I have a tank with 2 powder blue dwarf gouramis in it. This morining, I found one of them laying on his side on the bottom of the tank, pale and breathing heavily. There is no sign of bloating or parasites. A water test revealed sky-high nitrate levels, which most likely are the result of overfeeding and my being extremely busy for the past few weeks due to exams.
I netted both fish and put them in a mason jar filled with filtered tap water. I then cleaned the tank, and filled it with the same filtered water as was in the jar (the same water I always use). While in the jar, the ill fish appeared to recover, and eventually began to swim around the jar.
After putting him back inside the tank, he resumed the listless behavior. I currently have him quarrentined in another jar. Another water test reveals low nitrates and nitrites, moderately soft water, low alkalinity, and a pH in the low 6.'s. The other gourami seems to be fine, he's swimming fine, breathing normally, and shows no change in behavior.
Is there anything I can do to save this fish? He's still lying on his side and breathing rapidly, but his color has returned from its pale state when I found him. Should I be concerned about the other fish?
Also, I plan on adding a live plant to the tank to help reduce nitrogen compounds in the future, any suggestions for what would work best in a 5 gallon tank?
I netted both fish and put them in a mason jar filled with filtered tap water. I then cleaned the tank, and filled it with the same filtered water as was in the jar (the same water I always use). While in the jar, the ill fish appeared to recover, and eventually began to swim around the jar.
After putting him back inside the tank, he resumed the listless behavior. I currently have him quarrentined in another jar. Another water test reveals low nitrates and nitrites, moderately soft water, low alkalinity, and a pH in the low 6.'s. The other gourami seems to be fine, he's swimming fine, breathing normally, and shows no change in behavior.
Is there anything I can do to save this fish? He's still lying on his side and breathing rapidly, but his color has returned from its pale state when I found him. Should I be concerned about the other fish?
Also, I plan on adding a live plant to the tank to help reduce nitrogen compounds in the future, any suggestions for what would work best in a 5 gallon tank?