Constipation???

[SilverDragon]

My Flame Dwarf Gourami has been acting strange, Im wondering if its constipation, and if anyone has any tips to help him.

Hes acting sluggish, hanging around in one area in middle of the tank, more nervous than usual. He also hasnt been eating much of anything and his poop is forever trailing behind him, but there is no substance to it... its completely clear. He is definately losing weight, and is paler in colour.. and seems constantly flared.

I offered him lettuce, but he isnt interested, he just occasionally picks at the algae on the fake plants.

Can anyone help? I love this fish and dont want to lose him!

 

[Simpte]

Clear poop is poop nevertheless meaning he's not constipated. What are you feeding? Poop color is in relation to diet. Is he fat? could be internal parasites as that is what I link to clear poop. They make medicated foods for this problem (Jungle and a few other companies).
Hope this helps........

 

[SilverDragon]

Hes always looked very healthy and not what Id call fat lol... his belly is a little swollen, but the rest of his body is getting thinner. Ive tried a bunch of foods, and he seems to prefer Bettamin flakes... he lives with a female betta and cory catfish and they all love that food. Hes been eating it for months and always pigged out.. I tried peas the other day, but the catfish and betta ate them all .... His scales are not sticking out so I dont think its dropsy.. I lost a gold gourami to that before.

So clear poop doesnt mean hes constipated?? I didnt know that... it trails behind him for hours though.....

I have coppersafe on hand, and melafix... could these help? My LFS is almost an hour away ( I live in the middle of nowhere) and I dont own a car. Any other suggestions? he looks very depressed and uncomfortable.

 

[SilverDragon]

PS.. I also have aquarium salt on hand. could this illness be caused by a lack of vegetation in his diet?

He wont really eat anything else but the roots on the floating plants. I dont suppose any of my medications will help.

 

[Zagz]

I would treat for internal parasites as recommended. Jungle makes a good anti parasitic medicine, you could also try some medicated food.

 

[SilverDragon]

I dont have access to any medicines.. cant get to the LFS
I treated the tank with salt for now.. he seems to have perked up already.. but I really hope its not dropsy again...

 

[Hyrules]

Hope you can save your fish. I have a similar problem right now ( see my thread about my sick red dwarf gourami) I think he has dropsy as well though i first tought it was constipation. I've found some pictures of a dropsied ( if this word exist ) maybe you can compare to see if it's dropsy or constipation. http://www.fishjunkies.com/Diseases/dropsy.php I hope it can help you identifying your fish`s problem.

 

[SilverDragon]

I did in fact read your post about your gourami... it does sound similar except for the scales sticking out.. I mistook his scales sticking out once before, and used up the rest of my internal disease meds.... and it turns out he wasnt sick at that time anyway... but this time he has more symptoms... Im totally at a loss without any more meds.... I hope the salt helps.

 

[Hyrules]

Well... i wont take any chance. I would better give him an antibacterial and some epsom salt. that way i'm sure i cure both of the problems. I hope you can save your fish with salt. Generally a good dosage can help alot.

 

[SilverDragon]

I read that Gouramis are particularly prone to getting Dropsy

If this is Dropsy again, are there ways to prevent it? Its hard to find info on what causes it.

 

[Zagz]

It is hard to prevent illness, the first step is to make sure that water parameters are always pristine and thatthe fish don't suffer unnecessary stress from other fish. Gourami's can be prone to dropsy unfortunately and all we can do is the best we can.