Timid Leeri

[Sgooosh]

Hi, i got 4 pearl gouramis on saturday. They are really timid and whenever i go near the tank they hide to that one spot near the heater.
why are they acting like this? will they always be like this? it is hard to feed them

 

[Rocky998]

Hi, i got 4 pearl gouramis on saturday. They are really timid and whenever i go near the tank they hide to that one spot near the heater.
why are they acting like this? will they always be like this? it is hard to feed them

They are probably still a little stressed... Just keep an eye out on them and if all goes well they will perk back up in a week or two.

 

[Sgooosh]

They are probably still a little stressed... Just keep an eye out on them and if all goes well they will perk back up in a week or two.

alright that is good to know, today some of them came out and smelled the food for a while some of them got some pellets

 

[otterblue]

I think once they associate you with food, they'll be less scared when you approach.

 

[OliveFish05]

They may be stressed about something. How much flow or water motion does your tank have? Do you have a very intense light? Do you have lots of floating plants? Gourami are naturally a bit “shy” and appreciate a lot of cover and low flow. They could also take some time to settle in

 

[Sgooosh]

I think once they associate you with food, they'll be less scared when you approach.

yes, i am trying to do that, good idea!

They may be stressed about something. How much flow or water motion does your tank have? Do you have a very intense light? Do you have lots of floating plants? Gourami are naturally a bit “shy” and appreciate a lot of cover and low flow. They could also take some time to settle in

i made it so that the water flow is minimal in the tank, just enough to keep the tank clear, also the part where it is low light and most heavily planted barely has flow. i have too many water lettuces LOL

another question: why do they always stay at the bottom i though they were purely top fish

 

[OliveFish05]

i have too many water lettuces LOL

Water lettuce? I thought you did duckweed! Put a duckweed and water lettuce bundle up on your etsy and I would happily be a buyer

i made it so that the water flow is minimal in the tank, just enough to keep the tank clear, also the part where it is low light and most heavily planted barely has flow

thats good!

 

[Sgooosh]

Water lettuce? I thought you did duckweed! Put a duckweed and water lettuce bundle up on your etsy and I would happily be a buyer

thats good!

ill add that as an option to my water lettuce listing that i am currently making
i have red root floater, water lettuce, and duckweed, trying to get some salvinia, frogbit, and perhaps parrotfeather or maybe even azolla

im going to seperate some pieces of red root because the duckweed is covering it

 

[Colin_T]

Fish that are timid are either stressed from poor water quality, no shelter/ cover to hide in, an open/ bare tank (nothing on the back or base), or they are out of a pond and not use to being in a small aquarium with people walking past.

Make sure the water quality is good (no ammonia or nitrite, and a low nitrate).

Have a picture on the back of the tank.

Make sure there is a dark substrate.

Have floating plants (as mentioned by others) to offer protection from the light and from imagined aerial predators.

Give them time to settle in, this might mean leaving the tank light off for the first day.

---------------------
TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

 

[itiwhetu]

Photo of the whole tank might help us spot something

 

[Sgooosh]

Fish that are timid are either stressed from poor water quality, no shelter/ cover to hide in, an open/ bare tank (nothing on the back or base), or they are out of a pond and not use to being in a small aquarium with people walking past.

Make sure the water quality is good (no ammonia or nitrite, and a low nitrate).

Have a picture on the back of the tank.

Make sure there is a dark substrate.

Have floating plants (as mentioned by others) to offer protection from the light and from imagined aerial predators.

Give them time to settle in, this might mean leaving the tank light off for the first day.

---------------------
TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

Thanks the tank has a finnex 24/7 which simulates the day night cycle.
The background is half navy blue (a part of it fell off because of tape being lousy craft tape (gets bad after a while))
substrate black sand

Photo of the whole tank might help us spot something

yeh ill do it tomorrow.

they were only here 3 days but what confuses me is why they are in middle-bottom sections of the tank,

 

[DoubleDutch]

Thanks the tank has a finnex 24/7 which simulates the day night cycle.
The background is half navy blue (a part of it fell off because of tape being lousy craft tape (gets bad after a while))
substrate black sand

yeh ill do it tomorrow.

they were only here 3 days but what confuses me is why they are in middle-bottom sections of the tank,

Cause they feel unsafe in the upper section at this moment.

 

[Rocky998]

ill add that as an option to my water lettuce listing that i am currently making
i have red root floater, water lettuce, and duckweed, trying to get some salvinia, frogbit, and perhaps parrotfeather or maybe even azolla

im going to seperate some pieces of red root because the duckweed is covering it

I looked up Sgoosh's aquatics up on Google and got very bad results... Dont look it up... Not a joke I mean it

 

[Sgooosh]

I looked up Sgoosh's aquatics up on Google and got very bad results... Dont look it up... Not a joke I mean it

!! It is probably something else since my shop has 2 listings and onlg like 16 purchases

 

[OliveFish05]

I looked up Sgoosh's aquatics up on Google and got very bad results... Dont look it up... Not a joke I mean it

You gotta search it on etsy

onlg like 16 purchases

when I look at your listings it says you have 21. Pretty soon your fishkeeping will be paying for itself