Pearl Gourami in poor health.

[GunnyK]

Hello members. This is my first time on this website. I am at my wits end. I have had Opeline Gouramis in this tank for over 10 years with no issues. They finely passed into Gourami heaven after the 10 years. I wanted to replace them with Pearl Gouramis because they are not as aggressive and I was actually able to find some locally. I have had a pair of the Pearls for about a year and with no issues. But about two months ago my female got sick with what I now think was fin rot and died after about two weeks. Now jus in the last week the male is showing the same symptoms. I checked my water quality and it is spot on. The other three fish in the tank are not being aggressive towards it so I don't think that the fins are being nipped at.
As mentioned, I think it might be "fin rot" I just started to add some pond salt to the water to see if this will help. I am adding it slowly until I will reach a concentration of about 2TBSp/10gal. Should this be a good concentration and should it help? Thanks for any advice. I don't want to replace the female until I solve this problem. I don't overfeed and add distilled or pre-boiled rain water to the tank only. NEVER tap water. Thanks in advance in advance.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

When you say your water quality is "spot on", what do you mean? What kind of test kit do you use?

What is the hardness of the water in the tank (gh)? Why not tap water?

 

[GunnyK]

I use the liquid test kit with the test viles from "aquarium pharmaceuticals". It has the PH, Ammonia, Nitrate and salt level test bottles in it. The ONLY thing I did not test for is the hardness. All the other fish in the tank are well over a few years old with no issues. I also used my electronic pH tester to doublecheck, reading 7.3 temperature is also perfect. Amonia and nitrates are both neutral. I just, minutes ago, ordered some API Melafix on-line. As a final resort. I was just surprised that only the pearl Gouramis are being affected, just as they reached adulthood and both the male and female within a couple of months of each other. The male was fine all through the illness of the female and a few weeks later now has the same issues. The female quit eating but the male still seams to have a good apatite. I have live broadleaf plants in the tank and an aerator.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What are the other 3 fish in the tank?

Post some pics of the male PG

You've got a good test kit (API)

 

[GunnyK]

I just ordered an electronic water hardness tester.

 

[GunnyK]

I have one Pleco, Flying Fox and one Cory catfish. None of them pick on each other. It is a generally very peaceful tank. One notable thing I have noticed since this morning and i have started to add the salt (level of 1TBSp/5Gal). the Gourami appears to be a lot more active. I also noticed that the scales are in poor shape.

 

[Slaphppy7]

It is best to avoid medicating a tank until you know exactly what you are trying to treat.

 

[GunnyK]

That is exactly what I was trying to do. I hope the salt helps. I first want to make sure the water quality is perfect. Which it seams to be. I will check the hardness as soon as my tester comes in. This is the reason I do not use tap water. I also just replaced my aerator to increase the oxygen levels.

 

[GunnyK]

It just dawned on me that I can use some KMnO4, (Potassium permanganate) in the water. Since I have no invertebrates in the tank it should kill any of these organisms. I bought two pounds of it some years ago to kill algae in my pond.

 

[GunnyK]

Well, so far so good and good news. I have been treating the tank with the KMnO4 and the fish are handling it fine. Now just wait and see how the Gourami will heal "hopefully".

 

[GunnyK]

Just got my water hardness met.er. As measured now, the hardness is through the roof. But it is not conclusive because KMnO4 is highly conductive and is giving a false reading. I have been treating the tank for about 4 days now and I will stop tomorrow. I will do a 50% water change tomorrow and take another reading.

 

[GunnyK]

OK, I finally got my tank stabilized an healthy. The male pearl Gourami died a few days later. I do think it was due to the improper water quality at the time. I was not able to find anothet male but did find a young female. I also bought 2 DwarF Gouramis which for some reason only lasted about 3 days. It was from a fancy fish store. I replaced them with a single Dwarf which I bought at PetCo and she is thriving. I also got a small red tailed shark and replaced my Cory cat fish. The female Pearl is growing very quickly.

 

[TNG]

I also got a small red tailed shark and replaced my Cory cat fish. The female Pearl is growing very quickly.

Watch out for that red tail shark. It’s very friendly when young, but won’t be so friendly to its tank mates a few months from now.

 

[GunnyK]

Thanks for the heads up. I will keep an eye out for it's behavior. I was also told that about the Flying Fox. It was actually more aggressive when it was smaller. Now that it's about 5+' long it is actually not that bad. But I might have to trade it in anyway because it is getting a bit too large for the 10gal tank. Same goes for my Ploco. Also getting a bit large at over 6". The only issue I have with my Flying Fox is that it is like a wild hog. It is constantly uprooting my plants.

 

[GaryE]

You've p[lanted a time bomb with slow moving gouramis and a red tail. all are too big for a 10 and red tails are one of the nastiest fish you can buy. Not only do they grow and kill, but they are sneaky killers. They do their work at night, as fiercely territorial fish that don't share space.

You're doing really well with lifespans, so you know what you're doing. But that little 10 gallon is pushing back as an environment.