Pearl gourami gasping for air during like 2 minute

[Meg0000]

My pearl gourami are gasping for air for a very long time and then they go back to exploring the tank so I am worried something is wrong.. I added 6 rasboras hengeli yesterday and 6 bronze cory (I will get more) and they all act fine. My tank is a month and a week old or something like that so I don't think it has something due to ammonia or nitrite. I did a small water change just in case but should I add something like an ammonia sponge that I have or seachem prime just to be sure?

 

[Martyn87]

Is your tank fully cycled? How did you cycle it? Are you getting 0 ammonia and nitrite test readings? Occasionally when you add new fish to a tank it can take the media a little while to catch up.

A video and photo of the fish and tank would be very helpful.

Thanks.

 

[Byron]

Agree, also another question...live plants? And how is the rate of respiration, normal or rapid?

 

[Meg0000]

Is your tank fully cycled? How did you cycle it? Are you getting 0 ammonia and nitrite test readings? Occasionally when you add new fish to a tank it can take the media a little while to catch up.

A video and photo of the fish and tank would be very helpful.

Thanks.

I only have PH and nitrite test, nitrite is at 0. I cycled the tank with a paradise fish and by adding food during a month.They ain't doing it now but if I see them doing it again I will post a video. Sorry I don't have a lot of information..

 

[Meg0000]

Agree, also another question...live plants? And how is the rate of respiration, normal or rapid?

Yes floating plants and quite a lot of other plants. I would say it looks normal exept whem they were gasping air it was kind of fast.

 

[Colin_T]

If you every get sick fish, do a big water change using dechlorinated water.

The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. It's long and boring but worth a read when you have some spare time.

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Byron]

Yes floating plants and quite a lot of other plants. I would say it looks normal exept whem they were gasping air it was kind of fast.

That tells me...ignore it. I have often seen anabantids gulping in air at the surface, and not just one breach like a cory or oto, but they seem to be "drinking" in air. This is normal, for the labyrinth organ. With live plants it is highly unlikely if not impossible that adding six small fish would cause any ammonia issues.

 

[Meg0000]

If you every get sick fish, do a big water change using dechlorinated water.

The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. It's long and boring but worth a read when you have some spare time.

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

ok thank you

 

[Meg0000]

That tells me...ignore it. I have often seen anabantids gulping in air at the surface, and not just one breach like a cory or oto, but they seem to be "drinking" in air. This is normal, for the labyrinth organ. With live plants it is highly unlikely if not impossible that adding six small fish would cause any ammonia issues.

Yess that is the awnser I was hoping for! I never saw them taking air for a long time like that and I was really stressed so I posted a thread immediatly but they really look fine right now

 

[Martyn87]

Do the rest of your fish ever appear lethargic? Might be a bit more dissolved oxygen in the tank might be good. What time of day was the gourami doing this. As Byron suggested though it’s normal for gourami to breath, and corys will swim to the surface to take a gulp of air too.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

It's pretty cool to watch them breath air, but make sure there isn't so much vegetation they can't get to the surface to do it. I actually had a dwarf gourami that had swim bladder issues that lived many months in my hospital tank. He couldn't lift himself up to the top of the water to breath air but seemed perfectly comfortable to sit on the bottom without ever coming up for air so I don't think they HAVE to do it. Eventually I built him a little platform out of rock and kept the water height so that he could sit on the platform and just lift his head a little to get a breath of air. He did it but not nearly as often as a non-sick gourami. Eventually he started spinning and swimming out of control and I euthanized him.

 

[Meg0000]

Do the rest of your fish ever appear lethargic? Might be a bit more dissolved oxygen in the tank might be good. What time of day was the gourami doing this. As Byron suggested though it’s normal for gourami to breath, and corys will swim to the surface to take a gulp of air too.

no the other fish looked normal, maybe it was a reaction to stress (new fish in the tank and new environment because I added things)

 

[Meg0000]

Just to be sure, I will post a video, they do this very often

 

[Byron]

Just to be sure, I will post a video, they do this very often

I would not worry about this, gourami do like to "drink" air, and unless something else turns up (like very red gills, lethargy, rapid respiration) I would not worry as I see no sign of that here.

It is always instructive to see fish behaving normally as here...I'm referring to how they cluster under/around the floating plants; as these grow and multiply, the gourami will be very happy. Floating plants really are mandatory with anabantids.

 

[Meg0000]

I would not worry about this, gourami do like to "drink" air, and unless something else turns up (like very red gills, lethargy, rapid respiration) I would not worry as I see no sign of that here.

It is always instructive to see fish behaving normally as here...I'm referring to how they cluster under/around the floating plants; as these grow and multiply, the gourami will be very happy. Floating plants really are mandatory with anabantids.

ok thank you, also you're right about the floating plants, they seem to like it so I hope it will multiply fast