Dwarf Gourami Not Eating

[rust81]

My male dwarf gourami is now not eating and i have no idea why. he looks in good condition and is hanging out with the 2 female dwarfs, but he is not his usual energetic self. Ammonia and Nitrite are both 0 and Nitrate is approx 40ppm - which may be a little high (as its normally around 20ppm)....

I recently had a female dwarf gourami who died after she didnt eat for over a week - could this be the same reason. Any ideas welcomed

 

[*Fishkies*]

How often do you perform water changes?
How many times a day do you feed?
What size is the tank and how many fish are in it?

Does he seem skinnier then normal?
Does he swim in a normal condition? Like does he have problems swimming at all?

 

[rust81]

How often do you perform water changes?
How many times a day do you feed?
What size is the tank and how many fish are in it?

Does he seem skinnier then normal?
Does he swim in a normal condition? Like does he have problems swimming at all?

I do a 15% water change every week.
I feed once a day in the evenings with a varied diet of flake and brine shrimp
Tank is 70L with:
3 x Tiger Barbs
3 x Neon Tetras
3 x Cardinal tetras
3 x Dwarf Gouramis (1 male, 2 female)
1 x bn plec

He seems a bit more quiet than normal - but is swimming ok. All the other fish are fine and are eating

I know the tiger barbs can stress the other fish out - but i am waiting for my 50L tank to cycle before i move them out of my main tank.

 

[rust81]

Its been about a week since i posted about my dwarf gourami not eating properly and not being his usual self (chasing the 2 females in the tank). I managed to get a pic of him today. Do you think he looks bloated near his feelers? He's not really eating at all. So not sure what to do!

 

[-germ-]

Emaciation or an unwillingness to eat are both non-specific symptoms so its difficult to guess.

He looks very skinny to me which appears to have pronounced the liver and stomach, i wouldn't (from the pic so could be wrong) consider him bloated.
Any opinions on that poster peeps or OP??

IMO gourami+emaciation is most likely bacterial, so i'd give a good anti-bac a go.
You could also try feeding him a tiny piece of prawn, if he doesn't go for this then something is certainly wrong.
It may be a case of fatty liver, which can only be dealt with by rectifying his diet (the prawn won't help this, which is why you should only use a tiny amount as a test)......

 

[rust81]

Emaciation or an unwillingness to eat are both non-specific symptoms so its difficult to guess.

He looks very skinny to me which appears to have pronounced the liver and stomach, i wouldn't (from the pic so could be wrong) consider him bloated.
Any opinions on that poster peeps or OP??

IMO gourami+emaciation is most likely bacterial, so i'd give a good anti-bac a go.
You could also try feeding him a tiny piece of prawn, if he doesn't go for this then something is certainly wrong.
It may be a case of fatty liver, which can only be dealt with by rectifying his diet (the prawn won't help this, which is why you should only use a tiny amount as a test)......

I have uploaded another pic of him at a better angle, although it is a bit blurred -sorry! Germ, when you say to give him a good dose of anti-bac, which one? Is melafix ok?

Since i posted last, my 3 month old bn has died. Could this be related? Levels are as follows:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15ppm
pH 8.2 (normal london water pH)

No new additions or chemicals for 3 weeks. So no idea what is going on? I have some algae growth but nothing too major, and my mate has said that this is blanket algae and not BGA. He said that the plec would love that algae. Any help welcomed!

 

[-germ-]

Melafix is an antiseptic, i think its supposed to have antibacterial properties but if it is a baterial issue, i'd certainly go for something specifically aimed at bacterial illnesses.
Please confirm for me if he is skinny or not! Just google dwarf gourami or colisa lalia on google images and make the best comparison you can. If he is emaciated i'd get him quarantined. How long have you had him?
Try JBL Fluranol or Waterlife Myaxin, your LFS will have loads of anti-bacs, try getting something that treats gram positive and gram negative bacteria.
As i mentioned it could be anything stress, vitamin deficiency, parasite etc.....

 

[rust81]

I would say that he is beginning to look a little under weight – hence my thinking that it looks like his stomach is swollen. He is not really eating at all, and normally he is the one who gets most of the food. I’ll go to my LFS later today and get a good anti-bac med. Will my other fish be ok with this in the tank?

 

[merry78]

it should be ok to dose the tank if you can't isolate him......if it's a general bac problem they may be in the early stages of infection anyway. Just check the packaging for precautions re: scaleless fish, babies, nitrifying bacteria etc., and follow the dosage instructions and i can't see why it would harm your other fish.

 

[-germ-]

I'd put TB at the top of your list of worries, not to contradict Merry78 (well kind of) though i'm not being aloof or pedantic but....
Considering the serious and infectious illnesses the symptoms could be related to, i'd personally purchase a really cheap tank and filter
(if available/affordable) and keep him isolated in advance of further developments.
Treating the main tank would be fine though, make sure you keep the water well oxygenated, using meds tends to go hand in hand with higher requirements as concerns fishes respiratory systems.

 

[merry78]

contradict away -germ-,. you know heaps more than me!

 

[rust81]

Right, i've been out and got some meds. I bought Interpret no 9 - Anti Bacterial meds and also Methyline Blue. I'm going to treat with the anti-bac first.

My hopsital tank is still cycling, so i cant put the affected fish in that just yet. I think it would be best to treat them altogether as i guess its quite likely that any infection could have spread to the other fish (with the bn being the first casualty )

 

[-germ-]

Not neccessarily.....
If you can get back to the LFS(sorry) you could get a SeaChem Purigen pad which while keeping the hospital tank uncycled would prevent any toxic build ups....
Have you used any amine based products in the hospital tank, if so then forget the Purigen, it could potentialy make the Hospital tank deadlier....
I use Purigen in my hospital tank, its an extremely useful thing to have as a back up for numerous things.
If you don't want to use it then treat all in but make sure the potential for oxygenation is as high as possible.

Whats that about the BN?
Have you had a fish die recently?

 

[rust81]

My hospital tank has completed the ammonia part of the cycle - now just waiting for the nitrite to begin to drop. I'd hope this would be in the next 1 - 2 weeks.

Re the BN, yes it died this morning. Again like the dwarf gourami it was being a little sheepish and quiter than normal. Yesterday i noticed her on the glass near the top of the tank - as if she wanted more oxygen - but i know my tank is well oxygenated with lots of disturbance of the water level. Then today i woke up and found her dead. Really unsure as to what is going on. All the other fish are fine (3 tiger barbs, 3 cardinal tetras, 3 neon tetras and 2 female dwarg gouramis)

I think it may be best if i treat the whole tank with anti-bac to try and kill off any nasties that may be in there. Do you think that is the right approach?

 

[-germ-]

Yes, certainly if you've already had a death.....