Reoccurring sickness

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Shaunnyc

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
May 14, 2019
Messages
3
Hello all! Thanks for any advice in advance!

Ive had a 10 gallon freshwater tank established for 3 years... last summer I decided after my last male molly passed on, I would not get anymore live bearers so I started introducing dwarf blue gourami to the tank all was going great my last two female mollies passed over a few months... (that's okay they were pretty old...)I have had 3 beautiful blue Gouramis and added live plants(growing wonderfully) and a few platys and 4blue mystery snails ... ( I know, I said no more live bearers) so one platy seemed to get stuck behind the filter and suffocate( he was small things happen) The Female had babies and I let nature take its course. ( so I did rescue 2 fry that managed to stay alive several days) Anyway here comes the problem, the mother fish soon started behaving strangely. Staying on the bottom only leaving to eat. Then, she started "wasting away" getting thin and having trouble swimming but still eating . If you are familiar with Dr Suess' illustration of fish she looked like that at the end, bent and shriveled... this took over a month. Well, long story short the male followed quickly 2 weeks after that. Now, 2 weeks after that, it seems my oldest Gourami is going! What is going on??? My ammonia levels were off a bit weeks ago but through numerous water changes and reduced feeding my ammonia and ph are perfect. Could I have poisoned them a while back and it's just catching up to me? I am very frustrated, any would appreciate any insight... sorry for the book... Shaunnyc
 
Internal parasites/worms could be an issue. You could try metronidazole (with perhaps furan 2 to cover bacterial side).

Or salt.

Did they waste away around belly first? No lumpy body. Also any difference in poop eg stringy, white that could suggest some irritation.
 
Wasting away

Thank you for the reply!!! there is an issue with white stringy poop... I never thought of a parasite. Where do I go from here? I have been using Seachem stress guard. I will look up metronidazole...
 
A 10 gallon tank is to small for even a single blue gourami let alone 3 of them. I would think aggression and stress are also contributing to their sickness.
 
Delapool, Thanks for the suggestion of the metro, unfortunately in mid town Manhattan there is no convenient store anymore to buy such a thing with the advent of the Petland closings. So Amazon to the rescue same day delivery but too late for one of my blues and I have another one sick now... I hope she will pull through.

Goatnad, my Dwarf Blue Gourami were a joy for 3 months before this happened and were not Aggressive to each other in the slightest. Actually I found their behavior quite nurturing and playful. Maybe you had a different kind...
 
Same day sounds pretty good. We can get something similar to the metro here but have to know where to go - same with shops shutting.
 
If you use Metroplex it's best if mixed in their food and ingested. A good binder is Seachem Focus. Mix it with metroplex and the food at the dosage recommended.
 
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