Do you know what this is?

[breezer40]

I have been looking on another board and someone on there is trying to find out what is the problem with their dwarf gourami.

symtoms:

Patches where color has faded on skin increasing.

Hanging at top of tank.

Fins Clamped

Lack of appetite

Any Ideas?

 

[astroguy]

Obivously we need more details on the tank status, e.g., how many fishes, how big the tank, concentration of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, pH? Hanging at the top of the tank and fins clamped suggests a bad tank situation, but it would be better to have the above first.

 

[breezer40]

They don't have any nitrates/nitrites readings..claim other water readings are fine the ph was 7.9 and the tank details were:

30 u.s. gallons

3 zebra danios (one long-finned)
4 guppies & a million fry
1 pair coral blue dwarf gourami
3 albino cories
2 axelrodi cories
1 bristlenose pleco
6 black phantom tetra

Pics and info can be found here:
http://fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?s=9551b95618a37a7092a84f5d0d126068&showtopic=29717

 

[astroguy]

I have no clue. Look at another board. There is an expert there on fishes:
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/message_board/messages/17/17.html?1080743922

 

[Menagerie]

It's very hard to treat a third party; although, the pH is high for most of the fish in the tank. Ask them to post here.
In the meantime, these may help--
Freshwater Diagnostic Charts:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.clubjungle.com/fish_chart.pdf

 

[Christmasfish]

Danios (specially Zebra and Giant) and skirted tetras will harrass small gourammi and bettas.
Usually frightened stressed gourami hang at the bottom in some kind of cover. The longer they don't eat after 3-5 days; the worse they'll get. If something is harrassing them as they come up and down for air they may get enough bravery to hang at a top corner.
And that tank is waaay overstocked if they don't keep good water husbandry (with no testing or chnges noted...I will assume they filled the tank til it "looked" full of fish.

Otherwise they may have gill/labyrinth damage from being in the tank cycle and are trying to use the labyrinth organ better by staying up top. Except hanging at the top it sounds like stress from fearfulness. but they will die or spontaneously break out with something soon if that is the case.
That high ph can make small reading in ammonia much worse in effect.

 

[Christmasfish]

I have no clue. Look at another board. There is an expert there on fishes:

what does that mean..? 8O
That there are no itchyologists, biologists or breeders HERE? That the guy at that site is a specialist in labyrinth fish..or what?

Gee that was a slap at the members here...(wether you meant it or not)

Does that mean if I use my domain to set up a fish site and post summarized information on as many species as I can find multiple sources for and put info in easily read pieces.. I am an "expert"
I helped breed many aquatic animals sucessfully for over 4 years..and I am stiiill not an EXPERT..sheeez!
Dr Fosters and Smith "expert staff' are closer to experts if ya wanna get technical..in treatments anyway...
Members including myself send people to loaches online for loach specific info and the admins send peeps to the krib often for cichlid info. Or to see an image of some beastie. But it's usually bad form to steer members to another board tsk!

and BTW: from the horses mouth:

My qualifications; I have been involved in the tropical fish hobby for over twenty years, starting with the obligatory twenty gallon community setup. Over the years I have kept almost every kind of fish, in setups ranging from community to Biotope to saltwater mini-reef systems.

My "fish room" had a high of twenty tanks ranging in sizes from five to fifty-five gallons, with different breeding species, and home made wet-dry filtration systems. I am currently running a twenty nine gallon Lake Malawi Mbuna Biotope, a forty gallon live plant, community setup, a fifteen gallon salt water mini-reef and a ten gallon Neon tank.
The information I post here will come from my experience, and a large reference library. If you found this site helpful or want to make a comment please sign my Guestbook.

So there is his qualifications, the site owner. His 20 sure beats my combined 5..unless I counted helping other people over the years..then I can say I have 30 years experience at the end of this year...
I have helped breed over 46 differnt species. Sucessfully. I have kept personally only about 6 until this year.
And no I am not dissing the dude. I like his site and go there on occasion. And by setting up a help site on his own he shows his concern for fishys everywhere. Nothing even slightly personal, I am crabbing at you because I just think your post was not apporpriate. If you know nothing..say nothing. That is why you'll never see Christmasfish giving any advice on breeding rams or posting in the saltwater forum. i know water hubandry, I know labyrinths, kois and fancys..and a smidgeon of pirahnna and oscar. and unknowns that prolly are named now. "I don know nothing about no gobies dat are missing scarlet!"lr" means living room to me. okay..no harm no foul I guess. but try to give thsi site a chance to grow instead and the members that do keep that fish can answer..there are SOME of us ya know...

 

[Menagerie]

I wasn't going to post in the response to sending others to another board, but Christmasfish is right. We do what we can and if we know of a site that is ultrahelpful, we send people to them. Being a biologist and knowing there are numberous biologists, itchylolgists and breeders on this board, I can honestly say we give the best advice we can give.
PLUS, you gave all of us under an hour to help and then sent breezer to another board.

 

[breezer40]

Thanks for giving a few pointers and recently having a problem of my own I would like to agree with both Menagerie and Christmasfish that there are many experienced fish keepers on this board who I learn from daily. In defence of astroguy I think he was only trying to be helpful (I hate arguments)

 

[Menagerie]

I hate arguments

Me too, but I love to give my opinion

 

[TankGirl]

I think if everyone was stumped and the thread petered out, going elsewhere is an appropriate action to take, but we are just gettin' started!

I suspect high nitrites, and otherwise a water quality issue. "They don't have nitrates/nitrites readings" is confusing - not tested or tested zero? There should be one or the other, or both, but not nothing of either. There is really no way to help without knowing ammonia and nitrite at the very least, esp. when it comes to hanging at the top with clamped fins. When there is a problem that is really the very first thing you do - test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. See if you can get some actually values for these tests, since at the LFS if you bring in your water and it shows trace ammonia (not good, tank not cycled yet) the employee will often tell you it is "fine."

If there is zero ammonia, zero nitrite and some low levels of nitrate then you move on to harrassment and disease as being the cause. Christmas fish can certainly be trusted for info on labyrinth fish.

 

[heavenly]

I don't know about the rest of your friends problems but I know they can try blood worms, plants, alge waffers and zuccinni. to get them to eat.