Gourami Freaking Out

[discus dreamer]

Hi
When I do water changes the gouramis tend to get under the new water coming in. I try to get the temp right and engourage them up to the other end of the tank. Today they both were getting right under the water coming in a small jugful at a time and since then have been either hiding low down behind the plants or going completely mad swimming about and kind of shuddering. Anything I can do apart from keeping the tank calm as possible?
DD

 

[WILDER]

Hi
When I do water changes the gouramis tend to get under the new water coming in. I try to get the temp right and engourage them up to the other end of the tank. Today they both were getting right under the water coming in a small jugful at a time and since then have been either hiding low down behind the plants or going completely mad swimming about and kind of shuddering. Anything I can do apart from keeping the tank calm as possible?
DD

Just let them settle down, sounds like the water was cooler then the tank water you put in, just keep an eye on them, good luck.

 

[discus dreamer]

Thanks
they seem ok now although still a bit subdued. Will be more careful with the temperature in future.
DD

 

[WILDER]

Be careful with adding new water match the temp, as it can cause deseases, good luck.

 

[andywg]

Matching temperature in FW fish is not very important at all when doing water changes.

Unless you are doing huge changes (more than 30%) then the water will differ little.

Assuming the tap water is 6 degrees C (as it can get in the middle of winter) and you change 20% of the water in a tank that is 24 degrees C then the lowest it will fall to (assuming there is noheater on and no heating effect on the water and it comes in at once) is 21.6 degrees C. A drop of 2.4 degrees, something fish can cope with more than easily enough.

For a real life example, I change 40 % of my largest tank and the tempereature never drops by more than 2 degrees. And this is tank is filtered by sumps, so there are no heaters on when the water is being changed.

A large number of fish actually like the cooler temperatures that can come in on a water change (It induces spawning in cories).

Matching temperature is just not necessary in the majority of water changes.

 

[WILDER]

If the fish was shuddering sounds like the water change was to cold.

 

[andywg]

Why? Where is there evidence that shuddering is caused by the water change being too cold. These aren't warm blooded mammals that shiver in order to keep their body temperature at the required internal level. They are cold blooded where the temperature of the water governs the internal tempereature of the fish (hence why their metabolism increases in hot weather).

If the water change really was too cold,and the fish suffer, why would they sit under it?

 

[discus dreamer]

Thanks for the input
just an update and report of some interesting behaviour.
Gouramis are fine now and today the next water change. They behaved as usual when I was tidying up plants etc coming around and getting close up to the action but when it came to putting in the water (had it same temp as tank) they both hid at the far end low down amongst the plants until I had finished. Some kind of learned reaction there, didn't know that could happen with fish after just one bad experience.
DD

 

[WILDER]

Ok, glad there well bless them, yes fish are not stupid as some people like to make out.