Peculiar Behavior By Gourami, I Think It's Dying...help

[RobberyinCSharp]

Hi everyone
I looked in my fishtank today and found two of my croaking gouramis acting very strange. It seems like they're having a hard time swimming properly, and they're hanging out at the top of the tank. One has his mouth open and it is kind of tilting on it's side right now.

I have no idea why this is happening. But please, anyone, can you help me save my fish? I'm about to do a water change as soon as I'm done writing this status....

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons is the tank please?
How many fish and which type?
Can you post your water stats please. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
What do you feed your fish?

Do the gouramis look bloated?
Are they gasping at surface of tank?
Do the fish have any signs of red streaking on body,or fins?
What does the fish waste look like when they go to the toilet?
Are the fish turning upside down, swimmming in circles really fast?
Do the fish have problems getting down from top of the tank, or bottom?
Do the fish look pale, or darker in colour?
Do the fish look listless and lethargic?

 

[SombreroBanana]

If its gills are really red, it could be ammonia poisoning. Test your water, and definitely do a water change. Don't do a massive one, as that could be more stressful than whatever's happening to him. Good luck.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Hey everyone, sorry about my lack of information, I was in a panic to change the water.

It seems like they're doing better after the water change but I still see a little bit of odd swimming, just not as bad.
After I changed the water, here were my readings:

NH4 > 0ppm
NO3 = 20ppm
NO2 = 0ppm
pH = 7

I am going to keep an eye out but as far as I could see, there was no bloating or red marks on the gills. they poop normally, just brown that comes out.

Perhaps there was a nitrate spike that was causing some problems. But I'm unsure of that, because I have rams in the tank who I believe would suffer from these effects much earlier than gouramis...

 

[WILDER]

Just need to found out if the fish were bloated, and constipated as this can lead to swim bladder problems.

Just keep a close eye on them if any changes don't hesitate getting back to your thread.

Good Luck.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Thanks!

I always try giving my fish boiled peas because I hear that it's good for their digestion...but I can never get them to eat them in the tank! They just rot at the bottom and I end up taking them out

 

[WILDER]

Fish do sometimes turn there noses up at peas. Just keep trying.
Do you chop the peas into tiny pieces?