bloaty gourami

[blue_neon]

i got two male dwarf gouramis in my 29 gal and one seems not to eat but be really fat and he kinda hides in the back ..... what could be wrong with him???

 

[Allivymar]

Need more info!

What are the current tank parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates)? Tank temp? How often do you water change?

How long have you had the gouramis? How long has this behavior been noted? When was "fatness" first noticed? Do his scales look sorta lifted off his body (kinda making him look like a pinecone)?

Any changes in environment recently?

Are the gouramis aggressive towards each other (male gouramis are notorious for beating on each other)?

I know its a lot of questions, but there could be a lot of things going on. For example, he may be picked on by the other, and eating a lot that you may not be seeing which would explain both the hiding and the fat. He may be ill and be showing signs of dropsy which could ALSO explain the hiding and the fat. With more info we can start paring down some of the possible causes.

 

[blue_neon]

ammonia, nitrite, nitrates all good i had them for bout 1 week and he got bloaty bout two days ago and he dont look like a pinecone and i dont think that they even know there is more then one gouramis in the tank .... they have kinda claimed opposite ends of the tank.

 

[Allivymar]

Ok. More questions LOL

You say the levels are "good" but you don't say what they are; can you do some quick testing and get us some numbers? How long has the tank been cycled (and what else is living in there besides the other gourami)?

I'm guessing here, but I *think* your guy came from the lfs sick. Is why we stress quarantining fish for a coupla weeks before putting them into a main tank. It sucks to have one new fish get all your older fish sick (and a pain to have to treat them all!).

Again, this is a guess, but it sounds like dropsy to me. Dropsy is a condition where the kidneys start to fail and the fish retains water...and they get all bloated. Thing is dropsy isn't a disease in and of itself, but a symptom of other things, such as bacterial infections, poor water quality and poor nutrition. In your case, I doubt its poor nutrition. Without numbers its hard to say if its poor water quality. My guess is its related to an infection he got at the store and brought with him.

I'm HOPING its a water quality problem; thats easy to fix with water changes. An unknown infection is much harder to deal with, and usually, if they've had the infection long enough for dropsy to show up, antibiotics don't help much (the infection is usually too far gone). Kanamycin is the recommended treatment for dropsy, but there are no guarantees as I'm sure you are aware. There is a write up with pics here: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html . Just scroll down to dropsy.

 

[blue_neon]

ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 15ppm... i have 3 serpae tetras, 4 glowlight tetras and 1 guppy.... he is active but hides alot too if ya know what i mean

 

[Madame_X]

I'm having the exact same problem with one of my dwarf gouramis right now. I thought maybe he was constipated as my platies showed signs of constipation as well. I found out that its a bad thing for them to eat flake at the top of the tank before it has time to soak up some water and mine have been doing just that.

I put two teaspoons of epsom salt in the tank after a partial water change and skipped a day of feeding. His belly went down a little so I was sure this was the problem. I have only fed daphnia for the past three days (high fiber, supposed to help clean them out). The platies are no longer constipated but the gourami is still bloated.

My water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates. No other fish show signs of distress. He seems active and is eating, but he hides all the time. I originally attributed this to being picked on by the other gourami until I noticed his belly. He does not have the tell-tale "pinecone" scales of dropsy, but I'm starting to wonder.

Its been a bad fish week for me...

 

[Allivymar]

I would try Madam_X's suggestion first; either epsom salts or if he is eating, maybe half an unshelled pea (works like Metamucil for fish LOL). Just kind squish it out of its coat into the tank. Make sure to remove it if it isn't eaten in about 12 hrs or so; don't want to mess up water parameters (btw thanx Your parameters look great! And its obvious you are nowhere near the top bio-load for that tank; sounds good ).

If you don't see any changes in a day or so, I would definitely suspect drospy; a fish does NOT have to have that pine cone effect to have dropsy, its only one of the symptoms that may show up (although its the most strikingly visible of the different signs which indicate dropsy). Generally, if a fish is constipated, once it poos the bloatedness reduces so if it doesn't, time for a rethink.

Man, you really are having a crappy fish week Madame_X; I'm sorry Did you check the link I gave in the above post? It may help determine whats going on with your lil guy. Did he have ANY change in belly size after the epsom salts n daphnia? You may want to try the unshelled pea thing too.

 

[Madame_X]

Alli, I tried the peas before the daphnia. Neither gourami would eat them. They took a couple of bites and spit them out, and wouldn't touch them after that. That was the day I skipped feeding (aside from the peas, which the platies enjoyed).

I will check that link. I'm thinking of moving him to the hospital tank if things don't change in the next day or so. He may be REALLY stressed in that tank because the two gouramis were fighting a lot. Now that one of them has established dominance, he seems to watch the other gourami almost like he's trying to intimidate him into staying in his corner.

I had planned to move him into the 30 gallon with the rams but I can't do that now until I know he's healthy.

Blue_Neon--if my situation improves, I'll be sure to let you know what worked for me. Good luck!

 

[blue_neon]

Allivymar, got some fish in the QT tank right now(4 paradise fish 2 males and 2 females and they are all really nice to each other so i hope they dont get too mean when i put them in the bigger tank) but i will try the pea and salt stuff.
thank you

 

[Allivymar]

Ooo paradise fish; lovely Let me know if you have any success with the epsom salts/pea treatment blue.

Yeah, I know what you mean about not being able to move him Madame_X. What a PITA. And that poor gourami. All sorts of fighting in one tank, and is missing out on the opportunity to move into another nice tank. I would prob put him into a QT tank now; it will certainly reduce his stress levels.

 

[Madame_X]

My gourami looks better today, not as bloated and a little more active. He's still hiding but I think that's got something to do with the bully factor.

Maybe my course of treatment is working. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Allivymar]

I don't want to jinx things by saying this but, YAY!!

*grin*