Scared Golden Gouriami

[altselgreen]

Hi all,

I have a golden goriami in a 15gallon tank with a pair of cockatoo dwarf cichlids. Every time I come into the room my golden gouriami shoots around the plants and goes into the back corner behind the cave for the Cockatoos. He only comes out (when I can see him) when I feed him. Does anybody know what's wrong?

All replies welcome

Sam

 

[DarkEntity]

Has he only been recently added to the tank?
Is he alone or does he have company?
Does he get bullied?
etc etc

It could also just be he still isnt used to people walking past and gets a fright, have you tried coming to the room door then slowly and gradually coming in rather than at full pace, let the fish see you a long way off so gets used to people.

 

[altselgreen]

Hi

Thanks for your reply

No he has been in the tank for quite a while now and he is alone I put 2 of them in there and they just kept fighting so I took the other one out. The cockatoos don't really bother him since he is really big and they're quite small.

I've just tried coming in slowly and he's ok for the first metre but when I get about 2 metres away from the tank he shoots off again!

Sam

 

[sylvia]

Gold gouramies should never be kept in anything under 20 gallons if you want them in with other fish. Particularly if this is a male, he will eventualy attack the cichlids - particularly if they try to breed and hence start challenging the gourami's authority over 'his' territory.

He is nervous simply because the tank's too small and he is unable to establish a territory like he normaly would so isn't able to settle in. If ou move him to a larger tank with lots of floating plants, a weak current and some medium-sized, peaceful fish, you should find he improves very quickly.

It also helps to feed live foods and keep the temperature of the tank relatively high (ie: around 78 deg F). However, watch out because these conditions also encourage aggression. To be honest, you should move him out and get some small schooling fish instead. They'll have the added advantage of encouraging the cockattoos to feel safe.