Gouramis are very nice fish to keep because they are colorful and they have some funny behaviors, one of them is hiding. In this article, we will look at if gouramis like to hide, and why they do that.
Do Gourami like to hide? Yes, Gouramis will naturally hide in any hiding places available because they enjoy it.
There are many different species of Gouramis, and they are classified as either aggressive or semi-aggressive, depending on the particular specie involved.
They are colorful and could be very active and territorial sometimes, especially the male ones.
Hiding is part of their thing, and it is one of the funny behaviors they exhibit sometimes, and they could hide in anything, including behind filters, in the substrates, in caves, behind plants and pipes, etc.
Why Is My Gourami Hiding?
Although they like hiding, they are very active fish and dwell at the surface or middle of the tank, and they are labyrinth fish too, meaning that they could take air from the surface and breath with it, especially if there is a lack of oxygen in the tank, so that is why they dwell at the surface most times.
There are many reasons why these fish could hide sometimes, and they are:
1. They Are shy fish: Many times Gouramis act as if they are being shy by hiding and staying away from any other animals in the tank.
They tend to do this a lot when they are still new in the tank, so it is classified as being shy.
This might be because they are monitoring the environment and other animals too.
Again they will exhibit signs of shyness by hiding if there is only one Gourami in a tank with other fish. This is seen more in the female Gouramis, and it is attributed as an act of shyness.
2. Bullying: Another reason they hide is when they are being bullied by their kind or by another animal.
If you keep a few females and more males, you will notice that the females will hide a lot because they are being harassed or bullied by the males.
This act alone is very stressful and will make them hide to secure themselves from the ongoing bullying and harassment in the tank.
3. They might be hiding as a result of bad water conditions.
Normally, they will swim to the surface and stay there if the water is bad, but they can’t hold on to the surface for a very long time, before they will fall back to the bottom of the tank, and they will have to hide and become less active in such condition.
Do Gouramis Need Hiding Places?
Yes, Gouramis are good at hiding, and they enjoy it, so they need hiding places to be happy and to hide from bullies and predators.
A Gourami tank is never complete without having in place some hiding places where they will hide when they want, such hiding places include, live plants, caves, substrates, pipes, gravel, etc.
Conclusion
Gouramis naturally love to stay in hiding many times due to some of the reasons above.
