Could Use Some Advice

[Logan0516]

Hey guys I could really use some advice on something. I am new to the acquarium as well as my wife. I had one as a kid but that was years ago. I've never had a fish get sick and look to be in so much trouble just to breathe. I have a dwarf gourami that just lays on the gravel... not by choice, can't really move around... I've seen him try. I've been hoping I'd wake up and see that he passed in the night but he is still just lying there breathing... very hard. I have read different posts online about humanely putting him out of his misery, but they all seem pretty hard to do... in other words my wife didn't like the idea of any of them.

Can any of you explain to me how you've had to deal with this issue and what you ended up doing? Thanks.

Chris

 

[Verminator89]

Either purchase a water test kit that can test all the basics covering ammonia, nitrite, nitrates. Perhaps get a pH tester also. Alternatively mnost good LFS will test your water either for free, or for a very small charge. Best to get your water tested either way and see what/if anything is wrong. Then people can advise accordingly. Perhaps in the mean time give us some other details such as, tank size, filtration, other occupants, feeding regime. This will give some indication to other members how you run your tank and where your going wrong if you are.

Its always sad when a fish takes a turn for the worse, but believe me when i say this. No fish is beyond saviour. I've had some of my big ol girls lying on their side in the tank apaprently lifeless. I've scooped them up and placed them in their own tank with high oxygen levels (air pump) and treated with general stress relief medications and they've made a full recovery!

Hope this helps, James

 

[ChilliPepper]

Hey guys I could really use some advice on something. I am new to the acquarium as well as my wife. I had one as a kid but that was years ago. I've never had a fish get sick and look to be in so much trouble just to breathe. I have a dwarf gourami that just lays on the gravel... not by choice, can't really move around... I've seen him try. I've been hoping I'd wake up and see that he passed in the night but he is still just lying there breathing... very hard. I have read different posts online about humanely putting him out of his misery, but they all seem pretty hard to do... in other words my wife didn't like the idea of any of them.

Can any of you explain to me how you've had to deal with this issue and what you ended up doing? Thanks.

Chris

Do you have a water test kit? If you could get one from your LFS (the liquid ones, not the strips) then post back your results for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite we can probably tell what the problem is.

What size tank do you have, what stocking is in it, what filtration do you use and what tank maintenance do you perform and how regularly?

 

[star4]

It could be a multitude of things wrong, but firstly as verminator says, raise the air level in your tank and try and put the gourami in some sort breeding trap so he is nearer the surface.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Unfortunately Dwarf Gouramis are very sensitive and prone to diseases. It's a result of inbreeding them to get their bright colours.

Has he got any growths on him or is he just laying at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavily?

 

[ChilliPepper]

How's he doing?

 

[Logan0516]

Unfortunately Dwarf Gouramis are very sensitive and prone to diseases. It's a result of inbreeding them to get their bright colours.

Has he got any growths on him or is he just laying at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavily?

Right now he is just laying at the bottom, breathing heavy... his fins do not look good either, well the tail... it looks like it has some sort of cottony growth on it.

I only have a tester for ph and ammonia, and the ammonia one is the strips... I will have to go and get some other testers. Currently there are 3 tetras in there with the gourami. Nothing wrong with them at all. The tank is a 6 gallon that I wish I hadn't gotten. My wife liked the design but it is a pain to do any maintenance on. I usually do a water change weekly of 25% like they said at the pet store, and change the filter media when I was told. I don't have any way of separating the gourami from the others... I should go get a small tank or something to do that.

 

[Logan0516]

How's he doing?

Ok after my last post I made a quick trip to petsmart before they closed. I got a tester kit to test the ph, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels in my tank. The pH was slightly above 7... so I put a little of the pH decrese. Ammonia levels were close to if not 0. Same with the nitrite and nitrate levels. I also purchased a small air pump and some tubing along with an air stone to increase the oxygen in the tank. I guess all I can do now is wait and see in the morning.

 

[Twinklecaz]

I think a cottony growth would be some sort of fungus infection, you should get some meds for it. Search "tropical fish illnesses" or something similar first though just to check the symptoms but I think that's what it is.

Good news is your water stats are good. Ammonia and Nitrites should be 0 at all times and Nitrates should be kept to a reasonable level with weekly(ish) water changes.

Your PH is fine btw, don't bother with additives that alter it. Most fish can be acclimitised to most reasonable PHs.

Also don't ever change the filter media until it's falling apart,it holds all the good bateria. They only tell you you need to change it every month or so coz they want to make money.

Hope he gets better. I have Gouramis myself and love them!

 

[ChilliPepper]

I'm really sorry to say but the cotton-like growth sounds like it could be dwarf gourami iridovirus, which is terminal. I lost two fish to that ages ago, when I first kept tropicals. It's not something you've done, they are prone to it and even with meds they don't pull through.

Can you get a photo to check?

Found one of my old Gourami - does yours look like this?

 

[Twinklecaz]

I hope it's not. It's such a shame they're prone to these things, they're such lovely fish.

 

[ChilliPepper]

I hope it's not. It's such a shame they're prone to these things, they're such lovely fish.

I know, it was awful

OP - it started like a cottony growth and then turned into a sore like in the photo. I really hope it isn't it, but this is something that is common in them