Hi, I have 2 female fighters (had a male but it randomly died yesterday), they are in a 270L tank with a few danios, a few dwarf gouramis, birstlenose, corys, & 2 small tetras. they always hide in the java moss and hardly ever come out, anyone know why?

the male also use to hide so i took the paradise fish i had out as i thought he was scared of him but that didnt change anything.

Is there a strong current in the tank? Fighters tend to like slow moving water.

Perhaps they feel overwhelmed in a tank that size. They are usually kept in much smaller aquariums. The gouramis may be intimidating them too, just by their presence, as they are a similar shape and a bit bigger.

Is the tank planted? I find that makes quite a difference to how they behave in larger tanks; tend to do better when the territories are broken up slightly, males and females both

yeah there is plants, its not full of them tho

It can be the gourami's, Both the fighters and gourami's are labyrinth fish and tend to not get along, that could also be the reason why the male died as the paradise fish are also labyrinth fish.

hmmm thanks, the gouramis are just small dwarf ones tho, cud be the reason tho?

Dwarf Gourami's tend to be more agressive than the larger ones

Not more aggressive as such, just seem to hit heads with fighters more often - similar size, habitat etc