Bloated Dwarf Gourami

[angyles]

my dwarf gourami is bloated?

Something is happening to my male dwarf gourami. He has bloated up in the front half of his body. It's bulging from right behind his fins to about half way back on his body. also, his head area looks significantly more blue than usual. He looked fine this morning. I've also noticed he's been swimming around with long (About 2 inches) strings of white/clearish poo quite a bit.

Does anyone know what this is? He's my favorite fish, I don't wanna lose him

 

[wetmanNY]

Mucusy feces are usually a sign of parasites in the gut. Gouramis are martyrs to parasites. The bloating is usually a symptom of liver and kidney dysfunction, though people often think of it as "constipation" and recommend Epsom Salts dissolved in the water-- making an analogy with human constipation that's not germane.

All a gourami's internal organs are jammed into the front part of its body. See how far forward the anus is. All the rest is simply swimming muscles supported on the vertebrae. That's why the bloating looks so localized.

 

[angyles]

A parasite was the first thing I thought of actually. So how do I treat this before it's too late?