Fire Red Dwarf Gourami problem...

[Lonewolfblue]

I got a problem with one of my dwarf gouramis. Not sure if it's a problem, or from an accident he had.

What he's doing is he's been swimming straight up and down, with his mouth on top and tail on the bottom. Sometimes he'll go too far back and be almost upside down, but then corrects himself to normal position, then back to up and down. Then there's times where he's swimming perfectly normal. And occasionally will lean on his right side, then correct himself. And he eats fine too. He's been doing this a lot the last few days.

A few days ago, I was watching tv, and all of a sudden, one of the dwarfs rocketed to the surface and hit the hood pretty hard, and I mean hard, lol. Didn't seem to affect him any after that, and no wounds or bleeding. Just wondering if this could be an after affect from that.

Water parameters are normal, ammonia and nitrite 0ppm, nitrate between 10-20ppm, ph 7.2, temp 79.3. Emperor 280 giving plenty aeration too.

No apparent injuries, no swelling anywhere, no red or swollen gills, nothing. Breathing seems the same as the other gourami as well. Looks just like the other dwarf gourami. So I'm wondering if possible brain damage. Any thoughts as to what else to look for?

 

[Zagz]

He may have knocked himself silly. Other than damaging his swim bladder but you know what to watch for there. As long as he has no other symptoms, keep doing what you are doing. I know you keep your water pristine so I am sure he will recover. Maybe like a fishy concussion?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Could very well be a concussion. Hope he makes it. Other than swimming in odd positions, he seems perfectly fine, lol. And eats hardily.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Just the thump he made, made my head hurt, lol.

 

[Zagz]

I just had my two blue dolphins have a tussle and the one bonked his head too. Strange that they do that. I hope yours will be ok. Let us know how he is doing as time goes on.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

He's still doing it, just looks weird when he does it and the other doesn't. But he still looks healthy, other than the way he swims. Almost like he's trying to set himself up in a launch position, lol.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Wonder if he's going to be ok. He just swims around in a vertical position, doesn't use his tail much, just his front fins. It's either a brain problem, or a swim bladder problem. But all other signs seem normal, no swelling, sores, heavy breathing, etc. All looks normal except how he swims. And wondering how long he's going to last. During feeding, he seems to swim normal, and feeds normal. It's just after feeding is done, he goes back to swimming weird.

 

[Zagz]

I don't know what else to suggest, he must have given himself quite the bonk to the head! I guess only time will tell. I hope he is ok.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, not sure what to do here. He's still swimming funny, just a lot more uncoordinated. Swims alot on his side and upside down around lower to mid tank. He's having a much harder time trying to feed too, as he's not coordinated enough to swim to the food and eat. So I don't know how much he's really getting to eat. Also eats off the bottom, but when he does, he ends up doing a slow somer sault and ends up upside down, and still misses the food. Is it time to let this guy go? Or should I wait longer? Not sure how much he is really suffering. Any comments welcome.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Got home from work now, and he's still swimming the same, more uncoordinated than normal. I also noticed that under his gills, behind his eyes, and up to almost the top of his head, as starting to get a little of a maroon color to it behind the scales. It's definitely not like that on the other gourami. So it appears to possibly be a severe head trauma. But he still tries to swim, and feed, but is getting very little food, as he can't always catch it. And when I was looking at him closely, his eyes do focus on me, and he sees me, just can't stay level and swim straight. And occasionally twitches too. So my question is, is he suffering? Should I put him out of his misery, or wait? I just want to do what's best for him and not me. I personally feel he's not going to recover. Just waiting on some comments from others to see what others would do.

 

[rich311k]

I wonder if he broke his spine. Kind of sounds like his nervous system isn't functioning right. I am truly sorry Wolf.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update......

Decided not to do him in yet, and glad I did. Last night he was able to eat more, and today he seems to be swimming much better, able to stay level for longer periods. He does tend to go to the vertical position, but seems to be able to stay level most of the time. Right now he's swimming with the other dwarf gourami, and is looking better. There is still a little reddish color as in my previous post, but it seems to be going away. So maybe there is hope for him.

 

[Zagz]

Glad to hear he is doing better. Also very glad you didn't euthanize him. I hope he continues to feel better.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

hi again....

Still not sure about the gourami. Sometimes has his up days and sometimes his down days. The last couple days he really hasn't had his balance, doing his vertical swimming again. I like the guy, just don't know if he's suffering at all.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, the little guy didn't make it. He was still alive when I netted him, just could not move. Looked like he was paralyzed. But he was breathing fine, and his eyes looked at me when I was examining him. So I decided it's best to let him go. He was swimming around earlier, very uncoordinated. But the last hour he's just been laying in the corner. He couldn't even move when I netted him. So I'm now just down to 1 fire red gourami. Like mentioned earlier, he probably had a broken back, or severe head trauma. But he's now in a much better place.

 

[rich311k]

Sorry for the loss Wolf. You did all anyone could do for that poor fish.

 

[Zagz]

Sorry to hear about your loss Wolf. You tried so hard, it is just one of those things. It must have been one really hard hit, poor thing.

 

[Poke]

I've seen what you were describing, I had a neon dwarf gourami that did the same thing. He was chasing the other gourami in the tank and smashed into the glass, my roomate said he heard the smack from the other side of the living room! He swam strangely for a day or two and then eventually couldnt keep himself bouyant enough to stay off the substrate, I had to put him down. I didnt notice any coloration though. I wonder if this is a common dwarf gourami problem? Sorry for your loss.