Gourami lifeless

[labpig]

I got a dwarf gourami for my 80L tank

When I got it home, I went to float the bag and found the gourami was flapping about in the bag as if it was out of water
There was plenty of water in the bag
I waited 5 mins and had to add more tank water to the bag, hoping to ease the distress. It didnt
I had to release it into the tank after the bag had only floated 5-6 mins instead if the usual 30 mins

It immediately went and hid, coming out the next day

I noticed over the next day or 2 the gourami kept lounging on a plant. The time it spent sitting on something increased so that, 4 days after I got it, it's now lying on the bottom of the tank. I thought it was dead, but every so often it will move location and lie there for hours

My water is 0-0-5. I have otocinclus which I have been told are good indictors of something wrong with the water, but they are fine

I have pentazonal barbs and neon tetra all of which are fine

Tank 61x30x43cm 80L

Do you think it was sick from the LFS?

I rang the LFS who said it takes them a while to acclimatise to a new community but I think it's more than that

 

[labpig]

This is what it's doing at the minute

 

[tnfinfan]

Floating only equalizes temperature, nothing more. Unless there was a long drive from the fish store in a cold car, it does nothing, really to help acclimate the fish. Adding some of your tank water to the bag while it floats and then repeating this several times with removing some and adding more of yours does ease the transition. Folks who get fish shipped and therefore receive them chilled and very stressed will most often use drip acclimation to slooooooowly acclimate their new fish.

In case you didn't know, dwarf gouramis are about the worst for general health and vigor. Lots of poor breeding, lots of illnesses, etc. It's generally recommended to quarantine them for an extended period. Weeks. That's not to say you should give up, just choose carefully, don't have a soft heart for the picked on fish in the tank, and take that sick fish back right away.

BTW, I did eventually find a store with a healthy powder blue and it spent the first day running laps around the tank. Hyper as heck. So no, nothing about your fish lazing around is normal.