My Gourami Growing Very Fat

[pkgofgkp]

[20 Gal freshwater]
14-15 fishes ranging from Gourami, Angelfish, tetras, algae eater, neon tetra etc
Question is about my two honey Gouramis: Both Males (as far as I know), its been over 9-10 months since they are with me. Everything was ok until last few days when I started noticing that one is growing very fat.

Fat One:

Normal one:

Let me know what my options are.
Thanks for looking at my (first) post.

 

[Tuxyu3]

What is your water quality like?
Looks like it could be dropsy to me, though i have never seen it quite this bad. dropsy is often caused by poor water quality (high nitrates to be specific) and Anabantoids are relatively vulnerable. Do the scales on the fish appear to be sticking out? I am afraid if i am correct and this is dropsy it may be too late for your fish, it is quite hard to treat effectvely once it progresses.

 

[pkgofgkp]

I will get the water quality tested soon. But I change more then 20-30% water every week.
The scales are somewhat sticking out.. not too much though.

Is Dropsy a bacterial disease? Is it contagious ?

 

[Tuxyu3]

If memory serves it is a bacteria infection and can be contagious but not as bad as say, ich, I would recommend quarantine if its an option though.

 

[Essjay]

Dropsy isn't a disease as such, it is a symptom of disease, and the problem with treating it is that it's difficult to know which disease is causing it. The swelling that is characteristic of dropsy is caused when the internal organs stop working, particularly the kidneys, and the fish can't get rid of excess fluid. Bacterial infections are certainly one cause of dropsy.
Once a fish reaches the stage of swelling, it is often too late to treat the underlying disease, unfortunately.

 

[Zenki]

Seems like fat gourami are quite common, out of my 7, 4 being three dot varieties and 3 paradise, two are fat (not dropsy) probably internal parasites,or constipation with mine.. i'd say yours probably has dropsy because of how raised the scales look... why cant gourami be more healthy they are awesome fish

 

[Tuxyu3]

They are just delicate fish, tis' a small price to pay for their awesome beauty

 

[Brightestdai]

Most def Dropsy, u should only clean tank every 2 weeks not every week. Being too clean can cause stress and interfere with levels in the tank

 

[dannybgoode]

Most def Dropsy, u should only clean tank every 2 weeks not every week. Being too clean can cause stress and interfere with levels in the tank

Absolutely not true. Many people do 20-30% (or more) water changes every week, sometimes more (think Discus keepers). So long as the temperature is matched and the water is decholorinated the stress to fish is minimal.

Cheers

Danny B

 

[Tuxyu3]

Most def Dropsy, u should only clean tank every 2 weeks not every week. Being too clean can cause stress and interfere with levels in the tank

If the tank is pretty heavily stocked it is almost a certainty weekly cleaning will work out better, if done right there is no reason they should stress the fish out too much. I try to do weekly cleanings and have been my entire throughout fishkeeping experience, never done my fish a spot of harm. As long as filter media is not disturbed too much i find frequent water changes help keep tank levels stable.

 

[kristynkarma]

I just lost by blue dwarf gourami because of dropsy, and his abdomen looked slightly less swollen than your gourami's. What's your gourami's behavior like? Some symptoms of dropsy include avoiding food, hiding from the other fish, and lethargy. Once his abdomen becomes swollen enough to raise his scales, there is almost no chance of him surviving. If he's having troubles swimming (tilting, staying near the bottom or top, swimming sideways, etc.) it may be his swim bladder.

 

[pkgofgkp]

My Gourami finally died 4-5 days after I took those pics. I had quarantined it in a separate tank with, Added a dose of "Maracyn 2". But I am doubting that it mau have died prematurely due to cold water (The temperature dropped quite a bit here in GA)

But, I must say that my Gourami was very active even when it had dropsy. It was eating and swimming up and down as the other one did ( I had two). The other one is doing fine.

I love Gouramis. They are cool. Will have some more in future. Can somebody suggest other dwarf species that are cool with other tropical freshwater fishes?

-PKG

 

[pkgofgkp]

Most def Dropsy, u should only clean tank every 2 weeks not every week. Being too clean can cause stress and interfere with levels in the tank

If the tank is pretty heavily stocked it is almost a certainty weekly cleaning will work out better, if done right there is no reason they should stress the fish out too much. I try to do weekly cleanings and have been my entire throughout fishkeeping experience, never done my fish a spot of harm. As long as filter media is not disturbed too much i find frequent water changes help keep tank levels stable.

I like to change 10-20% water every week. I think my fishes like it
Also, my water seems to become cloudy after a week and I had to clean it anyway. Any suggestion about what may be causing the cloudiness ?

-PKG