New to aquariums........

[Chefmack79]

Hey there,

I recently purchased a 29 gallon aquarium and have cycled it successfully with fish. Currently I have gouramis, tiger barbs, and a pictus catfish. Today I purchased 2 albino paradise gouramis. I got them adjusted to my water conditions and when I released them into my tank they seemed frightened of the other fish. Now they are currently hiding and I don't even see them. The other fish were nipping at them, but they started to hide and act like they were dead. However when the other fish went to check them out the darted away to hide again.. Is this normal?? Or should I have not put these fish into my tank??
Thanks for your help......
Chefmack79

 

[melosu58]

I know you posted this in the welcome forum but I`m going to move it to the FW forums so more people will be able to see this post and give you some good answers. Welcome to AA

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Welcome to the AA family!

 

[Chefmack79]

Thanks Ben!

 

[marchmaxima]

G'day Chef.

To answer you question, fish being picked on is never a good thing and aggression issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

How many gouramis did you have before you introduced this latest two?

I'd be putting the breaks on the gouramis. Male gouramis are extremely territorial and will fiercely protect their patch of the tank. In a 29G tank you probably have room for 2 males. For each male you're going to probably want a female (2 is even better) so that the "attention" is spread out a little and not concentrated. In the case of a heavily planted tank where males can grab section and set up shop you might get away with 3 males, but this is often dependant on if they can see each other or not.

Personally, assuming that there was no aggression prior to you introducing the latest 2 gouramis, I suggest you take the 2 new gouramis back to the place of purchase. You should be able to get a credit note from most places. Dependng on the how many you had before the last two were introduced, I'd be creating some hiding spots in the tank if you can.

Remember that a little research saves you heaps of headaches later, so look at the requirements of the fish. Most people here have kept anyting you are looking into so always feel free to ask questions about this before you buy.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Thanks Ben!

No prob, and thanks for calling me Ben haha. I put that in my signiture yet people still call me FishCrazy or FishCrazy dude ect. Lol.

Can't wait to see some pics of your tank.

 

[Landy]

I bought 3 neon tetras and 6 ghost shrimp, within 1 week they were all gone, my pictus catfish must have ate them.

When you go to buy fish research them or ask if they are semi-aggresive, and if they are and/or have a big enough mouth, they will eat anything little and small enough but slow.

So by nice fish and they will all get along, buy a semi-aggressive fish with a big mouth, and it migght have a good chance of eating anything it can fit into its mouth.

 

[Chefmack79]

G'day Chef.

To answer you question, fish being picked on is never a good thing and aggression issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

How many gouramis did you have before you introduced this latest two?

I'd be putting the breaks on the gouramis. Male gouramis are extremely territorial and will fiercely protect their patch of the tank. In a 29G tank you probably have room for 2 males. For each male you're going to probably want a female (2 is even better) so that the "attention" is spread out a little and not concentrated. In the case of a heavily planted tank where males can grab section and set up shop you might get away with 3 males, but this is often dependant on if they can see each other or not.

Personally, assuming that there was no aggression prior to you introducing the latest 2 gouramis, I suggest you take the 2 new gouramis back to the place of purchase. You should be able to get a credit note from most places. Dependng on the how many you had before the last two were introduced, I'd be creating some hiding spots in the tank if you can.

Remember that a little research saves you heaps of headaches later, so look at the requirements of the fish. Most people here have kept anyting you are looking into so always feel free to ask questions about this before you buy.

I have a gold gourami and a blue gourami and they are both female, I think, assuming that from their rounded dorsal fin. The gold one always pestered the blue gourami, but it was more playful than anything. i don't know what gender the two albino gouramis are. Today they are a little more sociable, still hiding, but coming up for food and at least moving their fins near the one side of the tank. There are plenty of hiding spots in the tank. I have a castle that has many holes for hiding, a tree stump, (which is the catfish domain), and their is a rock formation with holes and fake foliage. I am going to give the albinos a chance for a few days. I have a 15 day return policy. I always try to research before buying a fish, and I didnt think these guys would be so shy.....I think I will be getting my tiger barb three more friends so that he is not lonely. Do you have any fish that you could recommend with my tank setup. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
--Chefmack79

 

[marchmaxima]

Yeah, if they have rounded dorsal fins, they should be female. That said, quite a while ago, I thought I bought a female only to find out later that I bought two males, and when I asked about this at the LFS, I found out that they never stock females because they don't look nice enough so they don't sell. Go figure! Sometimes its very hard to tell.

If you have provided distinct areas where they can go without seeing each other, then it might work itself out given a bit of time.

There are lots of fish options. How about a school of rasboras? Personally I've become quite partial to the Harlequin Rasboras since I added them to my own tank. They do better in groups of 4+. They are very spritely and active.