What's Killing Our Dwarf Gouramis?

[edelen]

New to the forum. Was quite involved in the hobby for years, but until this year had been out for about fifteen.

Not really an emergency, since the fish in question are dead, but I thought this the best place to post this question in case it helps others.

Thanks in advance for the help.

We have a 10 gal tank going on six months old, something simple for my young son. The tank has been stable for months with one notable exception: Every dwarf gourami we've purchased (4) has died. Most didn't last a week, though our latest one, a happy little fish as fish go, made it for three months.

Each died exactly the same way. Fish was active, eating well, and generally showed signs of being healthy. Within one day it would grow lethargic, darken in color (particularly a dark line along its sides running from the vent to mid-gill), lose stability in the water, and be dead an hour or two after the stability loss. No visible sores, no odd feces, no parasites, no bloating, no signs of stress, no nothing--just dead. I tried every hospital technique I know and nothing worked.

We've lost no other fish (4 neon tetras, 1 pleco), with all of them remaining active and disease free. Save for the repeated loss of dwarf gouramis, this has been an easy aquarium start.

Any clue what's happening to these gouramis? I'm loathe to go back for more (though we like the coloration) since they don't seem to live long. I'm reading in other parts of the forum that the quality of dwarf gouramis is not what it used to be. Still, if I could get some insight into what's killing ours, I'd feel better about the species.


pH: 6.9
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate: All well within acceptable limits
tank temp: 78 degrees F
Volume and Frequency of water changes: One-third of a tank every 10 days, gravel vacuumed once a month
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Slightly less than a full dose of algae killer (been using for five months)
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): None

 

[boeingtech]

hi, from what i have read on this forum dwarf gouramis are very sickly fish, i have two which i have had for a while now and have been fine (fingers crossed) people have sujested that you only put gouramis in tanks that have been established for over 6 months, did you get all 4 gouramis from the same shop, if so then try another shop as they probably get them from the same source there maybe a problem with them, they are very nice fish hope you sort things out

 

[WILDER]

How many fish and which kind are in the 10 gal tank.
Can you post full water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Signs of a bacterial infection is being pale or darker in colour, being listless and lethagic, and sometimes not eating.

 

[Colin_T]

Not really an emergency, since the fish in question are dead, but I thought this the best place to post this question in case it helps others.

LOL
sorry to laugh but that's an amusing statement.

Dwarf gouramis carry a virus that knocks them about pretty badly. However, it takes more than a day to kill them. They are also prone to fish tuberculosis. TB destroys internal organs and when an organ ruptures the fish generally lose balance and die from internal complications. Again tho, the disease affects each fish differently and for 3 of them to die within a week and the forth to last 3 months, I would think it is something else.

Are there any other labyrinth fishes (gouramis or bettas) in the tank? If so then the other gourami/ betta could be killing the dwarfs.

The other option is chemical poisoning. Did the fish die shortly after a water change or after you added the algicide? If so then this is the probable cause. There might have been chlorine or chloramine in the water and it affected them. There could be something getting onto the surface of the tank water that is poisoning the gouramis. Gouramis are air breathers and if there is any sort of toxic film on the surface they would pick it up when they tried to breathe.

Personally, I would look at the algicide (algae killer). Why do you use it? Algae grows from excess light and nutrients in the water. If you keep the nutrients down and minimise the lighting, then it won't grow, and if it does grow there will only be a little bit of it that you can wipe off with a clean sponge. You can also put some live plants in the tank and they will help prevent algae from growing.
*NB* algae killers will also kill aquatic plants.

It could be you are using a little bit too much algicide and the gouramis are sensitive to something in it. Thus killing them and leaving the other fishes unaffected.

You should also try to gravel clean the tank each time you do a water change. You don't have to gravel clean it all but just try to do some each time you remove some water. It will help reduce the gunk in the gravel and keep the water cleaner.