Are chocolate gourami shy?

Question

I just got 1 and he is close to the top (alive) i just got him a hour or 2 ago. He looks shy. Are they?Thank you for your help=)

Answer 1

Yes. They are very, very shy and very delicate fish. They are at least as hard to keep alive and healthy as Discus, probably harder in my opinion. I have kept many different fish and bred many, many of them and I can't think of any that have been more demanding of water quality than Chocolate gourami. They can survive in reasonable quality water, as long as there are NO ammonia or nitrites in the tank and as long as it's fairly soft and somewhere below 7.0 pH. But for best care, they should be in a heavily planted tank with very few tank mates ( and those should be small and calm) with a pH around 5.5-6.0, a hardness around 1-2dGH and the temperature about 85oF. They are also often quite picky eaters needing live foods. Be sure to give him a cave or two to hide in as well.

Though focused on breeding, this is an excellent article on giving them the best of care.
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Xema_Chocolate_Gourami.html

Additional info:
http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Sphaerichthys_osphromenoides.html
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Gourami,%20Chocolate.htm

Best of luck with him and if I can help, feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 2

Yes, they can be very shy. Just case you didn't know. They should be kept in a tank with very soft water & temp of about 82 to 86 degrees F. I would also suggest you plant the tank heavily. This will make them feel more at home.

Answer 3

i have a chocolate gourami Ive had him for 6 months,they are challenging fish,and they are shy,i find mine hides in the plants i have and i very rarely see him.
you have to keep your water levels at a optimum condition,they are susceptible to bacterial infections and skin parasites,mine has had mouth rot,and White spot in the last few months.
they should be kept on there own,they like plants .and prefer gentle filtration,in the tank.
they do prefer a higher temperature in the tank than most fish,77 81 Fahrenheit ,they also prefer live food or frozen food and freeze dried food to the flaked food.
i would check your temp in your tank as they prefer it warmer .