Blue Paradise- odd behavior

Question
I recently purchased a paradise blue gourami. All he does is hang out at the bottom of the tank and sometimes is on his side. He does not move until one of the other fish accidently bumps into him. He can swim to the top just fine when it is time for feeding. I have plenty of hiding spaces, but he does not utilise those. There is nothing wrong with the water and I have been testing it everyday since I got this fish just to make sure. He is in the tank with other community fish (platies, mollies, guppies). Is this normal behavior or could he be sick? He has no visible cuts, bruises, ripped fins, etc. He looks perfectly normal except his fins aren't "fanned out". They are more flat against his body.
I've already called a specialty fish store and all they could tell me is just to keep an eye on him. Any advice is appreciated.

Answer
Dear Marisol,
The specialty fish store has good advice, keep an eye on him and watch for any illnesses. Sometimes hiding or being lethargic is one of the first signs of the beginnings of fish disease.

If we could rule out all possibility of sickness, your paradise would be showing what's just simply known as "Unhappy" behavior. Either he doesn't like the other fish or feels intimidated by their constant activity and energy, Paradise fish are usually very quiet and calm fish themselves, and as silly as it sounds, active fish can upset or intimidate them even!

Another thing it might be he is not use to the tank's environment just yet since he is relatively a new addition. Time is the best cure here.

But still, when I kept a Blue Paradise fish in a 55gallon community tank with Angels, tetras, gouramis, and rainbowfish he would behave much like yours does. He would sit right up at the top with clamped fins. Although he was never diseased or chased by the others. I am beginning to wonder if Paradise fish are best kept in a tank to themselves.

Paradise fish seem to have strange personalities. Some are very aggressive and people have bad luck with them getting along with any fish. But then there are almost equally many others who claim Paradise fish are peaceful and docile fish.

Some people keep these fish in pairs also (male and female)
Although there is always a possibility aggression issues could emerge like with any fish.

So what all this boils down to is I think you'll have to do some experimenting with your Paradise fish. Try putting a thick layer of floating plants in your tank. These can be live or fake. Floating plants are appreciated by all fish especially gourami-type fish like your Paradise fish and also your Platies, Mollies, and guppies love taking refuge in it. The floating plants may help provide some refuge or shade that might make your Paradise fish feel better. It is also possible that the other fish might be picking on him when you are not around. Livebearer males are often persistant enough in their breeding urge that they chase even completely different species. I've had a male molly chase rainbowfish before so badly that the rainbowfish were forced to hide in the corner all the time.

If your Paradise fish were mine, I might try him alone in another tank. But that is only if you have another spare tank like a 5-10gallon. I would be interested to see how he does alone, as it may be the other fish being too intimidating. Every fish tends to be an individual in their temperament.

Also check your water quality. Sometimes your already established fish can be adjusted to really different water chemistry or high levels if nitrate and whenever you add a new fish into the tank, they are put into shock in the different water and behave very listless. It's best to test your water if you can. And above-all, do 30% water changes for a couple days if you can.

Best wishes and feel free to write with anymore concerns!
Karen~