DG disease or me being paranoid?

[mwojciak91]

Title says it all here are a couple picks...looks like he is losing color assuming it's not good. Anyone familiar that can identify early stages?

 

[Andy Sager]

Fading colors is one sign of declining water quality. Have you done a complete panel lately?

 

[mwojciak91]

Yes and just did a 50% water change yesterday ph was around 7.8 (I know it's high) and my alkalinity was high also. Could that be the issue? Ammonia was just under .25 ppm and everything else was good.

 

[Andy Sager]

PH could be an issue but only if the fish are used to a lower PH. Ours here on FL are in 8.4 and higher PH. PH issues come from it dropping more than it being too high. My concern is the ammonia. In an established tank, ammonia should be 0 and rises in it shouldn't be long enough for you to get them to register on a test. So, were these pics taken before the water change and has there been any difference since the water change?

 

[mwojciak91]

They were taken before the water change not much has changed since. this was my ammonia test before the wc as well...the picture makes the test sample look a little darker than it actually (it looked more close to 0 to me but not quiet completely yellow) that's why I said under .25ppm

With your high ph in Florida do you stick to fish that like a higher ph or not necessarily? I battle with high alkalinity tap water so it's really tough for me to regulate the ph...could that be the issue potentially? Thanks for your help any advice is appreciated!

 

[Andy Sager]

The pic doesn't look yellow. My tests come up yellow in my old tanks. Please compare yours to the attached pic and let me know.

As for changing PH, I have had fish from low PH waters adapt to living in higher PH waters HOWEVER, that higher PH seemed to have altered their breeding behavior more than anything else. So I didn't shy away from different PH water fish but I did start them out with lower PH water and gradually adapted them to the regular tap water.

As for no change in your fish after the water change, this could be a sign that the water isn't the issue but possibly the food is or the fish my be coming out of breeding colors ( which are more intense than regular daily colors). If you are feeding a high quality food and the fish is eating and acting "normal", I wouldn't be concerned. If the fish is alone without other dwarf gouramis in the tank ( male or female), there is little reason for him to be in his breeding colors so, depending on how long it was from the time he was around other DGs, this too could explain the loss of coloration. The key I would say is that if the fish is acting" normal" and nothing else seems to be happening ( related to disease), then I wouldn't be too concerned. Just enjoy him.

 

[Exia]

It looks fine to me but I'm a Noob so I can't tell

 

[Andy Sager]

It looks fine to me but I'm a Noob so I can't tell

Yeah, that's the problem with pics on the internet. Color is based on your computer's settings so what might look one color to one person may appear another color to someone else.
So I would go with the fish's behavior. If it's good, if it's poor, you need to dig further.

Hope this helps.