normal behavior for snakeskin & pearl gouramis?

[vombatus]

Hi,

I just got a pair of snakeskin gouramis and a pair of pearl gouramis a couple of days ago. I'm not sure if I should be concerned about their behavior, because I got them from the store where I work and they don't behave this way in the tanks at the store.

They are very shy and hide during the day. I have a planted tank and so there is a lot for them to hide behind. I almost never see all 4 of them, even at night when they are more active. They definitely seem to be nocturnal. Even if the light is on they come out at night, but during the day they don't want to be seen. The only other fish in the tank are whiteclouds, guppies, and peaceful bottom feeders, so no one is harassing them.

What is really weird is that they seem to like to be toward the bottom of the tank, but at night they frequently go up to the surface for air. I know they can breathe air but it seems like they're going up there a lot at night, even though they barely ever do it during the day while they're hiding. And once they get some air they go back down to the sand. The smallest one even swims under some of my decor rather than swimming over it, sometimes turning sideways to get through, as if it's really important to stay at the bottom. So, is all this normal?

 

[benzjamin13]

That doesn't seem like normal behavior to me. I've had a group of Pearl Gouramis and they would hang at the top of the tank for the most part. They may be stressed over something. How's your water parameters? You said you have a planted tank...how high is the intensity of the light? They might want something to shade them.

 

[lookit]

I've never had snakeskin gouramis, so I don't know how they act, but I know that pearl gouramis are very shy to begin with. I had a male - female pair a couple of years ago and, as I recall, it took them about 2 weeks to get used to their new home. It also helped when I stopped sticking my face up to the side of the aquarium to look at them. (I couldn't help myself; they were so pretty -- especially the male after he colored up.) Give them a little more time to get acclimated to their new surroundings.

 

[vombatus]

I've never had snakeskin gouramis, so I don't know how they act, but I know that pearl gouramis are very shy to begin with. I had a male - female pair a couple of years ago and, as I recall, it took them about 2 weeks to get used to their new home. It also helped when I stopped sticking my face up to the side of the aquarium to look at them. (I couldn't help myself; they were so pretty -- especially the male after he colored up.) Give them a little more time to get acclimated to their new surroundings.

Thanks. I knew before I got them that snakeskins are very shy, but in the store they didn't hide near the bottom but behind things toward the top. Same with the pearls. I'm starting to think that they are just joining the bottom-dwellers looking for food 24/7, like that's just the national pastime in this tank. But also I think you are right that they are getting used to their new home. Every day they seem to be an eensy bit less hidey.

 

[vombatus]

That doesn't seem like normal behavior to me. I've had a group of Pearl Gouramis and they would hang at the top of the tank for the most part. They may be stressed over something. How's your water parameters? You said you have a planted tank...how high is the intensity of the light? They might want something to shade them.

The water is completely fine in terms of ammonia and nitra/ite. The PH is about 7.8 and the water is low-medium hard. I have a regular florescent bulb, and I have watersprite floating on top but they don't seem to favor staying under it.