Gourami again

[PumaWard]

Well, my chocolate gourami were doing really well until this morning when I noticed one of them isn't acting so well. He's hiding in the corner, really dark with his/her lateral line outlined in white which they do when they are stressed. The other is swimming around and acting normal.

I checked the water, there seems to be a trace amount of ammonia... I could just barely tell that there was a tinge of yellow in the water in the test tube. There is no nitrites.
I just added a piece of driftwood yesterday, (washed it of in hot water and scrubbed it down, no chemicals). The temperature is around 83F.

I did a 25% water change after ammonia reading.

Does anyone know what's going on?

[OrionGirl]

Have you checked the pH? I know mine were very sensitive to pH shifts, and the driftwood addition could have resulted in a drop in pH. Sorry--not much to go on, but I can't anything else that might cause the problem. If ammonia is present, it's always a sign that water changes are in order, and try to determine why ammonia levels are changing--but that can be a goose chase, since frequently the cause is gone quickly.

[PumaWard]

I just checked the pH, it's the same as last time I checked it, around 7.7, and the ammonia seems to be back down to 0.

He's no longer displaying the white around his lateral line, but is still very dark, hiding in the corner behind the filter, and not moving. I may have overfed a little last night because I was being hurried by my mom to go with her.

Is there anything I can do for him, or will I have to sit and wait to see if he makes it... There's no outward signs of disease on him and he was acting fine before lights out last night. Any other suggestions? :(

Thanks for your help :)

[OrionGirl]

As long as the water conditions are okay, I'd just wait. I think a lot of the time, too much tweaking causes more problems than it resolves. As long as the fish isn't showing signs of distress--gasping, laying on it's side, etc, in the short term I'm in favor of doing nothing. I've had more success with this than with jumping into medications immediately, FWIW. Just monitor the fish, and do your best to keep the tank stable.

[delmore]

Originally posted by PumaWard
I just checked the pH, it's the same as last time I checked it, around 7.7

I don't have first hand experience with chocolate gouramis, but was considering getting some, so did lots of research last year.

They require soft, acedic water, not just to breed, but to live! From what I read on a different forum, with a pH above 7 they are difficult to keep alive.

Others please chime in, but I think that soft, peaty water may be the solution. You may want to mix distilled with tap, and add peat. Of course you have to make the change gradual.

[PumaWard]

Yeah, that's what I have read as well. My water is very difficult to lower the pH, high buffer from the tap. TKOS said his parents keep one in similiar pH conditions with no problems. He's really skiny too, I'm hoping it's not internal parasites, which I doubt but you never know.

Also, he seems to be getting a little better, swimming around the drift wood a little and pecking at it a little. He didn't eat any blood worms though.

So, I'm going to wait and see as Orion said.