Dwarf Gourami sick?

[TOMatt]

2 months ago, i got a young male Dwarf Gourami.
He was perfectly active until a couple of days ago. Since then, he swims up to the top for air or food, but is spending most of his time lying on a leaf or on the substrate in a back corner away from light and movement. He seems to be breathing faster than usual.

His antennae like points under his head (maybe thin fins?) seem to be a little shorter than they were. I haven't seen my Dwarf Spotted Danios nipping at him, so i don't think they've been bitten off, but really can't confirm what they do when i'm not looking. His scales look fine, he doesn't look swollen at all...

Is he just getting lazy or stressed (about what i have no idea)? Or is this the starting of DG Disease? I don't want to euthanize him unless I have to, but don't want him to be going through more pain than necessary.

I've searched the net for symptoms, but haven't found anything that seems likely. Can anyone make a decent guess or point me in the right direction?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20-40
pH: 7.4

 

[Hholly]

Not sure what to tell you except try some water changes. Your nitrates are a little elevated. There have been a lot of threads on dwarf gouramis with problems on here lately. I have one too, that is having issues. Good luck!

 

[TOMatt]

Thanks Hholly.
According to AquariumAdvisor (using similar danios and cories as mine aren't listed), i should be doing 25% PWCs once a week. I'm doing them about 3x per week at the moment.
I was also expecting the live plants to help, but maybe I just need more.

I'll go back to doing daily PWCs and see how that helps.

I'll also be moving them from a 20g to a 50g tank this weekend, but not adding more stock for a couple of months. Hopefully that extra space will help too.

PS. Good luck with your DG.

 

[Hholly]

How long has your tank been set up? You can do 50% a couple of times to get things under control. Do you gravel vac? The nitrates aren't extremely high, just a little elevated. Be sure and move your established filter media to your new one when you change over. Sounds like you are doing all you can without meds. Maybe someone can recommend a med to help.

 

[TOMatt]

It finished cycling about 2 months ago.
I did a fish-in with 6 Dwarf Spotted Danios.
A few days after getting consistent 0 ammonia and nitrite i added 4 Peppered Cories.
About 10 days later, after ensuring stable levels, added the Dwarf Gourami.
About 10 days after that I added 2 Platies. That was probably 3 weeks ago.
1 cory died in a collision with a sharp bit of a decoration (now removed).

Maybe the higher-than-normal nitrates are just a holdover from the added stock?
I've been doing good gravel vacuuming every time i changed the water.

I'm planning on moving over the established filter and adding a much larger one (the smaller can be used in a QT tank later if needed), and am planning on putting a few lbs of the gravel into a pantyhose foot to help maintain the bb levels.

Hopefully i'm just worrying about nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Hholly]

Yeah, hopefully it's nothing. But there do seem to be a lot of dwarf gouramis with problems. Good luck with the upgrade

 

[TOMatt]

... and he died overnight. RIP Larry.

When i fed them last night, he swam up to the top, gulped some air, and ignored the food. He just sort of sank sideways down onto a leaf near the bottom and stayed there.
Since he looks fine (other than shorter-than-normal pointy antenna-like fins under the head), i really couldn't find a diagnosis online.

This morning he was lying dead on the substrate in a back, sheltered corner. I still don't know what killed him. The nitrate levels never went above 40ppm and i didn't see any aggression in the tank.

I knew when i got him that the DG is an iffy breed, but was hopeful. I think i'll avoid getting another.

 

[Hholly]

Aw sorry. If you still want a gourami, pearl gouramis are really nice.

 

[tamtam]

I'm sorry. :9 You could try a honey gourami. They are similar in size but not prone to as many issues as the DGs seem to be

 

[TOMatt]

Interesting discovery when I got home from work last night:

My 3 Peppered Cories, who have lately been hiding almost all the time, were out playing. They stayed pretty active for the few hours between getting home and going to bed. I wonder if the DG was bullying them?
I haven't read anything about Dwarf Gourami/ Cory compatibility issues, but it's a pretty noticeable change.

 

[Hholly]

My dwarf I'd so feisty he actually wrestles my loaches. So yeah, yours probably was bullying your cories. I don't know if the dwarf females are less feisty. But I had a female pearl gourami and she was very sweet and passive.