Gourami Scaring Me

[UnknownFishies]

My dwarf gourami has been sitting at the top of the tank for days now. Water per emitters are fine and no aggression. She still eats and everything but now her middle section is really slim and I see like a bulge in her back section.( Tried to get it in the pic) Is this normal? Is she pregnant? Yesterday I saw her gulping for air.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

May have DGD (dwarf Gourami disease) which in incurable.

(I could be wrong, but that’s how mine died a few years ago)

 

[UnknownFishies]

May have DGD (dwarf Gourami disease) which in incurable.

(I could be wrong, but that’s how mine died a few years ago)

well crap... that’s sad ?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

well crap... that’s sad ?

I could be overdramatizing the situation, but that’s my best guess.

@Colin_T may be able to give a proper diagnosis.

 

[Colin_T]

The gourami is male. They naturally take air form the surface and have a labyrinth organ in the top of their head to use the oxygen they breath from the air.

Are there any other gouramis in the tank?
If yes they could be fighting and that one is hiding from the bully.

What does its poop look like?
Is it eating normally?

 

[UnknownFishies]

The gourami is male. They naturally take air form the surface and have a labyrinth organ in the top of their head to use the oxygen they breath from the air.

Are there any other gouramis in the tank?
If yes they could be fighting and that one is hiding from the bully.

What does its poop look like?
Is it eating normally?

2 other dwarfs and 3 powder blues but i never saw any bullying. Has the occasional stringy but mostly normal.Eating normally. I really thought it was a female though

 

[Colin_T]

Female dwarf gouramis are silver. If you have 5 colourful dwarf gouramis in the tank, then there are 5 potential bullies picking on it.

If you have a spare tank, you could move it out and see if it starts to act normally again. If it does, then it is being bullied.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Female dwarf gouramis are silver. If you have 5 colourful dwarf gouramis in the tank, then there are 5 potential bullies picking on it.

If you have a spare tank, you could move it out and see if it starts to act normally again. If it does, then it is being bullied.

I have a spare 5 gallon... Does that work?

 

[FishGuest5123]

Sounds like Colin_T nailed it. I was reading on dwarf gourami’s this morning in preparation before purchasing some. They are labyrinth fish, as you probably know and need air just like bettas. Too many males in a tank I s a bad recipe.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Sounds like Colin_T nailed it. I was reading on dwarf gourami’s this morning in preparation before purchasing some. They are labyrinth fish, as you probably know and need air just like bettas. Too many males in a tank I s a bad recipe.

yeah i think i might take the powder blues and take them back...

 

[FishGuest5123]

I have a spare 5 gallon... Does that work?

Temporarily you could but not for good.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Yeah I know that’s way to small... that’s really only good for shrimp or a single betta.

 

[UnknownFishies]

What if i traded for the powder blues for female dwarfs, might take the stress off?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yeah I know that’s way to small... that’s really only good for shrimp or a single betta.

As a temporary respite from being bullied, the five gallon would be a nice haven for him. Better the five gallon for a short while alone, so he's not being picked on, until you can return the powder blues and figure out what you're doing with the other dwarves.

If you post photos of the other ones, I'm sure @Colin_T or @Essjay could tell you whether they're male or female.

Is the five gallon cycled? Also, do you have plants in any of the tanks? Gourami like to be at the surface, and they like plants to hide in. Especially if you have several males and they need to hide from each other.

 

[UnknownFishies]

5 gallon is not cycled. I used it temporarily for my serpaes because they were bullying the others but then one got killed... it’s a long story, but after i moved them back in i emptied the 5 gallon because i saw no further purpose. then again i am not the sharpest tool in the shed and probably should’ve kept it for hospital or qt. Live plants in my main. got anubias, grass, and a fern i can’t remember the name of. some floating parts of the plants are in the tank but that’s it. i know i should probably get more taller ones.