Hey, a newbie here. I was just hoping to get some info about the dwarf gouramis, I've kept many a fish but this is my first dwarf. I got a neon blue a while back, he was fine for about a month, then bam! He eats sparingly, always has a long poop trail, is getting skinny and holding his fins tight to his body. I have heard of them being unusually susceptible to bacterial infection. Are these classic signs? Any cures that anyone knows of or should I expect death? I was also wondering what the best way to house the dwarfs is. I've heard they need company from other dwarfs, but also that they tend to fight... Help would be appreciated!
Sick Dwarf Gourami And Gourami Behaviour Question
- Thread starter Chuka1212
- Start date
Clamped fins and waisting are not good signs. Try feeding him more live foods like bloodworm, blackworm, brine shrimp and, especialy, daphnia. Don't feed too much flake.
If he is ill, there's usually very little you can do and, at the moment, you can't know what exactly he might have so treating blindly would be best avoided.
The main thing is to focus on keeping water quality up to scratch by doing regular water changes. It's also important you ensure the tank doesn't experience fluctuations in temperature or water chemistry.
Males are territorial so do better on their own - or else with 2 or more females. While I'd suggest getting a few females in most cases, you shouldn't risk it if he might be carrying some disease and he'll be fine on his own anyway.
What else is in your tank BTW? Dwarfs are easily stressed and out-competed. Tankmates have to be very peaceful, non-boisterous fish.
If he is ill, there's usually very little you can do and, at the moment, you can't know what exactly he might have so treating blindly would be best avoided.
The main thing is to focus on keeping water quality up to scratch by doing regular water changes. It's also important you ensure the tank doesn't experience fluctuations in temperature or water chemistry.
Males are territorial so do better on their own - or else with 2 or more females. While I'd suggest getting a few females in most cases, you shouldn't risk it if he might be carrying some disease and he'll be fine on his own anyway.
What else is in your tank BTW? Dwarfs are easily stressed and out-competed. Tankmates have to be very peaceful, non-boisterous fish.
Thanks for the reply! That's good info. I have been feeding him bloodworms, but I'll try to mix it up more. I have been doing good on my water changes too. He's in a hospital tank right now but his tankmates were some neons, corycat, otocinculus, and two angelfish (small guys), for the first few weeks he was doing great with them all, and I've never seen anyone harrassing him... So who knows. I guess the best course of action is keeping him in the isolation for a few more weeks and seeing if he improves...?
I assume you moved him to the hospital tank when you saw signs of illness? This is, of course, the right thing to do - but if the hospital tank wasn't/isn't cycled, you may have done him mroe harm than good. test your ammonia and nitrite levels - what are your readings?
The hospital tank is a tank that has been up and running for about 4 months, so the water should be mature. This was my main tank before uprading to my 25 gallon, I've just left it running with a betta in it. I don't have a testing kit as of yet, but I need one...
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