# Bought two new fish for a tank and they KEEP STAYING AROUND THE FILTER!!!



## seyz (Jul 25, 2008)

We bought two small red gouramies for one of our tanks and all they keep doing is sitting in the top corner near the filter we have. They even go hide behind it!! We don't have any other aggressive fish in the tank. I tried to bump them with the net and they weren't even scared of it, they like had no real will to fight it!

Could something be wrong?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

IMO thats not normal for fish but it might be normal if they don't feel secure, or are just getting acustom to the tank. How long have you had them? Are they the same sex?


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## seyz (Jul 25, 2008)

Same sex, I am not sure? But I literally just bought them today. They've begun to move around a little bit more(they move from top left side to top right side of tank...). I don't know if they're scared of the other fish or what. They are much smaller but the other guys are old and harmless.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Try turning the lights off for some hours to help reduce stress when you add new fish, sounds like stress and anything to help soothe would help. Could be other reasons but just wanted to throw that out there.


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## seyz (Jul 25, 2008)

They don't look sick. They're just not moving away from each other and not going more than 2 inches from the top and the corners. They ate when I fed them and they're swimming alright. They're just not like independent fish yet.


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## harleyboy08 (Apr 26, 2008)

this happened with my four gouramis i think its is there getting youst to the new enviroment and are just a bit shy towards other fish.


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## Doc-55 (Aug 10, 2008)

Tank cycled?


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## Toe (Aug 13, 2008)

FWIW, I think most gourami for sale (especially the more colorful breeds) are male. The females of those breeds are too "boring."

And gourami are labyrinth fish, meaning they sometimes breathe air, so hanging near the surface is a good sign.

Hiding behind the filter sounds to me like they're scared and will need some time to get used to their new conditions. The only thing I would recommend is checking your ph to make sure they're not overly uncomfortable.


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## squilla1123 (Aug 10, 2008)

Do you have lots of cover (plants,rocks,etc.) in the tank?Most gouramis like dense plant life!


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## seyz (Jul 25, 2008)

They are actually doing good now. (One of them at least,I am posting a thread shortly on the condition of the other one  ). But after a while, I added a few tetras to the tank and the two new guys were doing just fine. I have 4 fake plants and a rock in the tank and they do like hanging out in them. Please take a look at my other thread on the condition of my fish.


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