Sick fish and hello

[Maryanne1986]

Hi all

Apologies if this is not on the right place but I wanted to join as needed some advice on what to do

We introduced some moonlight gourami x2 to our tank which has neon tetras and leopard guppies in it but one of the moonlight gouramis is acting strange while the other seems to be mixing better

I have attached a pic and video incase this helps. Just worried as don't want the little guy to suffer.

Any advice would be great.

Many thanks

 

[Essjay]

What were they labelled at in the shop? Your photo looks more like a female honey gourami of the natural colour.

How long has it been in the tank?
How is the other one doing?

 

[Maryanne1986]

Hello

I'll be honest my partner picked them up so I have no idea on the first official name of them I'm afraid

The other seems to be ok swimming eating and happy I guess and we literally put them in yesterday morning

Thanks

 

[Essjay]

Some fish do take several days or even weeks to settle in. Unless someone with more experience with diseases than me suggest something else, for now I would keep an eye on the fish, and make sure the water is kept nice and clean - this means 30 to50% water changes every week.



Out of curiosity, what is the other gourami like? I'm just wondering if you have 2 females, or a male and female or possibly even two different species.

 

[Maryanne1986]

Hello

This is the other one. They were pulled from the same tank in the shop if that helps ?

 

[Innesfan]

Out of curiosity, what is the other gourami like? I'm just wondering if you have 2 females, or a male and female or possibly even two different species.

I wonder the same. Could you provide a photo of both? Also, what temp is the water? Gouramis prefer warmth. I also wonder if it's huddled in the corner like that because of the current, which looks to be fairly strong. Gouramis are still-water fish.

And welcome.

 

[Essjay]

That looks like a female honey gourami as well. I've kept these in the past, they are lovely small fish and not very aggressive for gouramis. Two females should get on together.
However, I do need to tell you the tale of my first honey gouramis. I bought a trio, 1 male and 2 females. The males are a golden tan colour, quite different from females in this colour variant. About 3 weeks after I bought them, I got up one morning to find 2 golden tan gouramis and one beige. It took that long for the second male to show his colours. So if one of yours suddenly changes colour, and even develops a black throat, don't panic



I agree with Innesfan, both the temperature and the current.

 

[Maryanne1986]

What temp will they be happy with and isit best I turn down the current then?

Thanks for all your replies

 

[Innesfan]

Yes, I agree with @Essjay. They are not Moonlight Gouramis but rather Honey Gouramis, and they appear to be both females.

Since you also have neons in there, and they prefer things cooler, 75F might be a good compromise for both species. The guppies will be fine too. And yes, I'd baffle the current.

just as well that they are not Moonlights which get large --up to 6"--and could dine on your neons.

 

[Essjay]

75F might be a good compromise

MaryAnne, as you are in the UK, that's 24 deg C

 

[Maryanne1986]

Thanks for all your help guys.

We have been watching these 2 over the last 2 days and think the bigger one may be picking on the smaller one with those weird thin fin things at the front they have as it keeps going behind the smaller one and poking it then proceeds to chase the other. .....

Is this possible?

Regards

 

[Essjay]

It is possible that one of the two is a male - or even both. The fish are stressed in shop tanks; they've been through a lot before they get to the shop, then they're in a tank being stared at by all these humans and chased round the tank with a net so males could well be in stress = female colouring when you buy them. If one is a male, he's checking out a female. If they both turn out to be males, they won't share a tank and one will bully the other.

At this point they both do look female, but time will tell if one or both are males. Keep an eye on the 'weaker' one, though.

 

[Maryanne1986]

What should I watch for? Also, what should I do if it carries on ?

 

[Essjay]

Watch if the fish seems to be suffering, fins getting tatty, unable to swim properly, anything that looks wrong.

The main issue in fishkeeping is diagnosing illness. They can't tell us what's wrong, and fish tend to hide illness as in the wild a sick fish is easily picked off. Unless we are absolutely certain what's wrong we shouldn't add medication as the wrong one can make a sick fish worse.

One thing you could try is to buy a net which sits inside the tank to isolate the fish. They are designed to keep fry in but they can also be used to keep an adult fish away from the others but still allow water circulation. I know that @MattW bought one recently so if he can tell us where he bought it, it would help.

 

[MattW]

I got mine from my LFS. The aqua one net breeder. For a fish that size, if you do get one don't install the separation brackets. The box itself should do just fine.

- https://aquacadabra.com/search?q=net+breeder&options[prefix]=last
Aquacadrabra sells it along with a few other alternatives. (Free UK Delivery too)