Pearl gourami isolating itself and hanging towards the back of the tank

Trueblue888

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Hi all,

My pearl gourami has been isolating itself from the others for a few days now and something definitely seems wrong. There are no external signs of disease but I did see poop hanging out yesterday. Is it a parasite?
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If the fish has stopped eating, swollen up (got fat overnight) and does a stringy white poop, then it has an internal bacterial infection and will probably be dead in a few days.

There's not normally any cure because internal organ failure has usually occurred by the time you notice the symptoms. Some people use anti-biotics with varying degrees of success.
 
If the fish has stopped eating, swollen up (got fat overnight) and does a stringy white poop, then it has an internal bacterial infection and will probably be dead in a few days.

There's not normally any cure because internal organ failure has usually occurred by the time you notice the symptoms. Some people use anti-biotics with varying degrees of success.
Thank you for your reply. I noticed the poop being stringy but it's not white. Is it a case of constipation then?

Also, the fish has been acting like this for close to a week now. It's taking less interest in eating but it does eat after a while. I've added salt as a possible treatment.
 
Welcome to TFF.

How long has the tank been set up? What other fish are in the tank? What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

Post a pic of the entire tank; PGs stay near the top of the water surface, and prefer lots of cover (tall plants, etc)
 
fish don't get constipated because they live in water.

if the fish has been like that for a week and is going off its food, it might have an internal protozoa infection. Metronidazole is the normal treatment.

Try to treat the fish in a separate tank so you don't mess up the filter bacteria.

 
It's been a couple of months. No ammonia and no nitrite. 5ppm nitrate.

Other pearls are swimming around the tank. One of them is just hanging at the back with face towards the wall. Attaching a picture.

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Put a black background on the tank, something as simple as a black posterboard cut to size, it will make the fish more comfortable

How many PGs are in the tank?...what is the M/F ratio?...could be possible that this particular one is being harassed....coloring looks very pale, which usually means stress
 
Hi and welcome :)
Agree with @Slaphppy7 stress leads to many problems especially when fishes want a densly planted tank. Yours has such a lack of plants including floattings !
Male pearl gourami is territorial and aggressive in breeding time.
Fish on first picture could be a gravid female stressing because he has nothing to hide in to lay her eggs.
 
i also think water is too strong, i turned off my filter to clean it for a few days and all the pearl gouramis started going crazy around the tank
 
Never turn off a filter unless you can to throw it out. You kill the filter doing that.

My first thought is that pearl gouramis are aggressive among themselves, once they mature. Watch if they are bumping at each others' throats. That's how they fight. The loser runs in nature, and gets stuck in the back corner stressed in a tank...
 
There are a couple of issues at play here, as noted by other members. The internal health issue is one, I leave those issues to members more knowledgeable in disease/health issues, so follow Colin's advice. But the stress issue is certainly another problem.

The background was mentioned and this is very important; the presence of a dark (non-glossy black is ideal, like construction paper taped on the outside) background is much more important than many realize.

The other issue is the surface...gourami must have floating plants, it is an expectation because that is the habitat they live in and providing similar will always make them feel more at ease. Substantial floating plants, like Water Sprite, Water Lettuce or Frogbit are ideal here and will make a huge difference to the gourami.

Third issue has also been mentioned, the normal hierarchy of a group of a gourami species. All males are territorial, the degree to which they enforce their territory depends upon the species, individual fish, and the environment (aquascape). This could be a factor, if for example the quiet fish is a male and another male is making it clear that he owns the space. Sit quietly without moving in front of the tank of a period of time, sometimes half an hour, and see if there is any interaction between the gourami. Males also can get "pushy" with uncooperative females, another aspect of interaction, as well as male-male dominance.
 
I even think this one is a young male.
But as Byron mentioned a young female can be bullied by a mature male Pearl.
The tank doesn't have any hiding.
 
There are a couple of issues at play here, as noted by other members. The internal health issue is one, I leave those issues to members more knowledgeable in disease/health issues, so follow Colin's advice. But the stress issue is certainly another problem.

The background was mentioned and this is very important; the presence of a dark (non-glossy black is ideal, like construction paper taped on the outside) background is much more important than many realize.

The other issue is the surface...gourami must have floating plants, it is an expectation because that is the habitat they live in and providing similar will always make them feel more at ease. Substantial floating plants, like Water Sprite, Water Lettuce or Frogbit are ideal here and will make a huge difference to the gourami.

Third issue has also been mentioned, the normal hierarchy of a group of a gourami species. All males are territorial, the degree to which they enforce their territory depends upon the species, individual fish, and the environment (aquascape). This could be a factor, if for example the quiet fish is a male and another male is making it clear that he owns the space. Sit quietly without moving in front of the tank of a period of time, sometimes half an hour, and see if there is any interaction between the gourami. Males also can get "pushy" with uncooperative females, another aspect of interaction, as well as male-male dominance.
Thank you. I established this tank about 2 months ago so the plants will take time to grow.

I can add some floating plants but wouldnt they block all the light and prevent the substrate plants from growing?

I'll work on your other recommendations. Thank you for taking the time out to write.
 
fish don't get constipated because they live in water.

if the fish has been like that for a week and is going off its food, it might have an internal protozoa infection. Metronidazole is the normal treatment.

Try to treat the fish in a separate tank so you don't mess up the filter bacteria.

Thanks. I have added it to a quarantine tank and gave the medication for now.
 

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