Dwarf Gourami Belly Swollen?

rsanz

rsanz

The Peacock Gudgeon Guy
Aug 22, 2006
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I've had my Dwarf Gourami for about two weeks now. He just moved into a new 10 gallon tank last weekend. It seems like his stomach is slightly swollen, and he seems more timid than usual. Is there something wrong with him? Can someone point me to some more information on this illness if it is, indeed, an illness?

Thanks, everyone. I hope he's ok... :(
 
Its most likely Dropsy. Barbs and grouramis are more prone to getting it. You didn't happen to get your gourami from petsmart did you?
 
No, I got him from a LFS. Is there anything I can do?
 
If it's dropsy, you'll soon see "pineconing" of the scales, where they stand out. My 3 dwarf gourami all got sick and 2 died, 3rd is hanging in there, from swollen belly but it wasn't dropsy. It may have been a tumor with the first one as he swelled up enormously on both sides asymmetrically, no pineconing, no loss of appetite, swimming fine, etc. All exhibited a thready white poo, which is usually a symptom of parasites. I treated with Maracyn2, but it only seemed to help this one live on with slight swelling. Sorry I can't be more help, but it's just another possibility--I discovered thru research that dwarf gourami are much more prone to problems. Do a search here for sick dwarf gourami, see what you find.
 
Could it be that I'm overfeeding him? He is alone in the tank (for right now), and I've been feeding him 1.5 medium-sized flakes of TetraMin Tropical Flakes, twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). Is that too much?
 
I would only feed him every other day.
 
sophiecat22 said:
I would only feed him every other day.
Click to expand...

Why is that? How much should I feed him every other day?
 
Sorry, didn't mean to get all lazy on ya. If you feed your fish more than a very small amount every other day, you run the risk of contamenating (sp?) your water and screwing up your water parameters. Fish really don't need to be fed every day anyways.

Again, I apologize for not answering you completly the first time, I just got lazy and decided to type a "one liner".
 
Alright. Well, do you think that's what could be causing the bloating? Is it overfeeding, or is it the decomposing food's byproduct that is making the fish sick? Should I just decrease his feeding frequency and wait to see what happens, or should I be medicating him ASAP?

Thanks, guys!
 
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