Crazy dwarf

[Whitey]

Last night i was just layin watching my tank, for like hours. and i noticed something very strange, all of a sudden my male dwarf gourami started darting around the tank, shooting in every direction really fast for like a few seconds then stopped and carryed on as normal, but is this normal?

What do ur dwarfs do? Mine spends most of the time lookin at himself in the reflection and swimming back and forth across the back of the tank.

Help will be appreciated, YT.

 

[oneponygirl]

Mine is always busy, busy, busy. Poking at the crab, checking the boundries of the tank. No darting like that but I haven't had him for very long either so who knows.

 

[sylvia]

Was there nothing in the tank or around it that could have startled him? This sudden darting would be a sign of fear if he is suddenly disturbed (by sudden movements, noise, vibrations, change in light etc) or a reaction to irritation from some kind of parasite (it may have been 'flashing' - an early sign of ich/velvet) or, I'm sure, a number of other things depending on the cicumstances.

What I'm wandering, because you say it was the evening, is how long you keep your tank's lights on for and if you turned them on or kept them on for longer in order to watch the fish. He may have reacted to a change in routine the way you described or may have been startled by the lights coming on/being turned off or even by lights outside the tank. I know many of my fish tend to dart around just as the lights come on or just after if it isn't at the time they normaly expect. Fish like routine and a strict schedule. Variation upsets them.

 

[Whitey]

how long would u say my lights should be left on for MAX. there was nothing there to startle him i dnt think, hes fine today but last nite i noticed he done a weird little routine around a rock and up the tank and back down by the glass, and over and over again for like half an hour!?

 

[sylvia]

That's a sign of stress. Try to determine what from and correct it - it could be water params, a lack of hiding places (especialy floating plants) to make him feel secure, too many overly-active, aggressive, nippy or large tankmates, overcrowdedness, too small a tank, he's unable to establish a territory because of other fish or because you haven't provided any plants/ornaments he would like to use, too strong a current, it could be disease or it may be parasites or a number of other things for that matter. You just have to try to make the conditions ideal for him and this should stop. As a last resort, re-arange the tank. This will make him feel a little insecure at first but it will also add interest to his environment and he'll begin exploring it and spending more time searching for food and so on. I suggest you begin by testing your water (all parameters), ensuring everything is perfect, then adding some floating plants and maybe some tall, rooting plants and then consider your stocking and tank size so that you are sure your other fish are not stressing the gourami.

The max. time you should keep your lights on for is 12 hours and you should make sure that they are turned on and off at the same time every day. Maybe get yourself a timer to make sure it is consistent.