is my powder blue ok?

krish

yeah i have a powder blue gourami who has been staying at the top of the tank for like the past month or so. I'm really not sure why. I just did a water change this Sunday, thinking that there was something wrong in the water, but he still stays up there. Now i know that they are top dwelling fish, but he stays like a few millimeters below the surface and he rarely strays to the bottom. in fact he rarely even moves from his little spot behind the output of the filter. He eats normally, but then just goes back and doesnt move. please help!

thekoimaiden

How many other gourami are in the tank? Gourami are territorial and should only be kept about one to a tank (for smaller tanks). It sounds like he is being harassed. The water current might be bothering him, too.

krish

there are three other gouramis. one of them did harass him a while back, but not anymore. in fact, that one has become quite timid. Also, how do i lessen the water current?

krish

oh yeah my tank is 30 gallons.

thekoimaiden

Unless all but one of those gourami are female, then you're going to get some aggression issues. It's not a good idea to house more than one male gourami in smaller tanks as they are territorial. I'm guessing you have a powder blue dwarf gourami? Click on the profile and you will see the territorial issues with the fish. If you can separate all the males, you're going to have a much happier tank.

I use an aquarium sponge over the filter outflow to reduce current. In fact I use it in my 29 gal with gourami and tetra. It works very well. I also use a java fern attached to driftwood right under the outflow to break up the flow even more.