Angry Gouramis??

[Barday]

Hi all,

Something really wierd started happening about a month ago. My gouramis have gone crazy!!

They dart arround the tank smacking themselves on anything or everything. They never used to do anything remotely like this...... any ideas why??

P.s i did a water test and everything seems fine

 

[annka5]

It sounds really like a water issue -if not the params you tested, is there any poisonous item that could've entered the water -spray used in the room, cleaning stuff, or wahever?
Are they likely to be near something making the tank vibrate?

 

[Barday]

hehe, if you see my room you'd know it wasn't a cleaning product!

But they do stay near the filter and after about a week it does clog and make a funny whirring/buzzing/humming sound. you think that could be it?

 

[sylvia]

Though it could be from water issues and it's deffinately related to stress, in this instance I would lean towards over-crowding rather than problems with water quality. What size tank do you have, what fish, how many of each and what sexes are your gouramies? It sounds like your fish are growing up and the space in the tank isn't enough for them any more (or, possibly, you added some new fish lately or re-aranged the tank). Also check your temperature. Is it the same as it's always been? The reason I doubt your problem is water quality is that you only mention the gouramies as acting unusualy and because it has been a month. Poisons int he water would effect most fish immediately and ammonia/nitrIte spikes or high nitrAtes would be seen on the test you say you did (just in case, check again - also check pH - and make sure you're using a liquid-based kit rather than paper strips).

 

[Barday]

I'm not that overstocked. It's a 3ft x 1ft x 1ft tank (almost 90ltrs i think) and i have the following in it:

3 gourami (no idea of the sex)
2 mollies
4 corries
1 ram
1 dwarf frog
3 bn plecs
and ??? bn fry

I have recently rearanged the tank but that was after they started spazing out, I took out quite a few plants. No new fish, and the temp is a bit cooler now, because mr room is not as hot anymore. (water is a steady 25C now)

Ph seemed fine and my test kits are all liquid ones

 

[sylvia]

90 litres is just over 20 gallons I believe - so you are a little over-stocked. Having said that, you'll note I didn't say 'over-stocked' - I said 'over-crowded'. You see, it's all well keeping gouramies in an over-stocked tank - they'll respond like any other fish to bad water quality so you know what to expect - but over-crowd them and they become unpredictable and stressed. I just noticed, BTW, that you didn't actualy mention what species you have. Could you tell me that? If you have three-spots or a similarly large-growing and aggressive species, you need to work out what sex they are before it's too late (and one ends up dead).

 

[Barday]

Hi Sylvia,

Sorry It took a while to get back to you, I was just about to post another question about the same issue, when I saw the original post down the bottom!

Anyway they are 2 Opaline gourami and one pearl. They're not new in the tank either.....all three have been in the tank together for about a year now. The thing is my pleco population has gone a bit crazy! After counting I have about 20-30 pleco fry These things are breeding like rabits!! U think they could be freakin them out?

For some reason there temper has now taken another turn....

Now they are all just hiding under a plant together and only comming out once and a while, and when they do come out i have noticed that they are a lot darker than they used to be.

 

[sylvia]

Do you know what sexes they are? The darkening of color - what exactly do you mean? Is it only the blues or is it the pearl as well? It sounds like they might be going into breeding condition but I'd only expect the blues to considering the low temperature and the fact that the pearl is alone. The blue gouramies (three-spot, trichogaster trichopterus) will breed in pretty much any water and temperature so that wouldn't surprise me much. That may also explain the hiding though I would also expect quite a bit of chasing and aggression if any of the fish have built a bublenest. As for the fry freaking them out, not likely. Unless the fry are darting up and down all over the tank, they shouldn't be an issue with the gouramies. The fact that you changed their tank layout may have caused the gouramies some distress though (as you say they were in there a long time) as they would have had territories that they then had to re-establish. It would make sense for them to now be a little nervous.

 

[Barday]

I mean they have literally darkened in colour. It's a bit more evident in the blues.

When I first got them, the placid one used to be light blue, and the dominant more aggressive one was a much darker shade of blue, but now they are both really dark blue.

I haven't noticed any buble nests but then again the bubbles i do see on the surface I assume are from the melafix I am using to treat my mollies pop eye.

The teritories theory sounds about right. My tank has always been pretty heavily planted untill recently. I did a bit of a clear up and ripped out some old plants.

I ordered a few nice big plants yesterday so I hope they get a bit happier once the tank is a bit more heavily planted.

Thanks again Sylvia

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

They sound stressed. Gouramies love loads of plants to play and hide in. To the point where even the biggest can disappear if they want to. They also love plenty of space each. Mine practically have a species tank now, with the exception of one young female b.n and baby syno I've not been able to catch yet. Oh and an oto that is rarely seen due to the major heavy planting. They live in a 35g and there's 2 males and 3 females....and alot of fry I've failed to catch so far to put in their fry tank.
The males have territories up either end of the tank and don't fight each other, mostly because one male is far bigger then the other despite being the same age. The girls use the whole tank and occassionally get enticed into the males zones for some fun. I mention this because it may be they don't feel happy enough to be establishing territories and males get upset without their own space. Females will get stressed sometimes if they're carrying alot of eggs but it wouldn't last this long.
I wouldn't keep anything else with them. They can get aggressive and/or stressed very easily. The only one I've seen act like that was being bullied and I lost her after less then 24 hours. She did throw herself about alot.
Try and discover the cause of the stress by trial and error. Check no body spray or some such is getting into the tank. They are air breathers and as such will be far more affected by such things then any other fish.
Changed any food types lately? I find mine are quite particular about what flake food they like, despite having a massively varied diet.
Best of luck.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Barday]

Thanks for the reply miss,

Mine seemed pretty calm, they never got aggressive with other species, only with eachother now and then.

I think taking out the internal filter and swapping for an external will probably help with the space and water quality issues, and hopefully my plants will arrive today

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Best of luck. You may find they do get aggressive one they have eggs to look after tho. They don't tolerate anything hanging around no matter what species. Like I said before, my big male started taking chunks out of the catfish and had them all cowering in one place by the time he was through. So smaller fish may find themselves being injured or worse. I hope I'm wrong. My other male is very laid back but you can never tell until those eggs are there.
Hugs,
P.
Edit:I run an external and an internal in my tank for them. The fry don't get sucked in. They're just not that daft.

 

[sylvia]

I can't help mentioning this - your fish probably don't get sucked up by the filter because of your plants. If you try to raise gourami fry in a bare tank the filter will destroy the bubblenest and devour eggs and newly hatched fry. Don't try it with any fish that can't swim against a current. It simply doesn't work and has absolutely nothing to do with the fish' intelligence levels. Also, do take note of what Miss Dib Dabs is saying as far as aggression is concerned - three-spots do become more aggressive towards non-gourami tankmates, as well as each other, when breeding. I'd be worried about the pearl mostly though. Just keep an eye on them all.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Yes that probably is true. My wilderness is a fairly good preventative against fry getting sucked up. But, to be fair the fry in my fry tank don't have the same overgrown madness and still don't get sucked up so....
And yes to the Pearly watch out. It is in extreme danger against three spots. Mine killed one off with their actions of aggressiveness. Seriously.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Barday]

I should have mentioned this before or even made my edit a bit more obvious. They are Opaline and not 3 spot if that makes a difference......anyway my pearl has never caused a problem to any of the gouramis or other tank mates. And I have never seen any bubble nests so I doubt they are breeding.

Anyway thanks again for the replys guys!