Poorly Gourami Any Advice!

[star4]

Around 4pm as I was getting a drink for one of my kids I was watching my two female gourami's chase the male about, it was nothing serious just normal chasing. Then the male went to swim between two bits of bogwood covered in anubas and he crashed into the plant and stopped dead and I noticed air bubbles came from him(his mouth and gills). I didnt think too much of it, but he was still there 20 mins or so later (had to deal with boys arguing). I got him out of the plant but he just sank to the bottom on his side but he was still alive. I tried lifting him so he could gulp air, which he did, but as I released him he crashed to the bottom again lying on his side.
 
I put 3" deep water in my smallest tank and have transferred him in there with an airline. The water is not deep enough for a filter or heater. From 5pm - 6pm I have sat with him lifting him to the surface by hand every couple of minutes so he can gulp some air, but each time he did he basically spat it back out. Just after 6 I got him to take air then held him nose down in the water and noticed his sides slightly bulge (they had gone very flat). I did this 3 more times.  He can now hold himself upright in the water instead of flopping over on his side, by 8pm he has improved so he can surface and gulp air himself which he is doing now, but although he is attempting to swim round the tank he still keeps resting on the bottom. However its an improvement to lying on his side.
 
If he did manage to release all the air from his swim bladders, labyrinth gland all at the same time and me holding him nose down those times after I got him to gulp air has inflated something so he is level in the water, will the rest inflate on its own?
 
Now his is improving I am a little stuck on what to do next, I am thinking leave him overnight in shallow water and see how he is in the morning, if he is stronger and swimming better add some water raising the level to 4" or so and see how he gets on, then increase the depth until he looks ok to go back in the main tank?? That is if he does survive the night  
 
Never come across this before.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

He probably suffered swim bladder shock from crashing plus addiional stress from bullying. Hope he does better

 

[star4]

I hope I can save him too, he is normally the bully, the girls ganged up up him which is what caught my attention.
 
He can now swim the length of the tank (18") without having to stop, which is an improvement on an hour ago.

 

[Tropical_Dave]

ive just noticed tonight that one of my gouramis is acting kinda like this, he has gone very thin and not swimming right, ive put him in my floating trap thing. he seems to be getting some air from the surface but its not really doing alot.

 

[star4]

Mine was "plump" before I saw him swim into the plant, he hasnt gone thin exactly just flatter on his sides slightly, saggy would explain better. I hope yours gets better.

 

[star4]

He has made it through the night , but he is still not swimming properly and I have a mini bacterial bloom in the tank so I am trying to make or find the worlds smallest filter to fit in 3" deep of water.

 

[star4]

After posting this morning I found the larger female gourami down in the main tank, the smallest female looks fine. I have done a wc on the main tank and cleaned out the juwel filter, when I turned it off there was an oil slick which spewed out of the top.  The female is now in the hospital tank with the male (they male is quite perky) but I am really struggling to get the female to stay upright, she is taking longer than the male did, 3 hours I have been at it lifting her every so often, she stays upright for about 15 mins then crashes again.
 
My only thoughts are is when I did a wc on Sunday the goo out of the juwel filter stayed on the surface and has affected the gourami (being labyriths I am guessing) and it affected the male first making the two females chase him. I dont know what happened over night, I went to bed at 1am after watching them and the females were fine so she went down over night sometime.
 
Does the film on the surface theory sound pheasable? if so how to I help them?

 

[star4]

I have finally got the female partially stable now. She can support herself and take air from the surface, bearing in mind the water is only 3" deep and she is only 3" long herself, she basically balances on her tail to take a gulp of air.
 
The male is more mobile than she is, but she does seem to be improving, it is if both of them have a lead anal fin stopping them getting off the bottom for any length of time. The male will attempt to support the female as he can reach the surface easily and she struggles, its heartbreaking to watch him trying to help her.
 
Still no one with any ideas?

 

[star4]

The female has made it through the night, her spine is not as bend as it was and she is getting stronger. No more improvement in the male, they are both resting on the bottom with the occasional swim around the tank.
 
I am guessing there is a swim bladder problem bacterial or trauma I just do not know. Just going to continue treating with clean water and hope for the best.

 

[star4]

3,  50% wc so far today and the female now has a straight spine *phew* and both have eaten this evening, only a small amount of garlic & spirulina with a bit of vegi flake I dont want to feed too much at this point with whatever is the matter with their swim bladder still healing. I will do another 2 water changes before I go to sleep tonight and tomorrow I plan on raising the water depth 1" if they look like they are swimming better.

 

[star4]

Yay, the male is better, the female almost there now
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lQtD5Se4E0
 
Just added a divider as it looks like all this fresh water has got the males hormones going lol. Not bad considering they were bend double and couldnt move.

 

[star4]

Both fish now swimming normally no longer having to rest on the bottom, will continue increasing water depth and return them to the main tank on Saturday.