"dirty" gourami

[swmmnglessons]

I have a 5 1/2 gallon tank containing 4 neon tetras, a dwarf African frog, an otocinclus and an "orange" gourami (sunburst maybe?). The gourami acts fine and is very active but it looks dirty. It doesn't have big patches, just slightly grayish-black areas on its body and fins mainly. Is this something to be worried about and if so, what should I do?

[sunsplash76]

HM~ I have a blood gourami, which is an orange color to red ant times, with a light blue fin on the top of his body. Does your gourami have a blue fin on top? If we have the same fish, maybe I could help. None of the gouramis I have seen in the LFS have had any black spots. I have seen alot of other fish with black spots that make them look dirty, but I think It's just the way they were born. I've seen alot of electric yellow cichlids with black all over and many platty's also. Maybe if you had a pic to post, we could see it better. As long as the fish is hungry, behaving normal, and appears healthy, there is probably no reason to be concerned. Has he had this coloration since you got him or did it develop afterward? Let me know if he is doing o.k. Sorry I couldn't be of any real help 8O
~Melissa~

[swmmnglessons]

My gourami is completely orange. If I remember correctly, he did not have the patches when I bought him. They aren't spots, just grayish-black "areas" that are very small. Sort of a grayish tinge to his fins.

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

did this change occur suddenly or slowly over time? does the fish swim and eat normally? lots of gouramis appearances change somewhat as they mature, but can't say for your particular case...if he acts fine and it didn't develop very quickly i wouldn't be concerned