turns red and floats off.(on a side note, many fish eat those dead algeas)

 

[JestersCourt05]

Well,

Ph - 7.2
Nitrite - .3mg/l
Nitrates - Didn't test
Ammonia - 0mg/l

And the red strands don't look like algae. It honestly looks like waste, but I'm not sure. I'm going to do a partial water change this weekend, because I noticed some buildup in my one corner, and we'll see if that helps any. But I don't know. In a few weeks, I'm actually going to change it over to being a planted tank. So I guess we'll see how it pans out. But I'm not still not sure about their behavoir. They used to be really active, now like I mentioned 2 of them are just really calm and docile up in the corner

 

[bravefish90]

ok, maybe the nitites are irritating them, I don't know about them that much, as my problems have always had to deal with ammonia or nitrates. Anyway It is always good to do a water change when you suspect anything wrong(unless what's wrong is in the tap!!)

 

[f8fan]

is this a newly established tank? Becasue if you have ANY nitrites then the cycling isn't quite complete and the nitrites are not good for the fishies I would do a water change and then do a complete test as in ammonia, nitrites and nitrates....this could perhaps be why the gouramies are a bit freaked out right now.
HTH

 

[slurpor]

Is the 10 gallon temporary? Because, sorry to tell you this but blue gouramis get 4" and you don't have room for even one of them in a 10g. Are they Trichogaster trichopterus (with a spot) or Colisa Lalia (Dwarf Gourami)? It sounds to me like the one doing fine is the dominant gourami. The other 2 are most likely cowering in the corner because they are being harassed by the dominant one. I predict that within 1 month, you will be left with only 1 gourami (the dominant one), just based on my own past experiences with different gouramis.

Also, tiger barbs should be kept in a school of at least 6. If you only keep 1 or 2, they have a tendency to nip and terrorize other fish. I'd find a corner too if I was one of the subdominant gouramis, they are probably being harrassed from all sides. And it may not happen when you're watching.

There may be problems with nitrites etc. also, but even with perfect water, I think 3 gouramis and 2 tiger barbs in a 10g is a combination that is going to cause problems in any case.

 

[bravefish90]

hmm, maybe I should have read your signature too!!

 

[phOOey]

blue gouramis 4 inches? more like 6 IME. So anyway you cant keep them in there for any length of time. Gouramis can be timid fish and may just be hiding because there isnt enough cover, or if they are newly introduced could just be settling in.

 

[JestersCourt05]

I have another 10 gallon that I'm setting up for the Tiger Barbs only (as per my signature it was just laying around). They're not new, as they have been in there a few weeks, but all of a sudden this started. BTW, they are Three Spotted Gouramis, so I'm sure they'll get around 5-6 inches. I may end up having to take them out, and get them somewhere of a bigger tank, because they are really aggressive eaters, and I can definitely tell that they are going to out grow this tank too fast. ( Yes it was going to be temporary) I thought I would have a bigger freshwater tank setup, but I decided to go saltwater instead on my 55. Now it's finding a place for the gouramis. I planned on another water change this weekend, and I'm sure that should take some more of the nitrites down. Everything else seems to be just fine. I'll post test results when I get it done.

*** Also, I know that Tiger Barbs can get to be around 3 inches, and I was thinking of having a few more in the 10 gallon. Good Idea or bad??? ****

 

[CAPSLOCK]

As slurpor said, regular gouramis get too big for a 10 gallon. They are also aggressive to each other; they are related to bettas. So the two hiding are the weaker two, and the other has claimed the entire tank as his territory. The two hiding are going to stress out constantly, and probably don't have enough access to the surface and the air. Even if you moved them all into a bigger tank, the one would still be dominant and the other two would hide (unless it was a massive tank). You really should either return one or both of the hiding ones, or move one or both to the other 10 when it is ready (but moving both to another 10 gallon will just mean one of those will be dominant, and you'll still have 1 hiding one).

 

[JestersCourt05]

Well, what I'm actually thinking of doing, is playing it the safe way, moving the Tiger barbs out of the tank, when the other 10 is ready, and finding someone to take the gouramis. Since I decided to go salt water on my bigger tank, I don't have another bigger freshwater one to put them in. I would feel safer if I can find someone with a bigger tank, rather then just keeping them in the 10 even without the Tiger Barbs. Of course I also just did a water change, so I'm letting that filter out, and I'll post my test results again. Hopefully I can get the Nitrites down to 0 where they belong. Everything else is right on the nose, except that. Now it's time to find them a nice home.

 

[slurpor]

Maybe you can take the gouramis back to the store and get some credit for them. If you wait too long to give them away, you might not have anything to give away. The gouramis are under constant stress, and gouramis develop any number of diseases very quickly from stress. One stressed out gourami can start an epidemic that can wipe out your entire tank- including your barbs.

 

[JestersCourt05]

Well, I'm hoping to get the other tank cycled before that happens, and I've already started checking around. I haven't asked the LFS yet, so I'm not sure if they'll take them. I did do a water change today, and ended up after filtering for a few hours with the following:

Ph. - 7.2
Nitrites - <.3mg/l
Nitrates - approx. 3mg/l
Ammonia - 0mg/l

The Barbs seem to be more active, and the gouramis have moved away from the corner for now, and are a little bit more active. I guess I'll have to just keep an eye on them, and see what takes place.

 

[Velvet AciD]

Hey there! Here's my good ole' honest opinion. The Tiger Barbs are just a very bad idea to have with Gouramies in general. They'll nip and since they're so active they'll start to scare the Gouramies into hiding. I just had this problem and I wound up having to thin out my fishtanks dramaticly.

It might be a good idea to look around for stores that trade fish for store credit.

Since you already have a new planted tank cycling, why not just lay off of the fish for now, and work on stabilizing your water parameters and choosing smaller fish that would work in a 10G planted 'nano'. Trust me, if you love the hobby you'll jump right into planted aquaria and be facinated with it.

If you particulary like Gouramies, try looking into a Dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia). They're a very fun species to have around and are very curious about thier surroundings. I found from previous experience, a Dwarf Gourami and a small school of longfin Danios work well together! Plus the combination of colors in a planted tank would look superb!

But work on your water parameters and get everything cycled, until everything is complete now would be a great time to look into smaller species and do some research! There are a few great articles on cycling with plants on the net and we have a few great ones here too in the Articles section on the main page! Good luck!

 

[JestersCourt05]

VelvetAcid you couldn't have said it better. That tank is actually cycling right now as we speak with just a few plants in it, and some Flourite for them mixed in with my gravel. I thought about putting the barbs in there because of the contrast of the colors I thought would look great, and then actually converting my other tank into a planted tank, then actually getting something more along the schooling line. I had really good luck with Danios in the past, and I'll take that into consideration when looking again. Getting someone/store to take the Gouramis is going to be the challenge. And the water parameters that I posted earlier are for the Gourami tank. I actually haven't done any readings yet on the planted tank. I was going to just let it go for a few days, then take some readings. Maybe I'll do another one tonight, and see where it's at.