Powder Blue Gourami Not Swimming, Lying On Bottom Of Tank

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Gatt9

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Hi all,

I'm in desperate need of help, I've not been able to figure this one out. First, the requested parameters, then the full story.

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Tank size: 29 gallons
pH: 6.8-7.4 usually
ammonia: very light, very little
nitrite: never tested
nitrate: never tested
kH: never tested
gH: never tested
tank temp: ~78f

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): See below, is long story.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: ~50% every 7 days

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Only Aquasafe. 1 piece of driftwood, 1 artifical log, 1 artifical castle, all purchased from a very trusted and skilled source.

Tank inhabitants: 2 African Butterfly's, 1 Black Blade fish, 1 Raphael Cat, 2 Upside-down cats, 2 cherry barbs(Male/Female), 3 Diamond Tetras, 2 Kuhli Loach(1 false, 1 true), 2 Powder Blue Gourami's(Male/Female), 1 freshwater Clam(1" in size).

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): None.

Exposure to chemicals: None Known.

Ok, here's the story...

I had a Male Powder Gourami buy the farm a few months ago when I had a power outage, and the female looked lonely. Bought another approximately 6 weeks ago.

He was fine for the first week, then I did my weekly water change. Prior to the water change, I saw he was hanging around the corner of the tank not really going anywhere.

The day after my water change he was a little more listless, 2 days later he was lying on the bottom of the tank. He's been there since.

At first, he was making an effort to swim, but unable to stay up for long. My fish shop recommended anti-parasite pellets which I dutifully fed him in a seperate 2.5 gallon tank to no avail. They then recommended that I offer him anti-bacterial pellets, which were ineffective as well.

He's been on the bottom of the tank ever since(I returned him to the community tank). About 6 weeks now, give or take a few days, with no change. He "Flips" himself around the bottom by pushing down with his little head.

He has no outward signs of illness, his color is perfect, brighter even than the healthy female. No red marks, no white patches, no obvious distention, nothing on his body. When he was isolated, I saw no unusual poop, though I didn't see a whole lot of poop either. In fact, I'm not entirely sure if it was poop or pellets. He's also not grown at all, and his fins are pretty damaged at this point, though I'm not sure if it was due to other fish picking at him. No other fish have shown any sign of illness, nor have I lost any fish in the time period.

I've currently got a package of Maracyn-Two that my fish shop recommended when I asked about swim bladder problems, but have not yet used. As a side question, will this stuff harm my clam or blade fish as I think they're sensitive to copper?

Anyone have any ideas on what I might try to help this poor little fishy?
 
For swim bladder problems, you should treat with Maracyn, since it contains Eurothromycin (sp?), not Maracyn two.

It doesn't sound like swim bladder, but it's slowly dying. Swim bladder is when it tries to swim upright, but it cannot and either floats with it's head down or sinks to the bottom. Normally the fish is already very strong, but just cannot swim upright. Since the fish was listless, I would suspect that it was already ill. Did you watch the fish at the store to see if it was listless also?

How did you acclimate the fish?
 
For swim bladder problems, you should treat with Maracyn, since it contains Eurothromycin (sp?), not Maracyn two.

It doesn't sound like swim bladder, but it's slowly dying. Swim bladder is when it tries to swim upright, but it cannot and either floats with it's head down or sinks to the bottom. Normally the fish is already very strong, but just cannot swim upright. Since the fish was listless, I would suspect that it was already ill. Did you watch the fish at the store to see if it was listless also?

How did you acclimate the fish?

Well, he does kind of sink. When he first started getting sick, he'd try to swim, but wouldn't get far. Almost as if he was weighed down.

By listless I mean he'd just kind of hang around in the corner, not going very far, maybe listless wasn't the right word for it? I'm still kind of new at this.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was already ill, since it was so soon after purchasing him. I watched the fish and looked closely at their bodies in the store, and didn't notice anything extrordinary. The store I shop at is a very good store, tanks with sick fish are marked and medicated thoroughly and they won't sell a fish out of those tanks under any circumstances until they're better. Of course, that's no guarantee of health, so I can't say he wasn't sick when I bought him. The store even takes any fish back after purchase and pays out a percentage of what they'll sell them at. They only buy from one source, who they know breeds the fish instead of catching them or purchasing illegally captured fish.

I acclimated him to the tank by floating him in the bag for 30 minutes prior to putting him in, and I always do my fish shopping 1-2 days after a water change to insure the levels aren't off.

But I did also do a water change right when he started sinking, 2 days earlier, with his symptoms starting to become apparent about 1 day after the water change. While he did seem listless prior to this, I can't rule out that he was just hiding, as he was camped out right next to the thermometer, before, during, and after the water change.

I've also been fighting a minor war with Algae, if that is important? The kind that grows on the glass, not the "Hairy" kind. It's gotten bad enough to turn the water a slight greenish cast at times just prior to the water change. I've also noticed an occasional sulfuric odor that I've not been able to track down during water changes. I've no idea what could cause a sulfuric odor though...

He's still oddly strong though, 6 weeks and he still flips himself around the bottom of the tank and tries to swim.

Anyways, Thank you for taking the time to read and your post, I very much appriciate it as I feel bad for this little fishy!
 
Is the tank cycled?
I wouldn't keep buying new fish if they all keep dying. You should figure out what's wrong BEFORE adding any new fish to the tank.
 
Is the tank cycled?
I wouldn't keep buying new fish if they all keep dying. You should figure out what's wrong BEFORE adding any new fish to the tank.
test your nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia isnt the only that that is toxic in the water. Nitrites and Nitrates can be just as deadly in high levels.
 
how was it cycled?? and using the zebras and scissortails to cycle the other tank??? So you do fish-in cycles?
 

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