My dwarf gouamie

Question
hello, i have a dwarf male gouramie and it keeps hiding in my pirate skull and barely comes out what is this from?. i have a 10 gallon tank,i have a guppy with a fat tail,2 mickey mouse platys,a albino cory and my dwarf gouamie. my temperature is about 77 degrees and i do 15 percent water changes every week and feed 1 time a day.it is flake food. i have 5 fish a power filter that came with the tank. i replace about 1.5 gallons a week. it has been set up for a little over a month.my amonia about 2 weeks ago was a little high and my PH is normal and so it my nitrates please help!!!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Austin;

He might just be a shy fish. Provide decorations or plants that go all the way up to the top of the water where gouramies usually like to hang out and maybe he will feel more safe.

If he seems to have trouble swimming upward in the tank and sinks down to the bottom a lot, it means he is having trouble with his swim bladder. The swim bladder controls buoyancy (the ability to float) so if that's what is going on he will find a place down low to hide. It can fail from shock, constipation, genetic deformity, injury, infection, etc. There isn't a lot you can do though. A change of diet by feeding peeled peas can help for constipation. Break them into in little chunks.  Peas are like a laxative for fish. You could also try medicated food in case it's failed from bacterial infection. There's just no way to tell what's wrong when it comes to the swim bladder because it's inside the fish where you can't see.  

I hope he does better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins