Dwarf Gourami Sick - Please Help

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MyFishKaren

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Yesterday I kept the lights off of my tank to help eliminate cyanobacteria. Eris, my Dwarf Gourami, stayed hiding in a ship for all of yesterday and last night. I recently just saw her acting weird (pictures attached). Is she sick? What do I need to do to help?

She is now in a breeding net, but she’s looking up rather than swimming normally. Is it her swim bladder?

Thanks,
MyFishKaren
 

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can you post a short video of the fish swimming weirdly?

the gourami in the pic is a male :)
 
can you post a short video of the fish swimming weirdly?

the gourami in the pic is a male :)

It's not allowing me to post a video due to it being too large. In the video, Eris is shown resting the fin located near the back of his body on the net. He swam around for a bit, but then resorted back to resting on the bottom of the net for stability. Earlier today he was looking up more than he is now. Another thing to note, I did not feed my fish last night. I fed them this morning and he didn't eat anything, he simply just stayed inside of my pirate ship.

As of right now he is resting on the bottom of the breeders net with his stomach.

Thanks,
MyFishKaren
 
You won't be able to attach a video file directly to a post on this site, but can you upload the video to youtube and post a link?
 
Update:

He’s now laying down completely, but still breathing. I dont know what is wrong with him. Maybe it was the stress of the previous water change? Here are the results of the water change I just conducted:

pH - 8.0
ammonia - .25ppm-.50ppm
nitrite - .50ppm-1.0ppm
nitrate - 0
 

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Update:

Eris sadly has passed. I do not know what from, but I am debating whether or not to put a general cure medicine into the tank in fear of it spreading to my other fish.

Thanks,
MyFishKaren
 
Unfortunately Dwarf Gouramis are riddled with diseases and have a very short life span because of this. The two most common problems seen in them are Tuberculosis (TB) and the Iridovirus. Neither can be treated.

If there was an ammonia or nitrite reading in the water that could have weakened the fish and the Iridovirus or just stress in general could have finished him off.

The water change is unlikely to kill the fish especially if the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine and has a similar pH and GH to the tank water.

Do Not add medications to the tank. Any diseases the gourami had, are already in the tank and if the other fish have contracted them, then wait until they show signs of an actual disease. Any medication now could stuff up the filters and stop them developing, leaving the tank to start cycling again.

Due to the ammonia and nitrite readings you should be doing a 75% water change each day until the ammonia and nitrite are 0.
 
Unfortunately Dwarf Gouramis are riddled with diseases and have a very short life span because of this. The two most common problems seen in them are Tuberculosis (TB) and the Iridovirus. Neither can be treated.

If there was an ammonia or nitrite reading in the water that could have weakened the fish and the Iridovirus or just stress in general could have finished him off.

The water change is unlikely to kill the fish especially if the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine and has a similar pH and GH to the tank water.

Do Not add medications to the tank. Any diseases the gourami had, are already in the tank and if the other fish have contracted them, then wait until they show signs of an actual disease. Any medication now could stuff up the filters and stop them developing, leaving the tank to start cycling again.

Due to the ammonia and nitrite readings you should be doing a 75% water change each day until the ammonia and nitrite are 0.

What negative effects do nitrite and ammonia have on the fish? How do they build, and how could I prevent them from building in the future?

I will do a water change tomorrow. Do frequent water changes take any tolls on the fish? I.E., does it stress them out? My father is worried the fiddling around with the tank is the cause of my fish dying and high ammonia/nitrites. (Note: he has only kept koi awhile ago and has never ventured off to different types)

Thanks,
MyFishKaren
 
Last edited:
Anything that breaks down in water will produce ammonia. Fish food, fish waste, dead fish, rotting plant leaves all create ammonia. In an aquarium with an established (cycled) filter, there are good bacteria that eat the ammonia and convert it into nitrite. There are more good bacteria that eat the nitrite and convert it into nitrate. These bacteria will normally keep the ammonia and nitrite levels on 0.

Any ammonia or nitrite will stress fish and high levels can definitely kill fish, so a good established filter is essential to keep the ammonia & nitrite at 0. The ammonia and nitrite damage the fish's gills and internal organs. They have more trouble breathing and can suffer organ failure.

The easiest way to reduce ammonia & nitrite levels in a tank is to do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean the substrate to remove any left over food or fish poop. I recommend doing a 75% water change and gravel clean each day until the ammonia & nitrite are back to 0.

You can do a 90% water change every day as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine and has a similar temperature and water chemistry to the tank water. Fish are fine with clean water and daily water changes, but they will not tolerate ammonia, nitrite or high levels of nitrate, and they won't live in chlorinated water. So big water changes are fine, just make sure you use a dechlorinator in any new water before it gets added to the tank. The best way to do this is to fill a "Fish Only" bucket with tapwater, add dechlorinator and aerate for 30minutes or so. Then add that water to the tank. You can add a bit of hot water to the bucket to raise the temperature if necessary.

It's also a good idea to reduce feeding to once every second day, and only give the fish as much as they can eat in about 20-30 seconds. Remove any uneaten food after that. The more food going into the tank, the more ammonia that is produced and the higher the levels get to. The same with nitrite. Don't worry about the fish starving, they will not starve. Unlike mammals that use most of the food we eat to stay warm, fish take their body temperature from the surrounding environment (the water). This means any food they eat is used for growing and moving about the tank. Because of this, fish can go for weeks or even months without food and still not starve.
 

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