Gourami: swollen and lethargic

M

mrmcmasty

Mark
Feb 8, 2005
116
0
0
48
VA
I have had my tank set up for about a month with fish ( i fishless cycled for a month)

My water conditions: amonia 0, nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, temp 78, gh 6, ph 7.2

I do a 10/15% water change every 5days.

My fish: 12 Rasboras, 3 zebra loaches, 3 oto cats, 1 clown pleco, 2 dwarf gouramis, 2 rams (microgeaphagus ramerize).

the zebra loaches, pleco, gouramis, oto cats and rams were added when I added the fish a month ago... the rasboras are new (there were only supposed to be six but between my wife and I we miscommunicated about who was going to pick them up and.... we've got twelve of em) they were addd about 2 weeks 10 days ago.

ok so here is my concern. the last two days one of the gouramis has been hanging out the near surface of the tank, he is notably swollen (it looks like he swallowed a marbel) and is very lethargic, evey once in a while he gulps air from the surface, he is eating but not like he used... also he and the other gourami used to be buddies yes its true they got along great, they swam every where together, now they are competing for space, any time the red one is not hanging out near the surface, hiding in his cave, or hiding in the plants he is getting chased... I am worried about him!!! has anyone got any ideas about what may be happening to cause this swelling and lethargic behavior???

they are very similar in size ( the blue has a slight advantage)

a little tank history... I have had a total of 12 cardinal tetras and 3 angels to die ( I thought I was doing everything right by adding fish after I had fishless cycled and I still killed 15 fish) fortunately the lfs allows a 7 day return and I was within my 7 days on all but 1 of the angels. I have had not spikes in amonia, no spikes in nitrite, no spikes in temp, no ph changes... I am very OCD and keep up with my water tests daily... its not my water... so I have tried to eliminate all other variables. I feed at the same times each days and add no more than they can eat every in about 45 secs ( I do this 2 times a day) every 7th day I do not feed the flakes and put in little balck worms and alea an algea pellet... thh worms in the am and the pellet in the pm...

any ideas?
 
Unfortunately, I think your fish has a disease called dropsy. I know, because one of my fish has it too. :( He also looks like he's swallowed a marble, his scales are protruding and he is very lethargic. I've had this happen before and usually the fish loses its appetite and dies. I have removed him from my tank.

I've always heard that this disease is incurable and that it could be contagious. You can try giving your fish medicine for it, but I don't think it's going to help.

Lissette :(
 
Defintely Dropsy. Gourami are especially prone to this disease.

Rohn
 
Gourami was dead this am. I thouhgt it was odd thats stomach area had a hole the size of a "clikcer" on a pen or about an 1/8 of inch there was some natyness protruding from this hole... I hope the rest of my tank does not get dropsy...
 
Do some fairly big water changes to help get out any nastiness that came out of the hole.

Also, larger weeklies would be a good idea, not so much related to the problem, but more for long term stability. Aim for a minimum of 30%.
 
Another possiblilty is that your dwarf gourami had intestinal parasites. I have read from a couple of different sources that this is very common for dwarf gouramis because of the conditions they are bred/raised in. I am more suspicious of this since you stated there was some ulceration or perforation in the abdominal area after it died.

Did the whole fish swell equally with fins sticking out (like a pine cone), or did the abdominal area swell more than the rest (and did he have any stringy white poop)? The first would indicate dropsy, while the second an intestinal parasite.

In fact I lost 2 of these while stocking my tank at work to what I think was intestinal parasites. Both died 2-4 weeks after buying them. I eventually gave up on the dwarfs and bought a paradise fish. Fortunately, none of the other fish in the tank got ill.

For intestinal parasites, metronidazole orally (in food) may help, but usually by the time you can figure out what is wrong, the fish is too far gone and probably not eating anymore.

Also, while were on this topic, it usally is a bad idea to have more than 1 male gourami in a tank. Most dwarf gouramis sold are males. I have never seen a female dwarf for sale, but they must exist. :)
 
the op... just the stomach/abdomen was swollen...

happychem... 30% a week huh... I can do that... when I change my water it seems like my fish freak out for a half hour or so... when I say freak out I mean they just get real active and dart about the tank... is this normal

should do back to back 30% changes the next two days to try and help rid my tank of nasties??? should I add do anything else to try and help the other fish survive ?
 
You can do back to back 50% wc's if you like. I generally do a single 50% change about every 6 days. Make sure that you dechlorinate and match temperatures and everything will be fine.

Yes, it is quite common for fish to get active at water change time. I'm not positive about the cause, some say that slightly cooler water invigorates them, from watching my cories, I suspect that tiny bits of food are stirred up by the newly added water.
 
I may have missed it, but how big is your tank?

I don't know if even 50% water changes would do much for you. What you described really sounds like intestinal parasites to me (but still could be dropsy). If you are doing 10% water changes every week, that should be more than sufficient.

Here is some info on dropsy (with pics). http://www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/dropsy.php

As for parasites, you can treat all your fish by using some medicated food (make sure it is food, not a tank additive). I got some and fed my tank after my gourami died of this and none of the others got sick. Of course, your mileage my vary. One such mediation is Pepso Food by Jungle.

Good luck! Even though I am a medical doctor, fish disease seems like mostly guesswork to me :)
 
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