Typically, gouramis are going to be fish that will be easy to care for. Most gouramis have fairly peaceful temperaments, and they’re even fairly hardy.
You’ll likely be rather surprised if you see one of your gouramis jumping out of the tank. Why would a fish suddenly choose to do something such as this?
Is there something wrong in the tank? Or is the gourami choosing to jump for some other reason?
Keep reading to learn why a gourami fish might choose to jump out of an aquarium. When you have a better understanding of why this happens, it’ll be easier to keep it from happening again.
1 – Dirty Water
It’s likely that your gourami would only try to jump out of the tank if it felt that it had to. One common reason why fish will choose to jump out of aquariums has to do with poor water quality.
If the water in your fish tank is quite dirty, then it’s going to be hard for the gourami fish to live. It might be in poor health due to the water being so bad.
You’re supposed to keep an eye on the pH balance of the water as well as the temperature. When you don’t clean the fish tank and do regular water changes, the water can get dirty quickly.
The pH balance of the tank will get thrown off due to the presence of organic debris. It’s also possible that the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels will be way too high.
If you want your fish to stay healthy, then it’s imperative to keep a close eye on the water parameters. You must endeavor to keep the parameters in the right range for whatever fish you’re caring for.
Different types of gouramis will have different water parameter preferences. No matter what, you should know the recommended water parameters so that you can keep things perfect.
A fish will only jump out of the tank when it is unhappy. Take the gourami fish jumping out of the tank as a sign that you need to make significant changes.
Do your best to address the water parameter issues by getting the tank clean. Clean the tank and do an immediate water change.
It’s likely that you will also need to alter the pH balance of the water. Use a pH balance testing kit to see how things are looking and then use chemicals to adjust the balance as necessary.
You should be able to improve the water conditions substantially in short fashion. Just be sure to pay closer attention to the fish tank in the future to avoid situations such as this.
2 – Bully Fish
One possibility that you might overlook at first is that the gourami fish could be getting bullied in the fish tank. Sometimes you might make a mistake and choose bad tank mates for your gouramis.
Gouramis are generally peaceful fish that won’t cause a lot of trouble in a community tank setting. As such, there are many different types of freshwater fish that could bully them.
If you put a gourami in a fish tank with a larger and more aggressive fish, then it might have problems. Sometimes the gouramis might get bullied so much that they will constantly try to hide.
This is certainly a bad situation that you want to avoid. It’s something that could wind up getting some of your gouramis killed if you don’t put them in a safer environment.
A gourami fish could choose to attempt to jump out of the tank to reach a safer place. The fish doesn’t know that there isn’t any water outside of the tank.
The best way to avoid a situation such as this is to be careful when choosing tank mates for your gouramis. There are many types of gouramis out there, and this means that you will need to find specific information about what fish are compatible with the type of gourami fish that you own.
When you do the necessary research, it keeps bad things such as this from happening. Your gouramis and the other fish that you choose for the community tank should be able to live in peace.
Jumping Is Always About Unhappiness
No matter what, a fish choosing to jump out of the fish tank is always going to be about unhappiness. There could be different things that might be wrong in the tank, but the only thing you can be certain of is that the fish isn’t happy.
A happy fish isn’t going to try to jump out of the aquarium. This is pretty much a last-ditch effort to try to find a better environment.
Those who do a good job of taking care of their fish will not likely have to deal with a situation such as this. Don’t let this make you feel too bad since everyone makes mistakes.
If you’re a beginner when it comes to keeping aquariums in your home, then you might not have everything down just yet. Even people with experience will make mistakes from time to time.
Do your best to look after the water parameters and other aspects of the tank. If you’re able to keep the tank in good condition, then your fish should be happy to stay moving forward.
Can the Fish Survive?
So what should you do when the fish jumps out of the water? Is it possible that the fish will be able to survive?
It might be able to survive, but it depends on certain factors. If you catch the fish quickly enough, then you’ll have a better chance of saving it.
Gouramis are labyrinth fish, and this means that they can breathe oxygen at the surface. If you keep these fish moist, then they can survive outside of water for a fairly long period of time.
As soon as you notice that the fish has jumped, you should try to get it back in the water. You could put it back in the tank that it came from or you can put some aquarium water in a smaller tank or container.
If all goes well, the fish will survive. There’s a chance that it might not survive if it hurt itself severely or if it was outside of the water for too long.
Jeff has always enjoyed having pets, but as a child, he was drawn to his family’s fish tank. Being able to maintain a small ecosystem and observe the behaviors and interactions in the underwater world peaked his interest early on and has kept him hooked until this day. On Avid Aquarist, Jeff shares everything he’s learned about helping aquatic life survive and thrive in a home aquarium.
Christina Brasher
Saturday 2nd of July 2022
My gourami is pretty peaceful with my other fish, except sometimes he get fiesta. Unfortunately he jumped out of the tank 2 days ago any my dog ate him. Any advice?
Jeff
Tuesday 5th of July 2022
Sorry to hear about your gourami. If you think something might have changed with the environment (water conditions, stress, etc.), I'd try to fix that first. If your fish was just more active than most, your best best would probably be to make sure your tank has a cover.