Shy

[GSD]

One of my D.Gs is very shy.He is scared easy and tends to stay at the bottom at the back or in the plants is there any way to make him come out more im worried hes not getting enough food as the others stuff it before he gets up enough courage to come out!

 

[Terrorbyte]

One of my D.Gs is very shy.He is scared easy and tends to stay at the bottom at the back or in the plants is there any way to make him come out more im worried hes not getting enough food as the others stuff it before he gets up enough courage to come out!

My dwarf gouramis (I have 3 of them) do the same thing. If there's other, larger, more aggressive fish in your tank, the dwarf gouramis tend to hide near the bottom. I have a larger opaline gourami that is quite aggressive and keeps all the other fish at bay, and the dwarfs keep their distance. They do all eat, however; as soon as I add food they all come out of hiding and eat away. I've also noticed that the dwarf gouramis eat off the bottom, so your fish might sneak out of hiding and eat his share after the feeding (he may do this because he's frightened by the other fish; dwarfs also tend to be timid around people and I notice that they sometimes hide whenever a person walks into the room). Sometimes you have to give the fish a few days (if your D.Gs were recently added to your tank) before they will take food. If he still refuses to eat after a week or so, it's probably a poor specimen and was always doomed based on some sort of genetic defect. Return him to your local fish store if that is the case.

The plants are a good thing, at least they can take refuge there if necessary. What other fish are part of your community, and how large is the tank? Dwarfs usually live well in anything 10 US gallons or larger. IMO, dwarf gouramis are the easiest gouramis to care for; other gourami variants (in my experience) are either too aggressive or too difficult to keep healthy based on tank/temperature/water conditions.

 

[sylvia]

I'd also like to know how big your tank is and how long you've had your dwarfs.

To encourage them to come out (as their tank-mates, judging by your sgnature, are not particularly hyperactive or aggressive) might simply be a matter of patience and letting them get used to their environment. However, I would also consider adding floating plants to your aquarium which might encourage the fish to set up territories in the upper layers where they will hopefuly become more comfident. Another way to encourage them to come out is by feeding live or frozen foods. If you feed the other fish at one end of the tank, you might be able to drop in food for the gouramies directly above the place they are hiding and thus ensure they are fed. Something else to consider is buying some pleco or larger, water-soluble type, catfish pellets. If you feed the other fish on flake etc and drop the pellet close to the gouramies, they might learn to eat it and, as a result, learn to eat from the bottom and leave the other fish taking food from the surface. The other fish might also nip at the pellets but if you feed them something they enjoy but also floats, they'll hopefuly leave it for the shy dwarfs. The catfish might be a problem here but experiment and watch the fish closely and you should be able to come up with simple solutions. Don't be afraid of trying things like new foods etc. Maybe feed some vedgies or add some new plants or change the direction or strength of the filter current to encourage the gouramies to come forwards.

Could I also say that, though I agree with most of what Terrorbyte has said, I don't think you should give up on the gouramies on the basis that they have something geneticaly wrong with them. This is often blamed for things that are actualy due to the owner and the tank set-up and it shouldn't be a reason to return fish you want, stressing them out in the process, when the situation was still correctable.

Oh and I'd say three-spots are the easiest gouramies to care for requirement-wise though males can be aggressive. Honeys are easy to care for and peaceful but, over-all, I'd pick pearl gouramies as being a good compromise between temperament and hardiness as they are also incredibly beautiful and have wonderful character. Then again, I am very biased. Dwarf gouramies can actualy be quite fragile and I preffer other colorful colisa species such as the banded and thick-lipped gouramies which are very similar in many ways (though slightly larger) but are also hardier. That's just my experience and opinion though .

 

[FishSticks]

Listen to the floating plant part...

I have 6 Dwarf Gouramis and 3 Pearl Gouramis in my tank and I never saw them eating or even come out of my plants but then I kicked up a notch and bought 5 Water Sprite Plants, tied them to some plastic suction cups and then attached the plants to the back of my aquarium to keep them floating 2-3 inches below the water and Voilà, Bob's your uncle, there you have it...

3 Beautiful Red, Pearl, and Blue Dwarfs swimming all over my tank and eating like pigs! That's just my expierence I don't know if all Dwarfs are the same? Sounds to easy to be true, but hey it worked for me.

 

[Terrorbyte]

Listen to the floating plant part... 

I have 6 Dwarf Gouramis and 3 Pearl Gouramis in my tank and I never saw them eating or even come out of my plants but then I kicked up a notch and bought 5 Water Sprite Plants, tied them to some plastic suction cups and then attached the plants to the back of my aquarium to keep them floating 2-3 inches below the water and Voilà, Bob's your uncle, there you have it...

3 Beautiful Red, Pearl, and Blue Dwarfs swimming all over my tank and eating like pigs! That's just my expierence I don't know if all Dwarfs are the same? Sounds to easy to be true, but hey it worked for me. 

I agree, floating plants work very well with gouramis. I recently added a few free floating plants to my tank and the opaline gourami is not nearly as aggressive. The dwarfs take shelter in the plants and the rest of the fish (tetras, catfish, red tailed black sharks, and angelfish) tend to live more "peacefully" as a community. As for feeding, I never had problems there -- the dwarfs ate like beasts with and without the plants in the tank. They get ravenous during feeding time and certainly get their fair share regardless of the opaline gourami chasing them around the tank.

Water conditions definitely influence feeding habits -- weekly water changes and good filtration will keep ammonia/nitrites below trace levels and in turn your fish will feed with enthusiasm. I test my water regularly and have not seen even the slightest traces of ammonia or nitrites in my water (tank has been up for about 9 months now). I also have a smaller, 10 US gallon tank with a few fish and the ammonia levels are harder to control; I can tell immediately if the ammonia levels are too high because the fish aren't as active and their feeding habits are definitely different.

 

[CTS]

My dwarf Gouramis do the same thing. But when i put food in, they eat like crazy!!!

 

[Terrorbyte]

One odd thing I do notice about the dwarf gouramis is that they don't go up to the surface to breate air as do the opaline gouramis. The opaline goes to the surface quite regularly (and I've seen this behavior in all opaline gouramis), but I don't see this with dwarfs. Do dwarfs have a "labyrinth", or do some gouramis not have this organ for breathing/storing air? Just curious...

 

[GSD]

The Tabks a 20-25gal(cant remember!!!)ive had them for about a week now and one is fine..the other is geting alittle bit better everyday though!I might get some worm or brine shrimo see if he comes out then!

 

[sylvia]

Dwarf gouramies would drown without access to air and rely heavily on their labyrinth organ. However, there are a few gouramies that don't - such as the licorice.