Please help with Dwarf Gourami

Warmaster259

Giggity Giggity Allright
Nov 23, 2005
34
0
0
Houston, Texas
I added 3 Dwarf Gouramis to my 20 gallon the other day but all of them seem kind of lathargic, they dont swin around much. One in particular is one of my 2 Females, she is laying on her side on the bottom of my tank breathing kind of heavy. What could this be and what should i do. Could it just be a bad fish(i got these from walmart. My tank water is fine its at 78 degrees and came from my established 55g, No ammonia, no chlorine, Ph is around 8.0, not quite sure about nitrates and nitrites though. I really feel bad about having to leave this Gourami alone allday. Should i isolate her, no one is messing with her in the tank.
 
If you only moved water from your established 55g and not filter material, you are still going to go through a cycle. I would test for nitrites and nitrates ASAP and move some filter material from the 55 to the other tank. You probably got a sick fish and with the added stress of going through a cycle...

How long have the tetras been in there?

Good luck! I have gouramis and I love them!
 
I ran the filter on my 55g for a few days before it went to my 20g, the tetra have been in there for a week.
 
The filter probably would have needed to run on your 55 for longer than a few days. Especially with adding 9 fish within a week. I think you're still cycling. More frequent water changes and daily testing for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte, would be your best bet. If you're using the test strips, you'll want to get a liquid test kit. They are much more accurate.
If you have a cycled QT tank, I would isolate the sick female in it for now. I'm not very familiar with alot of meds available out there so hopefully someone else can make some suggestions for you to try.
 
ive had a prob in the past w/ DGs theyd be fine for a month then would bloat up become lethargic and sit at the bottom, only swimming up to breathe then sink back down, the fish would usually die within 2 days. ive had it happen w/ 3 different fish and though i think they are beautiful fish i will not keep them again until i figure out what the deal is.
 
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