# water level for gouramis



## Bridget01 (Jan 19, 2011)

I have two dwarf gouramis and I was recently reading that they like/need a low water level so they can get oxygen from the air. I like the water level to be up to the rim of the tank, just for the looks. Is that too high? Is a lower water level necessary for their health? I have had them for almost two months and they seem healthy.


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## Bridget01 (Jan 19, 2011)

One gourami tends to hang at the top and the other is all over the place.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

As long as there is airspace between the water surface and the hood or glass canopy they should be fine.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Bridget01 said:


> I have two dwarf gouramis and I was recently reading that they like/need a low water level so they can get oxygen from the air. I like the water level to be up to the rim of the tank, just for the looks. Is that too high? Is a lower water level necessary for their health? I have had them for almost two months and they seem healthy.





Bridget01 said:


> One gourami tends to hang at the top and the other is all over the place.



As jeaninell said, they only need access to the surface - whether there is an inch or two inches doesn't matter. If the water level is too high, it can interfere with the CO2/O2 exchange, but that's more of an issue with glass tops as they provide more complete coverage than the plastic hoods.

Dwarf gouramis generally aren't tolerant of one another. The one that hangs out at the surface is no doubt being bullied by the one that's all over the place. You really should separate them.


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## Bridget01 (Jan 19, 2011)

Believe it or not, the one who hangs mostly at the top I believe to be the female and she occasionally chases the male. She is the newer one too. I watch pretty carefully and don't think there is any serious bullying going on; she seems to just be bossy.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

What makes you think it's a female? It's extremely common for people new to think they have females when they in fact have males.


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## Bridget01 (Jan 19, 2011)

I don't know for sure about their genders. The one who is all over the place is more colorful, a much brighter blue, with a red tint, so I assume he is a male. The one who hangs at the top (the bossy one) is a pale blue.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Hanging out at the top is a sign of being bullied. Being all over the place is a sign of dominance. I think there's a good deal of bullying taking place. There doesn't need to be overt attacks for this to be the case. I think the fish may be stressed, which is why they aren't behaving right.


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