New Pink Gourami Not Eating

[hmychan]

I have a 80 L tank with 1 Bristlenose catfish, 6 tetras and 7 guppies. 3 days ago I bought a 5 cm long kissing gourami and it's pretty much just sitting in the corner and not showing interest in food or exploring. I've tried tempting it with flakes and algae pellets but they haven't worked so far.

One in a while it'll dart around the tank, but it seems stressed and bangs against the glass.

Ammonia and nitrite are 0, nitrate around 10ppm and ph between 6.8-7.0.

Not sure what to do, maybe try lettuce and blood worms? It doesn't show any obvious signs of illness.

 

[Athena]

To be honest - your tank is a bit small for a kissing gourami. They like lots of space - and it will grow to about 5/6" (much more in the wild). They really need to be in a minimum 30 gallon tank.

Anyway, it sounds like it's just suffering from stress at the moment and it may take a few days before it's properly settled into its new home.

You could try the lettuce or some squashed pea - but things like bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp (especially live), various veggies, a good quality flake etc will be the normal sort of foods they enjoy.

It's normal for a new fish to go off its food for a while. The thing you need to keep an eye on is whether the fish begins to show signs of any infection brought on by the stress. When they are stressed for long periods of time it lowers their immune system and then they can end up with secondary problems, like bacterial infections. Watch for signs of clamped fins, hollow belly, lethargy etc

Considering the size of the tank, you may want to consider returning the fish to your LFS and swapping for something that doesn't grow so big - e.g. dwarf gourami

Regards - Athena