oh no!!!!!!!!!!!! please no!!!!!!!!!!

[neoginn]

My blue gourami which is over 4 inches in length (hence he is a few years old) is acting VERY strange. His scales look more scaley (if that makes sense) and he is spending his time at the bottom of the tank just laying there. Further more I lost a Tiger Barb over night, I cant find him for the life of me!?!?!?! what is going on!? I moved the Blue Gourami into a 20gallon QT tank for observation, please Aquarium Advice guru's help me, i dont want to make a grave for "Mister Bates".

 

[MSU Fan]

First of all, I am sorry for the missing barb, and your gourami's odd behavior. I hope that everything turns out well.

how large was your tiger barb? As a bit of a morbid thought, could that very large gourami have eaten the barb? If so, it could have overeaten. I often find myself on a couch after I eat too much...

Also, you mentioned that the gourami is a couple of years old, and I have read that they can live to be ~4 yrs old. could this be a natural process of their life (similar to molting or such?).

 

[neoginn]

OH NO! dont say such horrible things, my Gourami is a bit on the old side...but I love Mister Baits (member of the family you know). My Tiger Barb was about one inch in length, usually the Tiger Barb would be the ones picking on everyone else in the tank. Do fish molt?

 

[Guest]

is he swollen at all?

 

[Alshain]

When you say the gourami is looking more "scaley". Can you elaborate on this. Does he look fatter? Do his scales protrude from his body making him look somewhat like a pine cone? There is a diease known as Dropsy which causes this effect. Unfortunately there is no known cure. It often occurs in fish that are in their elder years and can also occur under bad water conditions.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm wondering also if your gourami has dropsy, as Alshain suggested. If the scales are "pineconed" out away from the body then he has dropsy. I have had fish with dropsy. I have never had success with treating it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

It's good that you put your gourami in another tank, so he is quarantined already. Add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of epsom salt per gallon of tank water (not aquarium salt this time) gradually to the tank. 1/8 teaspoon per 20 gallons would be 2.5 teaspoons. Add that amount first, gradually over a few hours, and then add another 2.5 teaspoons in a day or two if you see no improvement. The epsom salt may help to draw out the bloat. Discontinue his regular food for a few days and feed peas. Boil some frozen peas in the microwave (canned ones get too mushy) and let cool and peel off the skin (throw the skin away). Cut the rest of the pea into pieces that are the same size as his regular food and he should eat the pea. Feeding a pea can help clear the digestive system of any blockage. If he eats the peas, feed them exclusively for two days, and then fast him for two days. During this time you can also be using the epsom salt. Hopefully these measures will help.

 

[neoginn]

No he is not swollen, and no his scales dont protrude. It kinda looks like a person with really dry skin. And I did a check and parameters are fine.

 

[Alshain]

Now I'm stumped. I need a picture to do any better guess.

 

[Mosaic]

I don't know what's wrong with your Gourami without a pic, but I wanted to mention that I've treated a goldfish for dropsy and he recovered completely. It was a few years ago so I don't recall the specific details, but it was pretty simple.
Parasites are one of the causes of dropsy, and I guess in my case that was it. Those of you who had untreatable cases could have had something more serious like cancer.

I set up 2 five gallon buckets with air stones and heaters. One bucket held the fish while the other one was being prepared for the fish the next day. I raised the water temp to the high 80s and added probably about 1 tbsp of epsom salt per bucket. The high temps killed off the parasites and the epsom salt drew out the excess fluid. The fish spent one day in one bucket, and was moved to the other one the next day. Then the unoccupied bucket was drained and refilled, re-heated, and salt added. Repeat process. I did this for about 2 weeks and he was good as new.

 

[finny al]

I'm sorry to hear about your gourami....I have a 3 yr. old female pearl- Mama Pearl is my baby. I'd guess that your gourami got sick of the barb's harassment and killed it. I added some "nippy" tetras to my tank once, but mama took care of them.....she's actually a peaceful fish, but she sure turned mean with those guys!

 

[Devilishturtles]

It kinda looks like a person with really dry skin

Columnaris?

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/31/331/

 

[neoginn]

Got a CAMERA! will post pictures tomorrow!

 

[neoginn]

He died, BUT I GOT A NEW FIGURE 8 PUFFER!

 

[Ky'smommy]

Im sorry. and congrats on the puffer