Red Honey Gourami sitting on bottom of tank

[ConnorFuller98]

Hello,
The past couple of days my gourami has start sitting along the bottom of the tank. I thought he was about to die, but every time I put food in he comes back up and swims normally. And my other gourami keeps nudging him and he starts to swim again. Yesterday he had a massive bit of poo stuck to him, I don't know if that has anything to do with it. When he swims, he swims normally so I didn't think it was the swim bladder. I've tested the water and everything is perfect, the water is hard but that's normal in Norwich. Has anyone got any ideas for me please?

 

[Fray]

Bump

 

[jaylach]

I really have no idea but as soon as I saw this my reaction was either the fish being bullied or internal parasites.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

My guess would be some sort of parasitic infection, but I'm only guessing. The other fish in the tank appear healthy? When you say the water is perfect, do I assume correctly you've tested for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite?

 

[jaylach]

My guess would be some sort of parasitic infection, but I'm only guessing. The other fish in the tank appear healthy? When you say the water is perfect, do I assume correctly you've tested for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite?

Hey, think there is any chance of constipation even though the fish does not look bloated? Possibly try feeding blanched and crushed peas?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey, think there is any chance of constipation even though the fish does not look bloated? Possibly try feeding blanched and crushed peas?

Maybe. I've never used that treatment before. I think my tanks always have so much algae that my fish get plenty of veg in their diet.

 

[jaylach]

Maybe. I've never used that treatment before. I think my tanks always have so much algae that my fish get plenty of veg in their diet.

Neither have I done this treatment as I've never experienced the issue. Still I have a weird sort of memory and, while I could not specify specific posts, I tend to remember just about everything I see when needed.. Trust me in that this can, at times,, be a royal pain but it does allow me to correlate what may seem like unrelated posts to make a relationship that, at times, may result in a solution.

In this case I was struck with a tread that was posted months ago that dealt with a fish having constipation and feeding peas cured the issue.

Algae has nothing to do with the possibillity of constation in a fish. When it comes to constipation in a fish peas really seem to be like a super laxative.

 

[Essjay]

Another often quoted cure for constipation is daphnia. However Colin_T has said many times that fish don't get constipation.


In the photo in the first post, the fish looks to have grey areas. Is that just the photo or does it have grey on its body? If it does, have they always been there? I've never seen a red "honey" gourami with grey in its body. The word honey is in " because these fish are usually thick lipped gouramis or possibly some sort of hybrid not true honey gouramis.