Help Plz

[Commander Cool]

My opaline gourami is rocking back and forth. He is sitting 3/4 of the way up the tank and is rocking. When he swims he is swimming normally but when he is still the rocking back and forth is constant. Is this something I should worry about?

 

[tetras4me]

probobly not but what do you mean by rocking back and forward

 

[Commander Cool]

probobly not but what do you mean by rocking back and forward

It is like the water is moving around a lot and he is floating with it but the water is not moving and the tank has not been moved at all.

 

[tetras4me]

does it have anything else? like is it bloated is it pale or faded at all are there white spots on the fins etc. what other fish are in your tank?

you prbobly dont have to worry though

 

[Commander Cool]

Nothing else is different with it. In the tank there are 3 other gouramis a redtail shark and a crayfish.

 

[tetras4me]

it could be that your redatiled shark is bothering it. they tend to aggresive sometimes but if theres no other symptomes then it probobly just a habit

 

[Commander Cool]

I dont think the shark is bothering it because they have been in the tank for several day and there were no problems. Plus the shark is about half the size of the gourami. Thanks for your help.

 

[sylvia]

If the current in your tank is strong, he may simply be fighting it constantly - but you'd expect similar behaviour from the other gouramies.

To me it sounds a lot like 'shimmying' which is a behaviour characteristic of stressed fish - both gourami and not. My concern would be that your gouramies are causing each other stress rather than that your shark is involved; but either could be a problem. Also, check your water parameters and consider adding some more hiding places - if nothing else, they'll help reduce the water flow in some areas of the tank without effecting the circulation overall.

I notice that you said they have been in the tank for 'several days'. If by that you mean you've only just set up the tank, the problem is deffinately shimmying caused by bad water quality and you'll need to do very frequent water changes to keep the fish alive.

 

[Commander Cool]

If the current in your tank is strong, he may simply be fighting it constantly - but you'd expect similar behaviour from the other gouramies.

To me it sounds a lot like 'shimmying' which is a behaviour characteristic of stressed fish - both gourami and not. My concern would be that your gouramies are causing each other[/] stress rather than that your shark is involved; but either could be a problem. Also, check your water parameters and consider adding some more hiding places - if nothing else, they'll help reduce the water flow in some areas of the tank without effecting the circulation overall.

I notice that you said they have been in the tank for 'several days'. If by that you mean you've only just set up the tank, the problem is deffinately shimmying caused by bad water quality and you'll need to do very frequent water changes to keep the fish alive.

I changed the water yesterday and I prolly will again tommorrow. I don't have anymore room in the tank for more hiding places. I am considering buying a 20 gallon tank soon. If I do that I will put 2 gouramis in that tank along with some tetras which I will buy once the tank is set up.

 

[sylvia]

What do you have in this tank at the moment?

Opaline gouramies shouldn't be kept in anything less than 20 gallons so your tank is too small already. Also, they can be rather aggresive so getting another when you upgrade is probably a bad idea. In a larger tank, in a slightly larger group, they do ok - but a 20 gallon with 2 opalines will probably prove problematic with one fish dominating over the other and eventualy causing its death.

BTW, you didn't mention how long this tank ahs been set up. Like I said before, if you only just got it, it won't be cycled and you need to test your water parameters (ammonia, ntirIte and nitrAte) to make shure its safe for fish.

edit: Sharks shouldn't be in a tank smaller than 20 (actualy, I'd argue for 30 gallons being the minnimum) either. It should be fine while its young but make shure it has a larger tank when it starts maturing.