Gourami Behavior

[zackish]

Today I was at a new pet shop on the other side of town that I have never been to. The tanks seemed really healthy and the staff was really knowledgable and helpful.

I am looking to buy a gourami or 2 for my 30 gal tank and all the gouramis there today were just sitting at the bottom of the tank like literally resting. I thought Gouramis liked to swim around a lot and were more mid-top range dwellers? I was just wondering what their normal behavior was and if this was odd they were all just sitting at the bottom. I don't know if they were unhealthy or this is normal or what.

[sergo]

bad water conditions, ph changed. they should be swimming around.

[zackish]

Ok thanks, that is weird because most of the fish just seemed to be sitting there stationary.

Also, are gourami generally top dwelling fish?

[sergo]

yes they are. i bet there was a big ph swing there very recently.

[hungryhound]

Gourami's sitting on the bottom of the tank is not normal behavior. It is defiantly a sign of stress or bad water conditions. The fish might improve when you get them home, but they are just as likely to die. I'd recommend going somewhere else to get them if you could.

Ideally the Gourami's should be swimming at all levels, I know our three Pearls hardly ever stay still.

[gm72]

Agreed, go elsewhere.

[zackish]

Well it was only the dwarf blue gouramis in one tank, but in that same tank there were honey gouramis and above it were pearl gouramis and they seemed fine. I don't know how the other fish are suppose to act crowded in a tank in a fish store but all the tetras and stuff looked very very healthy, beautiful fins and such. I really liked this place and it seems like one of the better ones around here. You think something happened in just that tank?
It is only about 15 minutes from me so I might take a ride down there again in a few weeks and see how everything is again.

[NeonJulie]

The dwarf gourami I picked up from Petsmart, was swimming around, checking the decor and plant for food to nibble. The other one was hiding back in the corner... I opted for the one that was swimming around, looking for food. He's still a great eater today and not very shy at all... (his coloring is slightly less good than the first one I had, the other one's turquoise patches were very bright - but he still has marvelous color, and his personality more than makes up for it.)

It could have been a problem with that fish specifically - and it is hard to judge at fish stores... it's just not a natural way for these fish to be. Almost all of them have to be stressed to some extent. See if you can arrange to be there when the store does the feeding, to see if everyone is actively eating. Also see if you can rule out any improper waste, in case it's intestinal parasites, which gourami's can be prone to.

*Also, this is why a quarantine setup is a good idea...

[Lady Hobbs]

I had gourami's some time ago but can't remember their sleeping behavior. Some fish do rest on the bottom when sleeping but if this gourami is one of them, I don't know. You almost have to observe their sleeping behavior at night.

I went into the fish store one day to see a whole pile of goldfish laying on the bottom in a pile. I thought they were all dead but it was nap time for them.

[RobbieG]

I've got one (a three spot) that spends a few hours every day "sitting" on a fake log. He's a couple of years old and has done it pretty much his whole life.

I still wouldn't buy one if it was one of a bunch sitting on the bottom of the tank at the petstore.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

so ph changes can make them sit at the bottom? i just got a dwarf gourami but i forgot to lower the ph before i put him in so i had to do it afterwards. since then he's been at the bottom of the tank he seems to be moving around more everyday but not as much as in the store. will they recover and swim around normally again?

[gm72]

Possibly, depends on your water parameters among other things.

Why are you trying to decrease your pH? You do understand that stability is usually more important than the actual number, yes?

[zackish]

Possibly, depends on your water parameters among other things.

Why are you trying to decrease your pH? You do understand that stability is usually more important than the actual number, yes?

Yes GM is right and you need to also understand that fish can tolerate a much wider range of PH than stated in most informational things you find.
I would say most tropical fish can tolerate PH from 6.5 to about 8 or so. It's a really wide range but it's better to be stable and if your fish are always used to a certain PH I would say that they will be fine and there is no reason to change it or anything.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

o boy . . . didnt think about that. my ph was a little over 8 and i dropped it to about 7. . . uh oh i hope my gourami will be alright and my paremeters are 0 0 and like .10 nitrates as of yesterday

[Lady Hobbs]

You need to be careful dropping pH so much at once, as well. It should be dropped gradually over a period of a few days.

[sergo]

wow that's a pretty big ph change. that will definitely make for some unhappy fish. be careful doing that. what are you using to drop it? if it's one of those ph down bottles, it bounce right back up causing more stress. actual buffering is what should do and at water change time so it's a slow progression. i took about a month to lower my ph from 8 to 7 and i was using buffers. the reason why i took so long is to see how the buffers actually worked so i wouldn't hurt any fish while "experimenting".

[~Erik3.8.07~]

ya i used that powder stuff. damn i thought i finally did everything right and i messed that up:ssad: what is the best way to lower ph slowely and keep it down? that drift wood stuff?

[sergo]

driftwood has done anything to my ph, but probably because i buffer it to 7-7.2. just make sure you're not doing more than .2-.3 ph changes at a time. i always do my ph adjustments at w/c time.

[gm72]

Erik, I'm still not clear on why you want to drop your pH. Stability, not the actual number, is the key with most fish.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

because im pretty new to this and read what conditions the fish need to survive and didnt think it would be more important to keep it consistant rather than keep lowering it to the recommended ph level

[cocoa_pleco]

as long as its constant the fish should acclimate to it. if you SLOWLY drip acclimate neons to hard water, it is possible