# Weird Dwarf Gourami Behavior



## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

I recently purchased a dwarf neon blue gourami and since he has been in my tank all he does is frantically swim back and forth across the front glass. It is NONSTOP for as long as the lights are on. I am checking parameters now and will update the post with these. 

Can anyone possible identify what this behavior is from, its driving me crazy and killing the whole feng shui of my peaceful tank. Could it be because the fish is alone and came from a tank at the LFS with about 15 of them? At the store they were all calm. 

Thanks in advance for reading. 

Steve


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Stress especially with the lights on. It probably needs hiding space and more than one dwarf.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Steve106 said:


> I recently purchased a dwarf neon blue gourami and since he has been in my tank all he does is frantically swim back and forth across the front glass. It is NONSTOP for as long as the lights are on. I am checking parameters now and will update the post with these.
> 
> Can anyone possible identify what this behavior is from, its driving me crazy and killing the whole feng shui of my peaceful tank. Could it be because the fish is alone and came from a tank at the LFS with about 15 of them? At the store they were all calm.
> 
> ...





mistergreen said:


> Stress especially with the lights on. It probably needs hiding space and more than one dwarf.


Dwarf gouramis are in the same family as bettas, and like male bettas, male dwarf dwarfs should not be housed together in a tank (unless it's 30g or more and densely planted with lot is line of sight break up all the way to the surface).
Also like betta dwarf goirami will glass surf because they see thier reflection in the glass, think it's another male in thier new private area, and are trying to chase him out. Lights outside of the tank will cause reflection. You can paint the tank walls, add pained sheets against the walls (did this recently for a betta's tank, densely plant against the glass, or adjust lights above tank and around the room.

My first dwarf gouramis was named Ether by my husband because he was all over the place the first week surfing the glass. But he settled down and wasn't spastic after a bit of time. More plants, hiding places, and areas they can't see around so they will want to investigate will help a lot.

Honey goirami are the only small commonly sold gourami species that should be kept in groups (I'm excluding some of the more sensitive species like sparkling and croaking gourami). Males at the store will kill eachother in your home tank. Better to have a 20g with 1 male and 3 female dwarfs or 30g+ if you want 2 males of the dwarf gouramis. At the store they over stock the tank so aggression is spread but if you look closely you'll find the dull colored beat up half starved male, he will die but not be noticed, in the home aquarium its more obvious the aggression and decline of the weaker one till death with improper tank environment.


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## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

I purposefully only bought one (as all of them in the store were noticeably male) and figured this fish would do better alone. It is currently in a moderately planted 30 gallon. Im hoping the issue he is having is with his reflection, as he is only demonstrating this behavior on the front glass which is the only one pane not painted. Still super annoying. Any suggestions to help this guy out?

Thanks for the responses.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Can you post a full tank shot? A visual look at his environment will hall.


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## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

Not the best photo...everything is blurry...but it should give you an idea of what I'm working with. I believe this tank is a 30 gallon tall.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

Mine do that once in while but not all day. 

How long has he been in the tank? All new fish run up down the glass to see if they find way out. If it doesn't stop after week I would be concerned. Is he eating?


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

You need some taer plants that get all the way to the surface or even floated stems. He doesn't have any real hiding spot in there.


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## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

The plants will eventually make it to the top lol. And the pics don't really show the depth that well..there is like a hidden cove within all the ludwiga and behind the driftwood that he goes into at night. He has only been in the tank for two days now. Hopefully he will calm down soon.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

He may just need some time to get used to this. Some fish, having been wild-caught or bred in ponds/tubs, don't understand the concept of glass for a while.


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

Had the same issue with my dwarf neon but he became chill once i put some wisteria in the tank along the back.


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

Here was the 3rd day od him being in there


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Seeing photos of people's dwarf gouramis is making me miss mine... Might have to put it on my 20g long stocking list...


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## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

I wasn't planning on having a dwarf gourami as the center piece of the tank...but when I came across him in the store I was blown away by the color. Really beautiful...reminded me of a tiny little discus.


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

+1 but i have seen them before and did alot of research before i picked mine. And i made sure he was tank raised


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

Heres a picture after my riddance of BBA


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## Steve106 (Apr 12, 2012)

My gourami chilled out within a couple days. All is well. Thanks for all the help everyone!


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