Flame dwarf gourami white lips?

[SubparFruit]

What is the pH of the tapwater without additive?

With the difficulty you are having with reading the strip tests, it might well be a good idea to go with the liquid testing kit since that will be easier to read and more accurate. A liquid testing kit is more expensive but tends to last longer, so it balances out on the financials.

Which dechlorinator are you using (since API do one with Aloe Vera - Stress Coat - and one without....your use of Melafix which is an API product is why I am asking this since shops tend to sell both together under their recommendation even if it is going to cause issues)

I am using an API tap water conditioner, but I've been using it for months and he hasn't shown any issues with it up until now

 

[Colin_T]

This has nothing to do with water quality or temperature or Melafix.

If the fish has done a stringy white poop and has bloated up in a 24 hour period, it has an internal bacterial infection and is dying. I would euthanise it if the swollen belly has increased today.

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After this is over, do not get another dwarf gourami. They have 2 diseases that can't be cured and they aren't worth keeping.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I am using an API tap water conditioner, but I've been using it for months and he hasn't shown any issues with it up until now

Regardless to the outcome of the Gourami, please check the ingredients of that dechlorinator. If it has unrefined Aloe Vera, stop using it immediately.

Aloe Vera does not dilute or leave the water during water changes. It sits in the water and is effectively builds up residue that lodges inside fish gills until eventually paralyzing the gills and suffocating the fish. It is a very very slow and insidious process that can wipe out fish overnight....such as everyone is doing fine when you turn the lights off at night and when you put the lights on the next morning you can be greeted by dead fish.

Aloe Vera is quoted by API as something to calm new fish or help with the stress of a fish, it does absolutely nothing to help fish, it is ultimately detrimental to them (just as using unrefined Tee Tree in their "fix" potions does) and mixing the essential oils Aloe Vera and Tee Tree is absolutely one of the worst things any fishkeeper can do...especially to a fish like the Gourami who surface breathes....it is getting the double whammy suffocation with those two additives.

 

[SubparFruit]

This has nothing to do with water quality or temperature or Melafix.

If the fish has done a stringy white poop and has bloated up in a 24 hour period, it has an internal bacterial infection and is dying. I would euthanise it if the swollen belly has increased today.

-----------------
After this is over, do not get another dwarf gourami. They have 2 diseases that can't be cured and they aren't worth keeping.

I only started to notice the swelling today, before this I didn't notice any swelling, is there not anything I can do, or is it just too late for him?

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I only started to notice the swelling today, before this I didn't notice any swelling, is there not anything I can do, or is it just too late for him?

Going by the way the fish ignored the food in your video and that he has not been interested in food since last weekend along with the bloating.......I think it might be too late to save him tbh

It's hard for us as outsiders to judge on whether to euthanise when its your fish and you are standing there watching him. But at the end of the day if you feel that his quality of life is not good and is getting worse, then euthanising is the right thing to do. None of us like euthanising fish but if they are ailing, not eating and have body issues like this, then we have to put our feelings aside and think only of the fish.

My personal opinion, going by the video, photos and what you have said....I would be inclined to euthanise. I'm sorry

 

[SubparFruit]

Going by the way the fish ignored the food in your video and that he has not been interested in food since last weekend along with the bloating.......I think it might be too late to save him tbh

It's hard for us as outsiders to judge on whether to euthanise when its your fish and you are standing there watching him. But at the end of the day if you feel that his quality of life is not good and is getting worse, then euthanising is the right thing to do. None of us like euthanising fish but if they are ailing, not eating and have body issues like this, then we have to put our feelings aside and think only of the fish.

My personal opinion, going by the video, photos and what you have said....I would be inclined to euthanise. I'm sorry

do you have any suggestions on the best way to do so, I've never been in this position before and I dont know how to do it without causing harm to my other fish

 

[Deleted member 149562]

do you have any suggestions on the best way to do so, I've never been in this position before and I dont know how to do it without causing harm to my other fish

Get a small container like a mug, put some warm water into it and add a few drops of clove oil. Mix really really well, it will go cloudy white when mixed.

Catch the fish and gently place into the container holding the clove oil & water mix and the fish will go to sleep and not wake up. It takes a few seconds to take effect.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

If you do decide to euthanise I would still do the daily water changes for a few days to get rid of the Melafix residues and if you discover that your dechlorinator does have Aloe Vera it will be adviseable to bin that, get another dechlorinator that hasn't got essential oils in it, again the water changes will help lessen the residues of that too over time.

Just remember that none of this is your fault. You bought additives in good faith that turned out to be detrimental, you understandably listened to the shopworker thinking they knew best. It is a tough lesson learnt sadly. You aren't the first and you won't be the last to find these things out the hard way.

Tomorrow when you go shopping for your liquid test kit, get some new dechlorinator too....and I would hold off on the pH additive too til we know what your tapwater pH actually is. If you go onto your water supplier's website it should give you a full readout of your water supply by typing in your postal code, that information will help greatly in sorting the aquarium water chemistry out for you.

 

[Essjay]

API make a few water conditioners. Only Stress Coat contains aloe vera, the other two (API Tap Water Conditioner and Aqua Essential) don't. Which one do you have?

 

[Essjay]

nitrite and nitrates were around 0-20 and 0-0.5 respectively.

I hope these are the wrong way round. I suspect they are as most test kits cannot measure 0.5 ppm nitrate. Most jump in much bigger steps.