Pearl gourami tb?

Tacocat

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Pearl gourami acting slower and more depressed looking I got him this past sunday. Parameters are fine tank is cycled all other fish are fine. There was previously a rainbow emperor tetra with similar symptoms a month ago which had died in this tank.
 
It's eating fine and the poop looks normal so I don't think it's parasites.
 
Not sure if I see correctly, But he looks skinny. What kind of food does he get ?
 
Not sure if I see correctly, But he looks skinny. What kind of food does he get ?
Normal fish flakes, brine shrimp, bloodworms once a week, and the sinking pellets if it gets to it.
 
He looks unwell, but it could be a lot of internal things.

edit - SHE looks unwell...
 
He looks unwell, but it could be a lot of internal things.

edit - SHE looks unwell...
What should I do? I don't have a quarantine tank available nor do I have pumps to set up an emergency bucket. Should I just dose salt as normal?
 
salt is heavy duty - useful like all other meds when targeted. I don't see what to shoot at. In cases like that, I would maintain the tank well and cross my fingers. If you don't know the enemy, you can't fight effectively.

I haven't spent time in Toronto for 3-4 years, but it does have some good stores where you might get better, healthier fish to start with.
 
salt is heavy duty - useful like all other meds when targeted. I don't see what to shoot at. In cases like that, I would maintain the tank well and cross my fingers. If you don't know the enemy, you can't fight effectively.

I haven't spent time in Toronto for 3-4 years, but it does have some good stores where you might get better, healthier fish to start with.
The store I got the fish at I thought was pretty good, and it was looking in perfect condition where I got it, so it might've just been an unlucky fish. Should I euthanize or just salt and hope for the best?

Edit: thanks for the tips though I'll keep it in mind
 
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If she eats... I would ramp-up the food for a while. Try to make that belly rounder. Flakes and pellets in the evening and Brine shrimps and Bloodworms in the afternoon, everyday for a couple days. See how it goes. Also big betta pellets they love that too.

Most of the time when you buy a new fish. They are literally starving. To reduce cost and maintenance most LFS generally underfeed to avoid rot problems in their filtration system.
 
If she eats... I would ramp-up the food for a while. Try to make that belly rounder. Flakes and pellets in the evening and Brine shrimps and Bloodworms in the afternoon, everyday for a couple days. See how it goes. Also big betta pellets they love that too.

Most of the time when you buy a new fish. They are literally starving. To reduce cost and maintenance most LFS generally underfeed to avoid rot problems in their filtration system.
Idk she was eating pretty well the whole week, but I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow morning. I actually emailed them and they just replied saying that it's likely a cross-infection and that I should quarantine with high temps, clean water, and whatever anti-bacterial I have. I don't have a separate tank but I do have a number of buckets, so my plan for tomorrow is to buy some antibiotics and a sponge filter. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bloodworm day anyway so I'll see how that goes.

Thanks for your advice
 
Don't add antibiotics unless there is a known bacterial infection that hasn't responded to normal treatments. Mis-use and improper use of antibiotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, animals, birds, fish and reptiles.

The fish does not show any signs of a bacterial infection.

The fish is skinny and this can be from intestinal worms, gill flukes or an internal protozoan infection. The fish could also have the Gourami Iridovirus.

Intestinal worms usually cause the fish to lose weight over a few months. The fish eat well, and they normally do a stringy white poop.

Internal protozoan infections cause fish to eat but not as much as normal. They lose weight rapidly (over a week or two). They do a stringy white poop.

Gill flukes suck the blood out of the fish and they slowly lose condition over months. Eventually the fish dies from low blood pressure and lack of blood.

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Are you sure the fish was not skinny when you got it?
Did the shop grab the wrong fish and give you a skinny one instead of a normal shaped one?

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Do a big water change, gravel clean the substrate, clean the filter, then feed the fish 3-5 times a day for a few weeks and see if it helps. If it does, then deworm the fish and treat them for gill flukes.

Isolating the fish won't help and could make problems worse, especially if the fish ends up in a bucket without a filter or heater. I would leave it where it is and try to feed it more. Then see how it goes over the next few days.

You should do more frequent water changes when feeding more often to keep the tank clean. A 75% water change and gravel cleaning the substrate every few days is good when feeding 3-5 times a day.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
 
Are you sure the fish was not skinny when you got it?
Did the shop grab the wrong fish and give you a skinny one instead of a normal shaped one?
Positive. The main thing I noticed that was off with the fish was the droopy tail which started yesterday. The only way I was able to tell the gouramis apart before was simply its size, because I bought one large one and two small ones.
 
At the moment I can only think that she is stressed from an environmental change.

Floating plants, subdued lighting, and a dark substrate are ideal for these little fellas.

It can take a while before they start to relax in their new home.

Insure that she is not bullied when you turn your back on the tank.

Try to use a piece of cardboard to block part of the light to create a shaded place in the tanks and watch how she reacts to that.

Try to stuff her like a turkey for a while. It will help to find out if it is indeed an intestinal infection.

Make sure she get loads of brine shrimps, they contain an enzyme that help with the uptake of other nutrients and are very high in protein and fat. Spirulina flakes will also help a lot with guts health, cutted with Daphnia and vegetable foods that will prevent constipation as you will try to overfeed her a little.

Check your fish food ingredients and reject anything that contains any kind of "meal" go for real meat and real seafood.
 
Bear in mind you can only buy black market antibiotics in Canada. Their sale without a veterinary prescription is illegal.
 

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