Gouramis Death
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dead on the floor it must have jumped out poor thing but it made me think do fish try to kill them selfs ever???Did you try putting it back in the water? Dward gouramies are labyrinth fish and therefore can, theoreticaly, live their whole lives out of water provided they remain wet. the fish may have been somewhat dehydrated by the time you found it but that doesn't mean it was dead and fish have been known to recover from such suicidal leaps.
As for whether they actualy try to kill themselves, I would assume not
I doubt they have the capacity to realise what concequences leaping out has. However, a lot of fish will jump from their tank in an attempt to escape an unpleasant environment or if they get scared or even if they want to get to the wolr doutside (so to speak). You should cover your tank tightly if you own fish like gouramies that spend a long time near the top or fish that are very active as they often do jump and you'd be surprised how small a hole need be for them to fit through!
As for whether they actualy try to kill themselves, I would assume not
I doubt they have the capacity to realise what concequences leaping out has. However, a lot of fish will jump from their tank in an attempt to escape an unpleasant environment or if they get scared or even if they want to get to the wolr doutside (so to speak). You should cover your tank tightly if you own fish like gouramies that spend a long time near the top or fish that are very active as they often do jump and you'd be surprised how small a hole need be for them to fit through!
Miss Dib Dabs
Loony.
Not that I'm aware of. Not sure their brains are complex enough to commit suicide. 
Oddly I had one of my Labidichromis killed this morning. Seems he got into a fight and wanged his head on the rock cave. Can't be entirely sure having not seen it first hand but looks that way.
Sorry for your loss though. Gouramies are good jumpers so I'd recommend a good solid lid on the tank!
Hugs,
P.
Oddly I had one of my Labidichromis killed this morning. Seems he got into a fight and wanged his head on the rock cave. Can't be entirely sure having not seen it first hand but looks that way.
Sorry for your loss though. Gouramies are good jumpers so I'd recommend a good solid lid on the tank!Hugs,
P.
somewhat dehydrated lolololol i think it may be to late cuz the fish was dry and ants were eating it ......its body was at the back of some books on the floor so i only found it when cleaning up cuz theres 15 or was in the one tank unless i go over there and realy look theres no way to tell if there all there oh and they have started jumping abit more then normal ......oh and i have glass for the top of the tank but they seem to hit the glass hard if they jump and the glass gets all foged up so i worry about the air
Miss Dib Dabs
Loony.
What size tank is it? Is it possible they're stressed from being too crowded together? Most gourami breeds like their own little space and plenty of plants to hide in. If they haven't got that it could explain their increase in trying to get out and move away, so to speak. 
Can honestly say none of my gouramies have ever tried to leap out of their tank! Not even once!! Occassionally Queenie glides across the water surface on top of the plants with half her body sticking out but that's usually to reach food only the young that I failed to capture can reach.
Hugs,
P.
Can honestly say none of my gouramies have ever tried to leap out of their tank! Not even once!! Occassionally Queenie glides across the water surface on top of the plants with half her body sticking out but that's usually to reach food only the young that I failed to capture can reach. Hugs,
P.
You should count your fish on a regular basis to avoid that kind of thing. I appreciated how much patience is needed if you have a heavily stocked or planted tank but it's the only way of avoiding thiskind of thing and noticing if something's gone wrong early enough to prevent any further issues arising. In particular, if a fish dies in the tank, you need to be able to get the body out before it messes up the water.
If they've been jumping a lot lately, it's a sign something's a'miss.
I've not had a gourami jump under usual sircumstances but I have had gouramies leap from nets or out of temporary holding containers/buckets. None have died from this as I've always been there to put them back in the water before they dried up. I have, however, had other fish jump. In particular, the most recent occurance, was a zebra danio. She seemed to have jumped during the night or early morning and I assume it was while spawning because she had been releasing eggs on and off the day before and some plastic plants had actualy been knocked over, suggesting she was being chased and jumped to escape the pursuers. How she found her way out was pretty amazing though as the hole was truly tiny and not something I would have considered a threat at all.
If you're worried about the air, just get your typical wooden/plastic hood with lights for your tank. As long as there are holes for the various wires etc to come out of the tank, there should be air coming in. Also, if you have a bubblewand/airstone and it draws air from outside the tank, you're constantly introducing new air through that anyway.
If they've been jumping a lot lately, it's a sign something's a'miss.
I've not had a gourami jump under usual sircumstances but I have had gouramies leap from nets or out of temporary holding containers/buckets. None have died from this as I've always been there to put them back in the water before they dried up. I have, however, had other fish jump. In particular, the most recent occurance, was a zebra danio. She seemed to have jumped during the night or early morning and I assume it was while spawning because she had been releasing eggs on and off the day before and some plastic plants had actualy been knocked over, suggesting she was being chased and jumped to escape the pursuers. How she found her way out was pretty amazing though as the hole was truly tiny and not something I would have considered a threat at all.
If you're worried about the air, just get your typical wooden/plastic hood with lights for your tank. As long as there are holes for the various wires etc to come out of the tank, there should be air coming in. Also, if you have a bubblewand/airstone and it draws air from outside the tank, you're constantly introducing new air through that anyway.
my fish have heaps of room and up till now they have not jumped at all i think one of them has started trying to boss some rownd now and then and cuz i only have one plant at the moment they are jumping i buy lots of plants but the males eat them all or kill them in a week i think i might spend $200 and buy one of the big sunken ships that are realy detailed with holes for them to swim in ......in the long run its probly cheeper ......im not shore on the real size of the tank im not good at working them things out i no its 6 foot tall and fairly wide so the tank size i got was realy big so the room should be okay ................................oh i have a problem when clean the tank out i think the fish get realy stressed out i put them in bucketts when changing the water but they seem to get realy stressed and when returned to the clean tank are realy wired acting for a bit i was woundering if theres a way too get them to carm down i dont want any dieing or hurting them selfs
its 6 foot tall when u stand it up next to u ........not 6 foot high when the the fish are in it i think i should have said 6 foot long ...............and how do u surgest i do it with out puting them in a bucket??i take out all the water in the tank to clean the glass?
You're not supposed to ever take out all the water from your tank. And I don't understand what you mean by 'cleaning the glass'. All you need to do is, every week, take out 25% of the old water and replace it with the same amount of new, de-chlorinated tap water. While you are at it, you do a gravel vacuum to pick up any debris and clear out any bits that are in the gravel. You can also use an algae scraper at this point to clean any algae off the front and side glass. Every month or so you can also take out the filter media from your filter and rinse it in old tankw ater to get out any bits and pieces and unblock your filter. NEVER use tap water for this as it'll kill off all teh good bacteria in your filter media and cause an ammonia spike that can kill your fish. For the same reason, never replace your filter media either. Obviously, if you do the weekly water change/gravel vac/algae scrape, there's no need to ever take the fish out of the tank.
de-chlorinated tap water hmmmmm i have always just put in normale tap water and as for a gravel vacuum i have never herd of that and as for the algae scraper i am not shore if i have seen one but u would just use that on the glass... i do the glass with new small Towels i buy from the shops after i have made shore there okay to use by puting throo tap water a lot i then use it on the glass
Miss Dib Dabs
Loony.
Always use dechlorinated water!!! 
Normal tap water is toxic to fish because of all the chlorine and heavy metals it contains. Gouramies are suprisingly tolerant and hardy towards these things, which is probably why they haven't all died but they will be under constant stress and this is why you're having troubles. Sylvia is right. Never remove the fish from the tank unless bsolutely neccessary and you should only make water changes of 25% once a week. Otherwise the filter bacteria will die.
A gravel vacuum hoovers up the poop from the substrate and a glass scraper (I use a magnetic scraper for mine) for the glass to remove any algea growing on it. Not that I do since the otos and b.n's clean it right up.
If your tank is 6ft long it sounds enormous. What are it's dimensions in inches? Length, height and width? With those we can give a pretty accurate idea of size.
If plants are being detroyed I'd suggest either silk plants or getting alot of grass type plants or broad leaf species. Gourami males will rip apart plants especially if they don't reach the surface, as they like floating plants to build their nests under/between. Get some floating plants also. I wouldn't recommend the large ornament. It might make things easier short term but they will invariably end up fighting over space and not letting others use it at all.
Hugs,
P.
Normal tap water is toxic to fish because of all the chlorine and heavy metals it contains. Gouramies are suprisingly tolerant and hardy towards these things, which is probably why they haven't all died but they will be under constant stress and this is why you're having troubles. Sylvia is right. Never remove the fish from the tank unless bsolutely neccessary and you should only make water changes of 25% once a week. Otherwise the filter bacteria will die.A gravel vacuum hoovers up the poop from the substrate and a glass scraper (I use a magnetic scraper for mine) for the glass to remove any algea growing on it. Not that I do since the otos and b.n's clean it right up.
If your tank is 6ft long it sounds enormous. What are it's dimensions in inches? Length, height and width? With those we can give a pretty accurate idea of size.
If plants are being detroyed I'd suggest either silk plants or getting alot of grass type plants or broad leaf species. Gourami males will rip apart plants especially if they don't reach the surface, as they like floating plants to build their nests under/between. Get some floating plants also. I wouldn't recommend the large ornament. It might make things easier short term but they will invariably end up fighting over space and not letting others use it at all.
Hugs,
P.
i have a sword tail 2 mollys and a shark and 2 Guppys about 5 corydoras and they seem okay with the water too???dimensions in inches are not some thing i no at this stage of it i will find out ummm i dont spose theres a way to like tell them not to eat the plants to death???the large ornament is big but its not too big for my tank is that still a problem?
Miss Dib Dabs
Loony.
I'm amazed. Do you leave the water to stand? If so how long for? I just find it incredible they're putting up with it. Where do you live? Not well water is it? Grasping at straws a bit now but....
What type of shark? Most will grow big enough to eat those livebearers.
The ornament will take alot of space, not a major issue but means there's a fair bit less water in the tank. I find good tough hardy plants will survive even the most annoying gourami with a plant killing fetish. BB rips them up but not a great deal, mostly because the tank is so heavily planted it creates it's own debris without him needing to add to it. Plus all the plants reach the water surface. Really does make a major difference to their attitude.
Tis quite a bunch you have in there. How long has the tank been running, as a matter of interest?
Hugs,
P.
Grasping at straws a bit now but....What type of shark? Most will grow big enough to eat those livebearers.
The ornament will take alot of space, not a major issue but means there's a fair bit less water in the tank. I find good tough hardy plants will survive even the most annoying gourami with a plant killing fetish.
BB rips them up but not a great deal, mostly because the tank is so heavily planted it creates it's own debris without him needing to add to it. Plus all the plants reach the water surface. Really does make a major difference to their attitude.Tis quite a bunch you have in there. How long has the tank been running, as a matter of interest?
Hugs,
P.
water stand about a week and half befor cleaning of corse thats with a filter as well .....i live in a small country town in austraila its near albany its calleds denmark oh and befor you ask it may be spelled the same but it is not that other realy big denmark thats over seas from austraila its not well water normal tap water but i would not be suprised to find out that theres not much chlorinated water in it cuz i seem to rember talking to guy whos shop is sort of a pet shop down here i say sort cuz they dont have much its main thing is stock feed but they sell fish and they said there was no problem with useing the tap water down here cuz i was a little worryed about that at one stage ..............oh and i guess i probly had this fish tank most of the fish for near 2 years maby alittle long i cant say i have kept track the shark im not but yes they do grew big its ether a silver shark or a Tri Color Shark its silver apart from its fins wich one part of each fin are black ....as for the plant killing fish i have its cuz most are male and all love eating them the last plant i had in there had long leafs all the way a long the stalk a week later there only a stalk there .........as for the typs of plants i have tryed all the typs my pet store sells with no luck and i have yet to find a plant that reachs the top of my tank and theres no floating plants in my pet store .............in my second small tank the fry are looking like realy small gouramis now but still cant make the colour out on the up side the plant in there livessss cuz they cant eat it all there too small hehehe
but still cant make the colour out on the up side the plant in there livessss cuz they cant eat it all there too small heheheMost reactions
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