Gold gourami weird behavior.

Question
QUESTION: Hi. My question is why is my gold gourami just hanging at the top corner of
my tank without doing anything and barely eating? I bought a 29 US gallon
tank like 2-3 weeks ago. I know dat the bio-cycle is nt finished yet because
the ammonia nitrite and pH levels are realy high. The first day i had him he
was doing fine but like 3 days ago i noticed dat he was just at the to back
corner of my aquarium. He barely eats. And also sometimes he wont move
his left fin at all. I have 2 fire tetras a tiger barb one pleco one balashark 2
angels 1 glasscatfish and ywo other fish that i dnt know their breed but they
have a yellow like body dorsal tail and pectoral fins transparent with red all
along them. In da tank i have some bottom ornaments bt none at the top. I
really dnt know wat is going on with nor why is he at the top corner of the
tank like in a trance-like state since all of the other fish look and act fine.
Please answer my question as soon as possible because i dnt wat my
gourami to die of something that i can prevent. Is this a normal behavior of
gold gouramis? Should i just leave him alone? Plz tell me wat should i do?
Thanks!!! :)

ANSWER: Hi,
I would definitely assume the gourami is reacting to the ammonia and nitrites present. Some fish are more sensitive to these toxins than others. If the ammonia and nitrites are building up high you should do a 50% water change ASAP to lower it and help the fish as long as he isn't too far gone - Water changes won't keep your tank from cycling by the way... Always make sure the replacement water is equal in temperature or just bit warmer than your tanks and always use water conditioner dechlorinator.

Gouramis do tend to stay near the top naturally but I would be very careful and watch the tank's ammonia and nitrite levels and make sure they don't spike up too much -- keeping them in check with 50% water changes until the tank is cycled.

I hope this helps!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i dnt know if this will affect your answer. i just found out that my gourami is a dwarf blue gourami. does the species have anything to do with him doing wat he is doing?


by the way thank you very much for your answer!!!

ANSWER: I see...
Most all gourami species do typically behave the same. But the sad thing about Dwarf gouramis is sometimes they can be infected and be carriers of a virus that affects only the dwarf gourami species. Not that I'm saying this is the case with your fish but some individuals arrive at the petstore as just very weak and sickly fish that struggle to thrive.

Water changes are your best bet here.

Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ok my gourami is acting normal again. he is active and stuff. no the ammonia and the nitrite levels are relatively low ammonia 1ppm and nitrites is at 3ppm. the water changes really helped thanks!   

now there is another problem with my aquarium. the tiger barb likes to tease my longfin serpae tetras. they are super scared of him. does this stress the tetras and the other fish? what should i do to stop this? another thing is that the two bolivean rams dat i have chase each other and sometimes i've seen them locked mouth to mouth. why is this? they both seem to be females. should i have only one? what would u recommend me to do with them?
P.S: i'm sorry for all these questions im asking. i just want to do the best to keep my fish happy and healthy.
thanks!

Answer
I'm glad to hear he is doing better! There's your problem! Ammonia and nitrites are very stressful to these creatures even in small amounts and water changes are the key to getting them through these stressful times until the aquarium can establish the special 'good' bacteria that take care of the ammonia. There are two types, one type of bacteria convert ammonia into "nitrite" which of course is still toxic, but later, the second type converts nitrite into "nitrate" the harmless end product. It is kept in check by your regular water changes.

It usually takes these beneficial bacteria about 6 weeks or so to get fully established to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels at ZERO consistently. So be very watchful of the water quality and your fishes well-being. I know you will. ;-)

The tiger barb's behavior is normal for these spirited fish. Tiger barbs are often labeled as "semi-aggressive" and they do have potential to be vicious fin-nippers but only if they don't have other tiger barbs to occupy their high level of energy with. In a group of 4-6 (more is better!) they will have each-other to display and show off and tend to ignore other fish.

Still, however, it would be best if tiger barbs are not kept with fish that have long flowing fins. Your longfin serpae tetra might be a little safer if the tiger barb had his own group...but I can't guarantee it because flowing fins are very attractive for tiger barbs to nip at.

I wouldn't really recommend though, adding anymore fish at this point when your water quality is so unstable. Doing so could cause a serious ammonia spike you might not be able to catch in time. It would be better to wait till your ammonia and nitrites are ZERO to add anymore fish.

In the end you may have to remove or separate either of the fish.

The Bolivian Rams behavior sounds like territorial/pair fighting or otherwise a dominance display.  Keep a close eye on them, if one of the fish is being made miserable with torn fins sulking in the corner its time to move him somewhere else or give him back to the petstore. :( They may calm down after a while, give them some caves to retreat to.

I hope this helps and I don't mind the questions! It's what I'm here for! ;-)

Karen~