Gourami Update (re: Another For Sylvia)

[doresy]

Well my 'loaner on the bottom of tank' female dwarf neon blue I think is sick! As I said in my last post I have 1 X Male and 1 X female bought together and this female bought a day later from different shop. The latter female has 'bumbled about' on the bottom since arriving. Now and again it swims mid tank only to return to the bottom. None of the other fish bother her at all. She feeds and swims upright, infact other than being on the bottom alot she seemed quite normal. Tonight, however, I do not like the look of her. Dorsal fin is down and under belly seems a little hollow. I have put her in a floating nursery trap ( I do not have a separate tank) and put a catfish pellet in after an hour. She ate that immediatly. She is still resting on the bottom but I think she is happier. Will leave her in there for a day or two and see how she fares unless a better suggestion is offered. I know maybe I should take her back as all my other stock is fit and healthy, my water is good and the tank is calm and well planted.

 

[sylvia]

That she is still eating is an excellent sign but the hollow belly and behaviour doesn't sound good. At this stage, I'd only be guessing at what she might have. I mean it could be parasitical (though unlikely), bacterial or viral. The fact that you got her only recently suggests she realy is sick - they often do carry disease and it's adviseable to quarantine dwarfs before adding them to your tank (there's a great pinned topic on dwarfs that I remember discusses this). If what she has is viral, you can't treat it. If it's bacterial, you need to use antibiotics and prefferably isolate her. Any sign of ulcers or red streaks? For the time being, if she looks reasonably happy, it would be best to leave her where she is as moving her won't help. Without knowing what she has, it's not a good idea to treat her. Having said that, if you can get a tank set up that's cycled and ready for her, it may be worth treating her with an antibiotic as a hollow stomach usualy suggests the early stages of a bacterial infection.

 

[doresy]

That she is still eating is an excellent sign but the hollow belly and behaviour doesn't sound good. At this stage, I'd only be guessing at what she might have. I mean it could be parasitical (though unlikely), bacterial or viral. The fact that you got her only recently suggests she realy is sick - they often do carry disease and it's adviseable to quarantine dwarfs before adding them to your tank (there's a great pinned topic on dwarfs that I remember discusses this). If what she has is viral, you can't treat it. If it's bacterial, you need to use antibiotics and prefferably isolate her. Any sign of ulcers or red streaks? For the time being, if she looks reasonably happy, it would be best to leave her where she is as moving her won't help. Without knowing what she has, it's not a good idea to treat her. Having said that, if you can get a tank set up that's cycled and ready for her, it may be worth treating her with an antibiotic as a hollow stomach usualy suggests the early stages of a bacterial infection.

Thank you for your input. She seems a lot better since her confinment. Basically I think she was hungry. She is now back in the main tank and swimming around with only very short stays at the bottom. When I put food in she reacts but doesn't seem to find it ( a bit clueless!). She only finds the cat fish pellets and is easly put off by the more bossy Siamese Flying Foxes. Will keep a close eye on her.

 

[sylvia]

Well that sounds good! Hopefuly she just needed a rest and some food!