My Gourami is sick Help

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Bonniegiff

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Jul 18, 2010
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I have a female Dwarf Gourami. She looks gravid or swollen and will not eat. She just hangs around the top of the tank. hat could be wrong I put a few drops of Methylene blue in because that seems to be a cure all. That has not worked I put food in front of her face and she won't eat. Do you think I should clean the tank again and add Parasite guard. I just cleand the tank yesterday but I don't think I should mix the medications. Thanks for your help.
 

sailedNJ

marine biologist & architect
Jan 9, 2011
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Art Vandelay
Hi Bonniegiff, sorry to hear about your gourami. However your description is kind of vague & as such it makes it hard for others to chime in with advice. There are a lot of conditions that could make a fish appear gravid or swollen & contribute to a loss of appetite.

Have you tested the water? If you have please post the results (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates...). If you haven't tested the water I suggest you get yourself a test kit, test it, & then post the results.

Also please provide some vital "stats" about the tank your gourami is in such as the following: Age (how long it's been set up & cycled i.e. "established"), Size, Water Temperature, Filtration, & what types of tank mates your gourami is sharing the tank with (if any) & how many of them.

By providing these stats it makes it easier for others to try & deduce what might be causing your gourami problems. If you can provide a pic than do so as well, it couldn't hurt any. But at the very least start by providing the stats. Good Luck
 

Bonniegiff

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Jul 18, 2010
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My tank is a 10 gasllon and has been set up for two years. The Dwarf Gourami is about 6 months old. The water temperature is 82.5 degrees. I am using a sponge filter and trying to bread the gouramis. I have 3 fish in the tank two females and one male. Nitrate NO3 is 20, Nitrate NO2 is 0, Hardness 120, buffering 120, PH 7.2,. Thank you.
 

sailedNJ

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Jan 9, 2011
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IMO a Nitrate reading of 20 is pretty high for a smaller tank like your 10g. A lot can go wrong quickly in a smaller tank if Nitrate levels are allowed to get too high. I like to keep my nitrates @ around 1 - 5 in my smaller tanks (20gs & below). How often are water changes being performed? Questionable water quality can lead to problems that will make your fish act lethargic/listless like you are describing.

The swollen look you are describing could just be coincidence. If your trying to breed your gourami it could very well be gravid & the swelling you see wouldn't be a direct symptom of any particular disease (e.g. Dropsy).

I would suggest that you hold off an adding anymore meds to the tank. While your intentions may be good, adding meds like Methylene blue & "Parasite guard" without really knowing what your fish is inflicted with can do more harm than good. What I would do is perform water changes until you get that nitrate reading down to about 5 & see how your fish react to that. If your gouraimi is still lethargic/listless after that then you can at least eliminate water quality as an issue & then maybe consider other possible culprits such as Dropsy etc.
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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From looking at the test results you gave, they tend to make me think you are using all-in-one dip strips...? I prefer the liquid kits. I'd keep up the water changes of at least 50%, 2 or 3 times a week until you see behavior back to normal or can identify the issue and select a course of action. 10 gallon is a bit small IMO to accomplish what you want to do safely.
 
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