Gouramis not eating or eat very little

Question
I have a 40g tank that has been fully cycled with 5 flame gouramis and 5 neon blue gouramis.  I also have some various tropical fish with them.  Everytime that I feed them, I find that they never go after the flakes like the other fish.  All the fish I have acts as if its their last meal ever while I see the gouramis occassionaly get a spec of flakes if it goes by them but they normally hang in the corners or common hiding places.  Is there a specific type of food I should feed them or in general that they would go after?  Should I switch to food that sinks first?  I have tried the flake food and the frozen brine shrimp in which both have not worked.

Answer
Hi Eric,

It sounds to me like your problem is bullying and/or intimidation from the other fishes. Since you don't mention what other kind of fish you have, I can't know for sure, but the hiding is not normal behavior and either indicates that the gouramis are scared or are not feeling well. Review all the fish you have, sometimes community fish (like angelfish, for example, who are cichlids after all, and all cichlids are territorial) can be too aggressive to keep with mild fish.

I have to say, those dwarf gouramis you picked out are notorious for being...um, not the hardiest of fish, since the Asian fish farms churn out a particularly poor Colisa lalia, the kind of dwarf gouramis you have. I love gouramis, but prefer the larger ones, or the thick lipped gourami, Colisa labiosa.

You can read this article for more:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1139

Opinions vary, but I for one would not buy any of the neon type dwarf gouramis considering the problems I have read and heard about. Hopefully this is not what is affecting your fish, but just in case, you should be watching them closely.

Sinking foods probably won't work for dwarf gouramis as they do not usually pick at the bottom the way the larger gouramis do. However one thing you can try is bloodworms. The frozen kind is a hit with fish, everybody's favorite usually. If you thaw the cube or chunk of frozen bloodworms, you can pour the liquid into the tank and it should disperse everywhere. If those dwarf gouramis don't get excited by this, I would be worried then since these are a delicacy!

Another thing to try is training the dwarf gouramis to eat on a different side of the tank. This can be hard, especially if you have a really busy community tank, but I've done it with my betta who is in a community set up. Just feed the others, say, on the left side, and then let your dwarf gouramis know (maybe by guiding them with your finger) that you are going to feed them on the right side. They should eventually get the hint and start watching your finger - this works with my betta every time! Like dwarf gouramis, bettas are slow, slightly frustrating, feeders. I guess because of being both in the Anabantoid family.

I hope that helps! Take care.
Nicole