"resting' Three Spot Gourami

[shuhu]

Hi

I have a Gold Gourami (three spot) and I was wondering how long is their lifespan, because lately (within the last 2 weeks or so) he has been "resting" most of the time at the bottom of the tank, just by a corner under some plants.

I don't really think that he is sick because the water stats are ok, as well as the rest of the fish in there, there are also no visual signs of a desease, the fins seem perfectly fine, and there is no agression from the other gourami (I've stared at them everytime I can). I've also noticed that during feeding time, he is active as usual, eating and swimming vigorously. He seems active for short periods during the day, but most of the time he just "rests" at the bottom.

Any idea of what it might be?

btw it is over 2 years old, that is why I ask about the life span of these fish

 

[sylvia]

First of all, the answer to your question: on average 5 years, 7 if properly cared for. Your fish is not acting like it is because of old age.
I'd also like to say that the name is not 'tree-spot' but 'three-spot' - as in the number '3' because the wild morph has one spot near the operculum, one on the caudal penduncle and the eye qualifies as the third.

Questions now:
Are you sure your fish is a he?
What other fish do you have? How many of each?
What size is your tank?
You mentioned 'other gouramies' - what sexes?
What exactly qualifies as 'good water stats' according to you - ie: what exactly are your readings?

Just in case, also:
Does the fish look bloated? Are its scales normal? Does it have any red streaks or discoloration on its body or fins?

A picture of the fish could possibly help diagnose any illness it may have though three-spots tend to hide it well.

 

[shuhu]

thanks for your response, I did knew that it was in reference of those 3 spots "three" instead of "tree", english is not my main language so I sometimes forget small details like the "h" in here )

Look at my sig:
10 Gallons (UG Filter) Gold Gourami (x1), Blue Gourami (x1), Black Widow (x3)


Well my fish in question is a he, and the other gourami is a female (round-er dorsal fin), unfortunately I know what might be the cause now and I don't understand why I didn't noticed before. She is actually bulling him even though that she is smaller than him, it has become even more constant these past few hours. They have been together for over a year and it was never a problem.

So, I see no choice but to move the Gold Gourami from this tank, but I'm afraid that he might end up bulling my Dwarf and Opaline Gouramies in the other tank instead, and right now I have no way to put a divider. He looks pretty weak though.

My stats are 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite (thats normal, right?), I had just done a water change yesterday.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

10 gallons is far too small for 3 spots. They reach a good size as adults in the right conditions.
I have one of my females in a 15g but she was moved there after discovering she had a very bent spine. Although she's no long as bent she spends alot of time resting and stays on the thin side of healthy. I have to make sure I check her several times a day as she may well be suffering from fish tb and if she dies and the others nibble her they could contract it. As it is she's doing very well and is a lovely healthy colour.
In regards to your gouramies, neither the blue or gold should be in the 10g.
Opalines are the same species as the golds and blues. They're all variations of the three-spot. And yes, you're right. You may well have some issues if moving them in together. They will be entering the other 3 spots territory and they won't like that. Really the gold should be seperated into his/her own tank for a while to watch over and give some r&r. I sometimes do this for my girls if they've had a particularly heavy time during spawning. Allows them to recuperate in peace and quiet. And to medicate if needed (They get the odd ripped fin on occassion).
I cannot express enough how valuable a hospital tank can be. Having a spare tank and heater to hand can save the lives of many fish.
Hugs,
P.

 

[shuhu]

Yes I do know that it is small for them (I was told so a couple of months ago) ) , ufortunatelly this tank belongs to my mom, and was given to her with these fish, so she didnt choose them and Im basically just giving maintenance to them (feeding, cleaning), and right now she wont buy a new tank. Last night I decided to make a temp divider out of some estyrene sheet I had from school material that I found and he has been better and more active, but only time will tell

I will just have to talk to my mom to decide what we will do about this cause I just cant place him at my tank because of my dwarf gourami as well (I fear for him more than for the opaline), I might end up placing him temporarily with a divider which I do not like so much. I just dont understand why the other gourami is bulling him all of a sudden when they have been together for a while without any problems, specially cause the bulling one is a female and smaller aswell.

I just hope that he will get better for the next couple of days until I find a better (non temp) solution.

thanks for your help... I got a camera now but I wasn´t able to get good enough pics, the automatic flash screws the pics even with the lights on.

btw, is the problem with the bent spine a concecuence from a small tank? or because of something else??

 

[sylvia]

Your fish has a bent spine? That's usualy a sign of fish TB - a rather serious and rarely treatable illness. It has been known to be passed on to humans as well though, unlike with fish, it's not lethal.

I didn't realise you had 2 three-spots in a 10 gallon - that's a big no no. The best thing you could do for them is return them to your local fish store or pet store. If you keep them in a tank like this any longer 9and they've obviously been in there a while now), they could well die. Keeping them in anything smaller than a 20 gallon is out of the question.

On a similar note, the tetra you have in there is a schooling fish so would preffer to have some more of its kind around. The best you can do - for all your fish - without buying a new tank, is to return or re-home those gouramies and replace them with 4 more of the black widow/skirt tetras. then elave it at that as your tank would be fully stocked - right now it's over-stocked somewhat.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

No no Sylvia one of my girls has a bent spine, hence her not living with the other gouramies. Being that she's had it a very long time I'm suspecting she grew up that way. Moving her to the other tank (The 15g was all I had at the time that was ideal, that was back in October) was done as soon as I saw how bad she was. She's much smaller then the other two females she originally grew up with (In a 35g) but she spent all her 'youth' in hiding unlike them. I'm afraid the blame really lies in my hands for not noticing her problem sooner. Not that anyone picked on her. It wasn't until I saw her trying to spawn with BB (Failed) I realised she had a problem at all. Naturally she was immediately removed and she has never been bred from. At the time I also thought it was TB and she was isolated but I didn't have the heart to destroy her. Over a period of about 3 weeks she became stronger and her colour became quite intense. Eventually I gave her free reign in with the small community in my 15g and she's been happy there ever since. It's a warm tank and the filter is very mature. The water params in that tank never waver from being utterly sweet. And I do check periodically, of course. The strangest thing of all is, although she has remained small for a 3 spot she has lost the worst of her kink to her spine. Yes, she's actually become straighter!! Not entirely perfect but nevertheless.....so she lives there in peace.
I do get some oddballs don't I.
Hugs,
P.

 

[shuhu]

well i just wanted to tell you guys that the Gold gourami has amazingly improved since yesterday that divider might have saved his life

and about the tetra, I do have 3 of them I think you missread the number or something, more than that would be better as you said but I thought 3 was alright and I doubt my mom will get more of those. I will have to convince my mom to either buy a bigger tank or temporarily place the gouramies in the bucket used for fry, its 20 Gals and wider than a tank (bigger surface), we wont be able to enjoy them as much though, since it is not a see-through bucket but you got me concerned as I didn't think it could get that bad. Or as I said before, I could use an (ugly) divider on my 75G tank to place them there temporarily

Re-homing or getting them to a LFSs is more difficult since we dont even know were the person who got them first bought them, and they are more than 2 years old so I doubt any LFS will accept them or even trade them

thanks so much for your help and advice guys

 

[sylvia]

Good to hear he's better

If you give them to your LFS without asking for money in return, they'll almost deffinately take them.

Keeping them in the small tank is not an option - moving them to your 75 is a good idea - at least temporarily.

I could have sworn you only had 1 tetra and only the smaller tank listed in your signature yesterday (though I'm obviously mistaken).

Interesting story there Miss Dib Dabs - you do get some weird three-spots It sounds like yours had a deformity from birth though 9as you implied) so it makes sense that she may have 'grown into' her crooked spine

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Lol Miss Dob Dabs. Love it.
Yeah that makes sense. But she will remain where she is now. No other tank is remotely suitable anyway and I shan't risk breeding from her.
It is good to hear he's doing better. Sounds like he was being bullied. Poor thing.
Hugs,
P.

 

[sylvia]

oops ) lol! I'll go edit that...

 

[shuhu]

hehehehe

I just moved him to my tank (the 75G one) and made a divider like the first one, I thought it would be better than the bucket since we like to watch them; but i left the Blue Gourami at the 10G tank since at least is smaller.

Also, my mom doesn't want to "get rid" of them so I might end up convincing her to get a bigger tank, but If I do, it will not be an inmediate buy... is a 20G tank ok for both of them? Anyway, I will ask around to see who might take them in case thats what we need to do.

 

[sylvia]

In a 20 gallon you'll find they still fight - but it would be better. Looking at your 75 gallon, you have another three-spot in there (the cosby gourami). Perhaps you could switch your fish around a bit - move the cosby in the 75 to the new 20, move the dwarf to the small tank the 2 three-spots were both in earlier and move the two three-spots into the 75. If your cosby is around the same size as the gold and blue and it's female, you could probably eventualy fit all 3 in the 75 gallon but the one currently in there will need to be removed for ashort while and the tank re-aranged so it does not attack the new gourami additions.

 

[shuhu]

Not really. My cosby Gourami it's way smaller than the other 2, almost half of what the Gold one is, plus both the Dwarf and the Cosby are mine and the other 2 aren't ) so I would not move them from my tank in anyway specailly the dwarf. It is a good idea though but only if both tanks were mine. Still don't know about the 20G tank cause I need to convince mom first and we might have to get a bigger tank or make a (good-looking) divider in a 20G tank but you said even one Gourami in a 10G is small so I dont know.

 

[sylvia]

Whether they are yours or not should be irrelevant to be honest - this is about keeping them alive - not whether they'll look nice or whatever. I'm sure you're mom will agree to return them to the fish shop if she realises they will die otherwise anyway. If not, you should come to some kind of agreement to move them out of the small tank. You say the three-spot you already have in your tank is only 2" - is this because it's young or because you've mis-identified the species? BTW 'cosby', 'gold', and 'opaline' are the same as 'black', 'red' or 'green' - they are just colors. All three fish are trichogaster trichopterus - the three-spot gourami - just trying to make this clear because I'm not sure whether or not you realise this. The fish that's yours will grow to be just as aggressive as the other two and the male that was bullied int eh 10 by the female, will grow bigger and be even more aggressive than she was.