This is a common issue with gouramies. Many tend to be shy. First off, a few questions:
- How old are these fish and how long have they been in the tank?
- What sex are they?
- How many do you have?
- What size tank?
- What other fish are in with them?
I suggest you begin by getting some floating cover - plastic floating plants with a suction cup will do; real plants are even better but not necessary. If you can't get any, even a couple of plastic margarine box tops will help
though maybe they aren't the best from an aesthetic point of view...
Increasing the number of plants and cover in general will help.
If you have too many gouramies in a small space, they may be acting this way because they lack territory space. Otherwise, it may be that the fish you have them with are stressing them out by being very active. If the gouramies are a new addition, they should soon settle down.
Try feeding the fish on one end of the tank with the usual flake and give the gouramies some frozen or live food on the other end. This should encourage them to eat quicker while the rest of the fish remain distracted.
In some cases, I have had sucess with feeding my fish pleco pellets... they are large enough for several fish to eat from at once and last longer so even the slower fish get a chance to eat (provided the other fish aren't overly-possessive)
. Soon enough all the fish will be looking for food near the bottom and this will make it easier to feed the gouramies seperately from the others. It should also encourage them to come out more so they are more actively looking for food. I know gouramies are shy, but they are also incredibly fast when they want to. Eventualy you'll be able to feed the fish on ordinary flakes, pellets and frozen, freeze-dried or live foods without worrying about the gouramies not getting their fill.
