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Working with metal threads is delicate work.  You can't tie them off easily (though I have done it, I don't recommend it!) and they should be couched to avoid damaging the thread.  This is where "sinking" or "plunging" is your friend.

Leave an inch or so of metal thread at the beginning and end of each couched section, on top of the fabric.  Don't worry about knotting the ends to secure them, simply start couching leaving an inch or so of untouched thread.  When you have finished couching, thread a needle with a sturdy, unknotted thread (fishing line works well for this,) and bring it up through the fabric at the point where the couching started or began.  Make a loop over the inch of metal thread, and bring the needle back down through the same hole.  Gently tug on the string to pull the metal thread end to the underside of the fabric.  That is all you need do; no knots, no hiding the ends under your stitching, just a simply plunge!

In this picture, I used a light blue thread to sink the ends, so that you can see it: