Poorly Dwarf Gourami

Feb 25, 2016
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#1
Hi all,

Pleased I have found this website, looks like a great forum for advice.

I just have a question with regards to my Dwarf Gourami as he is looking pretty sick, fat belly and lying on his side just breathing at the top.

Last meal was algae wafer yesterday, at first I thought it was bloating but not sure bloating would cause this lying on its side.

My tank is 55L, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 nitrate 0. pH 7.

Stock: 2 x dwarf gouramis (1 is poorly) - other one is very skittish and hides all the time
5 x pygmy cory's
5 x x-ray tetra
3 x dwarf neon rainbow
2 x bronze cory
1 x albino cory

I am probably overstocked a bit, especially as these fish grow a bit more so will am rigourous with my water changes.

The gourami in question can be seen in the pics below but he desnt look good at all. Should I jusy let nature do its thing or should I give him a helping hand?





Its a planted aquarium so has plenty of places to hide, particularly under the floating plants, assume thats so he can keep breathing with him being a labrynth fish.

Many thanks in advance

Matt
 

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
Oct 22, 2002
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Sunny Southern California
#2
oh man. sorry to hear about your fish. based on the picture..it doesn't look too good. how does he look today? sometimes they look like that and then the next day it's okay but usually it goes back again. you can watch to see how it does. if it's gasping for air at the top and still sideways, then it might be time. some people take the fish out and put it in a bag with the tank water and put it in the freezer or fridge..it kinda just puts them to sleep. never flush them down the toilet alive but i'm sure you know that.
 

Feb 25, 2016
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#3
Hey man,

Today is the first day of symptoms. As it stands Bennet only likes to lie on his side at the surface, if I go near the tank he does swim about but you can see rather large bloating to the rear of his gills.

Matrix is in normal health thankfully so hopefully this is isolated to Bennet. I am going to fast the tank for a couple of days and see if there is any improvement.

Point of note I did change 2 of the 3 stages of my filter media yesterday. It is an Aqua PFi100. I changed the carbon and phosphate pads but did not change the main sponge as that was done 3 weeks ago. Always leave at least 1 stage unchanged.

As much as I like dwarf giouramis I dont think I would keep them again, get very skittish and not great in pairs, also prone to DGIV which isnt great.
Thanks
2016-02-25 18.25.09.jpg 2016-02-25 18.26.07.jpg 2016-02-25 18.26.19.jpg
 

arcab4

The Big Fish
The Big Fish
Oct 22, 2002
1,554
30
48
46
Sunny Southern California
#4
it's good that matrix isnt' affected and it's just bennet so it could be just an isolated incident.
dont' think it has to do with your filter change since you do leave an existing one in there.
keep us updated!
 

Feb 25, 2016
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#5
Hi all, update today is Bennet seems to have recovered a bit. He is no longer 'floating' just hiding in the plants but so are both Dwarf Gouramis. Looks positive anyway. I wonder if he ate too much algae wafer!! He doesnt look as fat today either so maybe just need a good dump. Will see how they get on today.
 

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
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Cape Cod
#7
Bettas are prone to bloating and constipation, and gouramis are related, so that's likely what the problem was. You can offer him a boiled or quickly microwaved pea (take the skin off) if he does it again. The pea tends to move those issues through.