Sick Dwarf Gourami

[Lgrhm215]

Hi there!!

I have a sick Dwarf gourami. Their fins have started turning black and it’s very sluggish. Not really going up to eat, staying in the same spot. I don’t know what to do!!

My water parameters :

NO3 - 0
NO2 - 0
pH- 7
KH - 8
GH - 60

My tank dimensions : 24x12x16 20 gallons

I’m not sure if this post was set up correctly. I’m sorry if not! I’ll post a picture below! Thanks!

 

[itiwhetu]

Have you got some floating plants in the tank? This guy looks like he is hiding, they need floating plants to make them feel at home.

 

[Lgrhm215]

Have you got some floating plants in the tank? This guy looks like he is hiding, they need floating plants to make them feel at home.

I actually just ordered some plants to float on the top but I have some grounded plants that float to the very top of the water. Maybe I’ll wait until my floating plants get here and see if anything gets better

 

[Colin_T]

What is the ammonia level in the tank?

How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
What other fish are in the tank?
Can you post a picture of the entire tank?

Is the fish eating anything?
What does the fish's poop look like?
Maybe post a 1 minute video showing the fish eating or trying to eat?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

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In the mean time, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until we work out what is wrong. If there's a water quality issue (ammonia), or a disease in the water, the daily water changes should help dilute the problem.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[Lgrhm215]

What is the ammonia level in the tank?

How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
What other fish are in the tank?
Can you post a picture of the entire tank?

Is the fish eating anything?
What does the fish's poop look like?
Maybe post a 1 minute video showing the fish eating or trying to eat?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

---------------------
In the mean time, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until we work out what is wrong. If there's a water quality issue (ammonia), or a disease in the water, the daily water changes should help dilute the problem.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Hi there!!
My ammonia level is 0
I’ve had the tank for about a month and a half. The fish about a month. I have another dwarf gourami, 4 tetras, 4 or 5 (I can’t remember) guppies, a rasbora (I had more before but they kept fighting and died), a couple snails and shrimp. I will post a picture of my tank below. I haven’t seen the fish eat or poop recently. I feed my fish twice a day. I just didn’t a water change this past Monday. I do a water change every 3-4 weeks and clean my filter every 2ish weeks. I check it daily but it kinda just depends on how it looks when I check it. I also clean my sand and gravel when I do my water changes. I think I have a tetra whisper something filter? It’s a tetra something filter for 20-30 gallon tanks.

I’ll do a 75% water change tomorrow and continue to do so until things seem it get better! Thank you so much!!

 

[Colin_T]

You want to do water changes every week or two and clean the filter once a month, so swap them around.

When you clean the filter, wash/ squeeze the filter media/ materials out in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.

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Is the other gourami the same type and colour?
If yes, they could be fighting. Gouramis are territorial and having 2 males in the tank will usually see one male dominate the other and one eventually dies from stress.

There is a lot of air bubbles in the tank and that might be creating too much water movement for the gouramis. This is causing the fish to hide in a corner where there is less flow.

There are no floating plants and the tank is very bright (white gravel makes it worse), that will also stress gouramis and the other fish. Adding some floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will shade the tank and make the fish feel more secure.

Put a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure.

 

[Lgrhm215]

You want to do water changes every week or two and clean the filter once a month, so swap them around.

When you clean the filter, wash/ squeeze the filter media/ materials out in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.

---------------------
Is the other gourami the same type and colour?
If yes, they could be fighting. Gouramis are territorial and having 2 males in the tank will usually see one male dominate the other and one eventually dies from stress.

There is a lot of air bubbles in the tank and that might be creating too much water movement for the gouramis. This is causing the fish to hide in a corner where there is less flow.

There are no floating plants and the tank is very bright (white gravel makes it worse), that will also stress gouramis and the other fish. Adding some floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will shade the tank and make the fish feel more secure.

Put a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure.

They are the same color. When I had went to the store to get my fish I asked for a male and female and didn’t know females were a different color so when I learned that I got worried. I know females have the rounded fins and are like brownish colored but this one is colored with round fins. Could i possibly have 2 males even though the fin is rounded?

I have some red root floater plants on the way here and should get here soon! So hopefully they’ll enjoy the floating plants!

Would you recommend I take out my air stone and replace it with a smaller one? I can also take out some of my bright plants and put some other ones in. The bright plants were just in there until I could get some more live plants to replace them with

 

[Essjay]

Female dwarf gouramis are silver not brownish. If the other gourami is coloured, it's a male and 2 males will fight. It is quite possible that the sick gourami is being bullied by the other one.

 

[Colin_T]

You have 2 male gouramis that are probably arguing (as @Essjay mentioned).

Try putting a smaller airstone in and see if it makes any difference. It might not if the fish is being bullied.

The brightness of the tank is more from the white gravel and no floating plants, rather than the bright colour of the plants in there. When you get the floating plants they will make it darker and the fish should feel more secure. Having a picture on the back will make them feel more secure too.

 

[Lgrhm215]

You have 2 male gouramis that are probably arguing (as @Essjay mentioned).

Try putting a smaller airstone in and see if it makes any difference. It might not if the fish is being bullied.

The brightness of the tank is more from the white gravel and no floating plants, rather than the bright colour of the plants in there. When you get the floating plants they will make it darker and the fish should feel more secure. Having a picture on the back will make them feel more secure too.

Okay! Sounds good! I’ll try a smaller airstone, a picture on the back, the floating plants, and the water changes. I hope this helps!

Do you think I should rehome one of my males? Or should I wait and see how changing everything goes? Do you recommend I get a (for sure) female?

 

[Lgrhm215]

Female dwarf gouramis are silver not brownish. If the other gourami is coloured, it's a male and 2 males will fight. It is quite possible that the sick gourami is being bullied by the other one.

You’re right they are silver. My mistake. I haven’t seen them fight or really mess with each other. They kinda just stay to themselves. Maybe they’ve been fighting while I haven’t been paying attention but from what I’ve seen they’ve been cool to one another

 

[Colin_T]

picture of the second gourami?
1 minute video of sick gourami being offered food?

 

[Lgrhm215]

I

picture of the second gourami?
1 minute video of sick gourami being offered food?

I’m sorry I just saw this! I’ll post a video and pic once I get home from work!! Thank you so much for helping me this far!

 

[Lgrhm215]

I took a video of my sick fish trying to eat but for some reason it won’t let me post it. I put my fish in a separate container (water from take it’s in) and fed it. It stayed at the bottom. About a minute and a half after the video it went up to grab a bite and slowly sank back down. Now it’s laying slightly sideways and barely moving. Now that I’ve done more research on dwarf gourami’s I 100% have two males. I feel terrible. I didn’t do enough research on this fish before I got them and when I went to the pet store I assumed they knew the different. Completely my fault. I will continue to try to post the video but in the mean time I have a picture of my other dwarf gourami that I knew was a male. (The sick one I was unsure about). I am so posting a picture of what the sick fish looks like now.

I’m going to keep doing my water changes this week, get a new air stone and I’m working on a picture to put on the back until I can go out and buy one. My floating plants should be here tomorrow.

Ugh I feel terrible for my fish

First pic is fish I knew was male and isn’t sick. Second and third pic is sick fish that I now know is a male. I really hope he makes it

 

[Colin_T]

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