Sick Dwarf Gourami

[ChrisR2]

Hi,

A few days ago my Whisper hang on filter got jammed up or something and I had to go and buy a replacement cartridge. Everything was fine in my tank until then.

About a day later I noticed that I had an ill kuhli loach. It was laying on the bottom of the tank and I knew it was about to die. Since then I've been doing daily partial water changes and I added some aquarium salt. This has been going on for about 4 days now.

The day after the kuhli loach became ill (he or she died this morning) I noticed my male dwarf gourami breathing hard (but not at the surface) with clamped fins. When I look in the tank I don't see any white spots on the fish (unless I can't see them).

I've been keeping fish for about 25 years, but I don't know what is wrong with my fish. I don't see anything on the fish - just the hard breathing and clamped fins. The rest of the fish look fine.

Today I did another partial water change, removed the dead kuhli loach, and then added some Maracyn I and maracyn II to the tank. I wasn't sure if I should do this since I have no idea what is wrong with the fish. I thought of adding some copper sulfate in case the problem is due to an external parasite, but I didn't because I don't want to overmedicate the fish.

Also, it has been my experience that scaleless fish such as kuhli loaches don't do well with most fish medications. I still have 7 kuhli loaches in the tank, a female dwarf gourami (in addition to the ill male dwarf gourami), 3 corydoras catfish, and a few guppies.

I checked the water parameters and ammonia was 0, nitrite was 0, there was a trace of nitrates before I changed the water today. Unfortunately, I am not using a very sensitive test. All I have right now are the test strips.

My question is whether you think this is caused by an external parasite (like gill flukes) and whether I should add something else like copper sulfate. If so, how do I handle the problem with the kuhli loaches sensitivity to the medicine? I don't have another tank to move the fish into.

I've added no new fish to the tank for almost a year and so I haven't recently introduced any new diseases.

I'd just like someone else's opinion of what I should do next.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[WILDER]

Really need water stats as test strip cards are not that accurate.
When you say the filter got blogged and had to buy new cartriges does that mean you lost all your benefical bacteria.
Any fish flicking and rubbing.
Any excess slime on gills or body.

 

[ChrisR2]

I haven't noticed any flicking or rubbing or any excess slime on the fish - just the clamped fins and the hard breathing.

I probably did lose most or all of the beneficial bacteria because of the filter mishap. Also, strangely the water flow through the new filter cartridge doesn't seem to be all that great either. It is the same kind I always get and so I don't know what the problem is. I change the filter cartridge about once a month, but this is the first time I've had this problem with the fish.

And no, I don't have a current test kit for the aquarium water. I can't get a new one until after I get paid this Friday either.

Also, most of the fish in the tank don't have these symptoms. Just the male dwarf gourami.

 

[WILDER]

I would keep doing some water changes till you know your water stats.
Increase aeration.
You could take a sample of your tank water to the lfs and ask them to write the readings down for you.

 

[Athena]

Sorry, what size tank do you have and what kind of filter is it? Just seems a bit odd that you are changing the filter cartridge every month. Usually on larger tanks you would have a filter with sponges inside that don't need changing, just a little rinsing in a bit of tank water in a bowl. All the beneficial bacteria lies in the filter and sponges, so changing the whole thing every month would mean your tank could go through a mini-cycle all the time and cause problems for your fish.

Clamped fins and hard breathing are usually signs of a bacterial infection, sometimes caused by stress from bad water quality. I use Myxazin for bacterial problems, but I'm in the UK. I think Maracyn is anti-bacterial meds, isn't it? All you can do for now is regular water changes and continue with the medication at the correct dose for the full-length of treatment time.

Regards - Athena