Bad Conditions For A Dwarf Gourami

[DanielKeepsFish]

I know i know, i shouldn't have bought test strips...
 
Today i got a master liquid test kit because i had been reading about water testing and found out that test strips are notoriously inaccurate. Worried for my fish, i went to the store and by a freshwater liquid test kit. I check my ammonia: 0
I check my nitrites: 0 I go to check my water hardness and pH, and it is very alkaline and very hard. My water is almost at 200 for hardness and has a pH of 7.8! I have a dwarf gourami that has been acting strange lately (short bursts of super fast darting around and only swimming back and fourth in the back of the tank) So i was wondering if this could be because of the bad water. (going to buy some peat to hopefully lower the pH a bit) Also, i kind of ruled out dwarf gourami disease because it doesn't have any other symptoms.  
My red tail shark seems unaffected.
 
 
Please Help! 
 
 

 

[Meeresstille]

How long have you had this fish and when did you set up the tank? Did you cycle the tank? What is the temperature of the water, what is the Nitrate level at and what is your water changing routine? pH of 7.8 is fine you don't need to alter it, your fish will adjust to it. Always acclimate new fish carefully. Try to find out at what pH your LFS keeps their tanks. Possibly they are on the same water source as you and have the same pH.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

i dont know if i was dong the tests wrong or something like that, but this morning i tested the water and it has dropped down to about 6.9. My fish aren't dead or stressed so my guess is that i was doing the test wrong.
 
Thank you for the help though. I probably should have checked how i was testing the water instead of wasting your time.

 

[Byron]

This hasn't answered the question about your gourami's odd behaviour.  Gourami are sedate fish and thus need security, usually in the form of lots of plants and especially floating ones.
 
I also see a possible issue with the red tail shark, as I think has been referenced elsewhere.  The shark may possibly be affecting the gourami.  The shark (Epalzeorhynchos bicolor) frequently take a strong dislike to any upper fish with vertical stripes.  And remember the phermones/allomones, as well as actual physical interaction.
 
The cycling issues already mentioned are another possibility.  Fish can be internally impacted by levels of any form of nitrogen, whether ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, and live through the initial cycling but succumb later.
 
Byron.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

well if the shark is the problem, that can be solved. I can move him into another tank but ill have to cycle it first. Do you think that a 1 inch red tail can produce enough waste to make ammonia levels unsafe? The tank as i have said before is a 45g 36x18x16

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

i doubt it is the shark though, because the gourami doesn't really avoid the shark and is 3 or 4 times larger.

in fact, when the gourami swims by, the shark tends to avoid getting to close.

 

[Byron]

I was only mentioning possible issues generally, for the future if not now.  The gourami behaviour suggests internal trouble.  Meeresstille asked some questions that haven't been answered, and the issue may well originate with those.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

Well if it helps, he does seem to eat normal and he looks normal too.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

i tried adding some fake plants to create more hiding places and hopefully fix the problem.  I'll see how he is doing tomorrow.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

well, adding hiding places didn't work... the shark is happy though. He sits on a leaf of the anubias right under the filter waterfall and loves the little bubbles that come down and tickle him/her

 

[Meeresstille]

Hi DanielKeepsFish, I'm not sure if you're still looking for help. If you are, then you need to give us the information that was asked for.

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

ok, i got him about a week ago, i cycled the tank, i acclimated him and the red tail (they were in the same bag) very slowly and they didn't dart around or look stressed when they were acclimated, and for 4 days after that they were fine and eating. My LFS won't tell me their water conditions for some reason, i do 25% water changes weekly(I've done one so far) ph: 7.0 ammonia: 0 nitrites: 0 nitrates: 15ppm Hardness: 100 temp: 78. The red tail is docile towards the gourami, i added plants for more hiding places to try and fix this problem but now the gourami has switched from swimming back and fourth in the back of the tank to swimming up and down on the side of the tank, occasionally straying from his path and then turning back and doing it again. From what i have observed, the gourami eats well, he is on tropical fish flakes and i plan on getting some brine shrimp soon. Neither fish show any external signs of stress.
 
Hope this helps

 

[Meeresstille]

Looks like your water conditions are fine and are not the cause for the gourami to swim erratic. That leaves the fish being incompatible or that your gourami is ill. I've never kept red tail sharks myself but a quick google search revealed that your two fish are incompatible. I'm sorry if this may not be what you want to hear. Your fish may very well have an illness as new fish often get infected somewhere along the journey from the breeders' to the LFS. Also, new fish are usually stressed and more susceptible to diseases. 
 
Keep a close eye on your fish for any injuries, for now there may only be bullying when you aren't looking. You might want to consider returning one of the fish. Also keep a look-out for any infections such as parasites and worms.  

 

[DanielKeepsFish]

Well, after 2 days of having way more fake plants in the tank, the fish is swimming and eating normally. And yes i know they aren't compatable and i will move my redtail to a 45gal tank that is currently in my garage. I will keep a close eye on him though, that iridovirus sounds pretty nasty.
 
 
 
 
Regular gouramis such as gold or opaline would work with this shark right? they are both semi aggresive and get to about the same length.

 

[Byron]

To your last question: gourami are sedate fish by nature, and should not be combined with active fish.  Sometimes bottom fish in the loach family can work, even though loaches are generally active, depending upon the species and the aquascape.  But here we have a bottom fish that is not strictly speaking from the loach family, though it has a resemblance, and it is a known aggressive or "nasty" fish generally speaking.  I would only keep a red tail shark with upper fish that are more active and robust, such as many (but not all) of the barbs, and some rasbora (the medium-larger species).
 
BTW, as you mention Gold/Opaline gourami, these can be a tad on the feisty side too.  This is actually the same species, Trichopodus trichopteris, which has a number of variants such as the Blue Gourami, Gold Gourami, Three-Spot Gourami, Opaline Gourami, Cosby Gourami, and others.  But they are the same species, thus same behaviours, and males are territorial (a trait common to all gourami, though it can manifest itself in varying degrees, and here is almost always very obvious) so you need lots of space and then 2-3 females to one male works best.  In very large tanks (4+ feet) you might be OK with a second male and another female.  More females than males works to soften the pushiness of the males towards them.  Other fish are sometimes left alone, sometimes not.  A more peaceful gourami, and a real beauty, is the Pearl.
 
Byron.