Gourami Wont Leave Top Off Tank

[Stevensteveo2]

I have a 55 gallon tank with about 10 fish. Two off them are dwarf gouramis one female red and blue male the red one has seemed to be pretty shy from the beginning and always seemed to be hiding mostly by the heater and has a black scar on her left side. we did a water change and re arranged the tank 2 days ago since then she will not leave the top off the tank behind the filter and she seems stressed please help about a week ago i did see the two fish fighting but i havnt seen aggression from them since but i am not home all the time i think they might not be a good fit but also have read it is normal

 

[Dave125g]

Multiple gouramis is ,as a general rule, a no no. I would rehome 1 male. That way you can have a breeding pair that will be civil with each other.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

I only have 2

One male one female i dont think the two are compatible though the female has since the beginning not like the male and always are separate from each other

 

[DutchAquarium]

2 dwarf gourami is still a bad idea. dwarfs are some of the most aggressive ones out their and most likely one will end up killing the other eventually. Could you possibly post a picture of the gourmai your worried about so that we could diagnos if anything is wrong with it.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

Hard to get a good picture i cam try again if need be

 

[DutchAquarium]

Can't quite tell from the pictures, However, how do you know you have a 1:1. The one dwarf appears to be a flame morph. I'm wondering if you accidently messed up color morphs with sexual dimorphism.

 

[finnipper59]

Gouramis can have strange. I had a male and female blue and a gold female. The male harassesed both females as if he wanted to breed, but he never built a bubble nest. One by one, he harrassed each female until they would just stay in the tank corner until he caused each of them to starve themselves to death. Ironically he died a month later from hole in the head disease. I would up treating the whole 55 gallon tank because I have 5 angelfish in that tank.

I have a 55 gallon tank with about 10 fish. Two off them are dwarf gouramis one female red and blue male the red one has seemed to be pretty shy from the beginning and always seemed to be hiding mostly by the heater and has a black scar on her left side. we did a water change and re arranged the tank 2 days ago since then she will not leave the top off the tank behind the filter and she seems stressed please help about a week ago i did see the two fish fighting but i havnt seen aggression from them since but i am not home all the time i think they might not be a good fit but also have read it is normal

 

[Dave125g]

I only have 2

My apologies I read that wrong. It is possible that things will settle down. However as stated they are quite aggressive. I can't see from the picture, is there any ripped fins? I know you said it had a scar. My gourami hurts herself sometimes too. Luckily she heals up pretty quick.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

She is hiding from me and i cant get a good picture but yes they are on the scales close to the top off her back about mid way from giles to tale

Can't quite tell from the pictures, However, how do you know you have a 1:1. The one dwarf appears to be a flame morph. I'm wondering if you accidently messed up color morphs with sexual dimorphism.

Im not to sure honestly im new to this

She is hiding from me and i cant get a good picture but yes they are on the scales close to the top off her back about mid way from giles to tale

It is black aswell not vary big

My reg wig platy has also been swimmimg weird if anyone here knows anything about that aswell you can see him in the full tank picture

 

[Rtessy]

Hey guys, let's focus on the medical problem first.
First off, I see you don't know about the nitrogen cycle, so they're likely suffering from ammonia poisoning. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle and do an immediate 50% water change and don't forget the dechlorinator.
Edit: I don't own platies, but in general a drooping tail isn't a good sign but can be attributed to ammonia poisoning most likely.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

Ammonia is ideal did a 40% water change yestruday and ph is 6.8 nitrogen test i do not have yet but last time i was at the store was tested and he said everything nitrate was good he said there was two diffent kinds and i had none off the bad one

I also use stability and everyother water change i switch from neutral regulator and prime

 

[Rtessy]

When you say ammonia is perfect, can you please give an exact number? Do you know the nitrIte? Do you have any nitrAtes?
I just gotta let you know, the people at the stores flat out lie. I brought in water from a tank I was fishless cycling for them to test (I was testing the knowledge of the store) and I had just tested the water with 4ppm ammonia (very lethal), 2ppm nitrites (very lethal), and no nitrates. They told me my water was fine. That water would have killed anything that went in.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

So i don't think water quality is the problem

 

[Rtessy]

A water change is stilk a good go to in most cases. Do you mind posting some more pictures of your platy and gouramis with more lighting?

 

[Stevensteveo2]

Okay i am waiting for my drop test water kit in the mail as we speak for now i just have test strips but they are single strips for only ammonia

When you say ammonia is perfect, can you please give an exact number? Do you know the nitrIte? Do you have any nitrAtes?
I just gotta let you know, the people at the stores flat out lie. I brought in water from a tank I was fishless cycling for them to test (I was testing the knowledge of the store) and I had just tested the water with 4ppm ammonia (very lethal), 2ppm nitrites (very lethal), and no nitrates. They told me my water was fine. That water would have killed anything that went in.

 

[Dave125g]

Your ammonia test is 0ppm? If that's the case your most likely cycled. A fully cycled tank should have 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and some nitrate. I think the issue is with the aggressive gourami. It is also possible your play may be suffering from a swim blater issue, due to an injury.

 

[Mcasella]

So i don't think water quality is the problem

The main problem is you have two male gouramis in one tank, which is with the less dominant (the flame morph) is hiding, females are not colorful compared to the males, the flame dwarf females are a silver and yellow looking fish, not brightly colored.
If you will not rehome the male that is currently hiding (do to being attacked and bullied by the other gourami) I will suggest getting more cover nearer to the surface to give it better places to hide from the other.

Black markings sometimes occur on gouramis, however without a better picture or a better description of the wound/discoloration we can't offer much help. Water changes are good to help with most less serious illness or the fish looking off.
Since none of your other fish are acting lethargic I am going to put this to bullying, which can cause fish to completely hide away and even wedge themselves into tight spaces they can't get out of in an effort to get away from the bully.
More than one DG without having a very long tank normally ends with one DG trotting around like a boxing champion while the other(s) cower or lie dead from the bully.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

These a little better?

The main problem is you have two male gouramis in one tank, which is with the less dominant (the flame morph) is hiding, females are not colorful compared to the males, the flame dwarf females are a silver and yellow looking fish, not brightly colored.
If you will not rehome the male that is currently hiding (do to being attacked and bullied by the other gourami) I will suggest getting more cover nearer to the surface to give it better places to hide from the other.

Black markings sometimes occur on gouramis, however without a better picture or a better description of the wound/discoloration we can't offer much help. Water changes are good to help with most less serious illness or the fish looking off.
Since none of your other fish are acting lethargic I am going to put this to bullying, which can cause fish to completely hide away and even wedge themselves into tight spaces they can't get out of in an effort to get away from the bully.
More than one DG without having a very long tank normally ends with one DG trotting around like a boxing champion while the other(s) cower or lie dead from the bully.

I believe one is male one is female blue and a sharp tip fin the female has a round one

 

[Rtessy]

I'm not seeing any external diseases, so that's generally good. The platy looks female, and possibly pregnant, so that may explain the strange behavior.

 

[Stevensteveo2]

I was thinking that but i only have male guppies not sure how they would bread i saw molly can but platys cant