bosk1
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Originally, I think I was basically planning for my tank to be a gourami tank. As I've added fish, I've seen some interesting issues develop, and I'm not sure where to go next.
I initially added what I thought were two small female opaline gouramis: one blue; one gold. After they established themselves, the blue became more dominant. The blue has also more than doubled in size while the gold has grown more modestly. I now believe the blue is a male. Anyhow... Behavior at this point: The blue spent most of its time hiding behind/inside my large, bushy centerpiece plant, and only really coming out when food was present. The gold spent much of her time at the top of the tank, as you might expect a gourami to do. When food was around, the blue would chase the gold away constantly. It looked like somewhat aggressive behavior, but I never worried too much because the gold would run away, and then almost immediately swim back over to the blue. Both fish also got plenty to eat, so it wasn't like the blue was starving the gold out or anything.
A few weeks ago, I added a male pearl gourami. Since they tend to be more timid, I got one that was slightly larger than the blue so that he wouldn't get picked on too much. Initially, the gold spent the first few chasing the much bigger pearl all over the tank. Then suddenly, a few days later, it seemed I had reached the perfect gourami equilibrium. The blue still hid a lot, but would come out more often than previously. And the gold stopped chasing the pearl, and instead would follow the pearl around the tank, or make sure to get out of the pearl's way whenever she found herself in front of him. Both the pearl and the gold spent most of their time patrolling the top of the tank, and weren't very skittish. If the story ended here, all would be well.
Last week, the gold came up missing. At first, I didn't worry TOO much since fish go through weird phases where they hide. After 2 days, I found her dead. I have two terracotta flower pots in the tank. One is up against the back glass, and she somehow wedged herself between the pot and the glass. I took her out and did a pwc. Since then, both of the other gouramis became even more skittish, and both would hide. I became tired of this, and eventually removed the large, bushy center plant. The blue now hides behind another smaller plant. He seems to feel safe back there, but I can now more easily see him. The pearl is back at the top of the tank. But now both of them completely freak out when someone walks by or gets to close to the tank.
So, after all of that, I'm wondering whether there is anything I can do about it. I think I'll just leave the blue alone. If he wants to hide, so be it. But will adding another pearl or two help my existing pearl be less skittish? I'm thinking about going to the lfs tonight after work and picking up one or two. Does anyone have any thoughts?
In any case, it has been extremely interesting to watch the dynamics of the tank change so much.
Oh, and in case anyone asks, all parameters are ideal, so I don't think behavioral swings were induced by water quality issues:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
I initially added what I thought were two small female opaline gouramis: one blue; one gold. After they established themselves, the blue became more dominant. The blue has also more than doubled in size while the gold has grown more modestly. I now believe the blue is a male. Anyhow... Behavior at this point: The blue spent most of its time hiding behind/inside my large, bushy centerpiece plant, and only really coming out when food was present. The gold spent much of her time at the top of the tank, as you might expect a gourami to do. When food was around, the blue would chase the gold away constantly. It looked like somewhat aggressive behavior, but I never worried too much because the gold would run away, and then almost immediately swim back over to the blue. Both fish also got plenty to eat, so it wasn't like the blue was starving the gold out or anything.
A few weeks ago, I added a male pearl gourami. Since they tend to be more timid, I got one that was slightly larger than the blue so that he wouldn't get picked on too much. Initially, the gold spent the first few chasing the much bigger pearl all over the tank. Then suddenly, a few days later, it seemed I had reached the perfect gourami equilibrium. The blue still hid a lot, but would come out more often than previously. And the gold stopped chasing the pearl, and instead would follow the pearl around the tank, or make sure to get out of the pearl's way whenever she found herself in front of him. Both the pearl and the gold spent most of their time patrolling the top of the tank, and weren't very skittish. If the story ended here, all would be well.
Last week, the gold came up missing. At first, I didn't worry TOO much since fish go through weird phases where they hide. After 2 days, I found her dead. I have two terracotta flower pots in the tank. One is up against the back glass, and she somehow wedged herself between the pot and the glass. I took her out and did a pwc. Since then, both of the other gouramis became even more skittish, and both would hide. I became tired of this, and eventually removed the large, bushy center plant. The blue now hides behind another smaller plant. He seems to feel safe back there, but I can now more easily see him. The pearl is back at the top of the tank. But now both of them completely freak out when someone walks by or gets to close to the tank.
So, after all of that, I'm wondering whether there is anything I can do about it. I think I'll just leave the blue alone. If he wants to hide, so be it. But will adding another pearl or two help my existing pearl be less skittish? I'm thinking about going to the lfs tonight after work and picking up one or two. Does anyone have any thoughts?
In any case, it has been extremely interesting to watch the dynamics of the tank change so much.
Oh, and in case anyone asks, all parameters are ideal, so I don't think behavioral swings were induced by water quality issues:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
