Heelllppp!

[Fintastic!]

Hi guys, I only got my Dwarf Gourami on Saturday and already the little fella doesn't seem so good. He's up near the top of the tank but supported by a plant. He's not eating and looks a little bloated. From all I've read about these poor fish I think I'll bring him back to the lfs as I don't rate his recovery. Any advice??

 

[KittyKat]

How did you acclimatise? What are your water parameters? Dwarf gouramis are quite sensitive to water quality.

What have you been trying to feed to it and the rest of the tank? It could be constipation, so try changing to peas for a few days.

It is normal for dwarf gouramis to spend much of their time at the top.

 

[Fintastic!]

My water is fine, I tested it this morning. When i introduced him I put lay the bag on the water for half an hour before I put him in. I noticed he wasn't eating but thought it was just him settling in. Yesterday and today I feed flakes and on Saturday I fed bloodworms. Will I leave him and see how he is tomorrow? Thanks Kittykat.

 

[Fintastic!]

Just checked on him again and he's swelling up quickly enough. What to do??

 

[KittyKat]

My water is fine, I tested it this morning.

Either say what they are, or I will assume that ammonia and nitrite are 0 ppm, nitrate is under 25 ppm, pH is 7.2-7.4, hardness is medium to medium hard range and temperature is 22 C.

When i introduced him I put lay the bag on the water for half an hour before I put him in. I noticed he wasn't eating but thought it was just him settling in. Yesterday and today I feed flakes and on Saturday I fed bloodworms. Will I leave him and see how he is tomorrow? Thanks Kittykat.

That's very quick, if the water hardness was different, then this could be what caused the problem, but unlikely. Were the bloodworm live, frozen, something else?

Just checked on him again and he's swelling up quickly enough. What to do??

What other fish are in the tank? Is there anything sticking out of it's #14###? No worm-like things? No damage to the body?

For the moment, I would put it down to water quality, so I recommend a gravel vac and a 50% water change with warm, dechlorinated water.

 

[Fintastic!]

Water temp is 26, ph is 7.6 and water is soft. It's naturally hard but we have a water softener. He's now lying at the bottom of the tank on his side. There are no markings or anything coming out of him. His tankmates are 4 corys, 3 platys and one molly.

 

[KittyKat]

Do you have somewhere else to move the Corys to or the gourami? And do you have any aquarium salt, Epsom salt or rock sea salt?

If you do not, can you get non-softened water? If yes, perform a small (20-30%) water change with warm, dechlorinated, unsoftened water, then repeat 2-3 times at 1-3 hour intervals and see if that helps.

 

[Fintastic!]

I had to take my son to playschool and when I came back our poor dwarf gourami was dead. Thanks for all your advice Kittykat. I'll do a water change now and check the water tomorrow to make sure all is well. I have no idea what happened him, it seemed to happen quite quickly.