gourami looking like a pumped up balloon.

[rabbit]

Need a little help trying to figure out what is wrong with this fish. Its a female dwarf gourami that basically looks like she was pumped up like a balloon. Completely puffed up. Has been getting bigger and bigger last couple days, now looks like she swallowed a marble.
Swims and behaves completely natural (not hiding, swims around, eats). Scales look ok, so does the skin. No fungus or discolorations of any sort at all.

Any ideas what happened, and more importantly, what if anything I should do about it?

 

[lmw80]

Hm....first - what are the water parameters? Also, when you watch her swim, does she swim normally...or is she darting around, or swimming almost like she's anxious or nervous? That could be a sign of an internal parasite. Also, is she scratching herself against anything? Does she rest on the bottom more than usual?

How long have you had her? My blue gourami got a puffed belly when I was over-feeding her when I was a newbie ( ).

Hm...that's a lot of questions....sorry...just trying to help figure this out.

 

[rabbit]

She's been in the same tank with another female and a male for almost a year. Swimming behaviour is normal. Swims like the other two. No weird reactions at all. If I had to guess Id say shes constipated, but I thought if that happened she'd be sicker long before her gut got that big.

 

[lmw80]

Constipation! I can't believe I skipped right by that (in my head, that is)!

Boil some peas and sqeeze them out of their skin, so it's a big mushball...put a little into the tank. They should help move everything along.

 

[rabbit]

peas??? Really? lol muslix for fish? hahahah. aaah. sorry. Dunno why, but that just sounds so funny. Will try that right now. Thanks.

 

[lmw80]

As long as it's not that orange powder like they show in the commercials, lol

 

[PlatyLady]

I'd also watch to make sure that her scales don't start sticking out - just in case it's not constipation, it may be dropsy (okay, I don't know anything about gouramis, but I've had a platy with dropsy). I'm always uneasy when I hear of a 'pumped up' fish.

 

[rabbit]

well she seemed to really enjoy peas (as did the other fish and the snails) but still balloon fish. (Scales still look ok, fish still swimming ok). Maybe I should just not feed her at all for a few days?

 

[lmw80]

Hm....I guess you could try a couple of days without food....when was the last time you saw her go to the bathroom?

 

[rabbit]

oh, never. I like to give them privacy.
Actually I don't really notice unless its pretty blatant. The tank is very planted, so they get to hide a lot. (I tend towards "natural" looking including tall plants in the foreground. Lets them hide from the front of the glass).

 

[PlatyLady]

oh, never. I like to give them privacy.

LOL

 

[sonnyfish]

I have a platy with the same symptons..have feed frozen peas but it doesnt seem to help and the fish seems normal in everyother way.....

 

[tkos]

Could she be full of eggs? Not sure about the breeding habbits of gouramis.

 

[rabbit]

well the male has been after her a whole lot, and she shoulda laid them by now. If she was listless or weak looking Id be more inclined to think illness, but she just swims around, looking perfectly normal so no idea. (well normal if one doesnt count the fact that she's 3 times wider than she should be).

 

[fish_doc]

Gouramis breed similar to bettas. They build a bubble nest and then the male will tend to the nest after "squeezing" the eggs from the female.

 

[tkos]

But the females do swell up with eggs first right?

 

[rabbit]

Ive had them breed a couple times already, Im pretty positive that its not due to eggs. (least Ive never seen any of the females near as big as this).

 

[fish_doc]

It could be dropsy. Check your water levels, Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite. And what kinds of food do you feed them? Dropsy is sometimes caused by malnurishment or poor water conditions. I have never done it but if that is what it is a salt bath is one of the only cures I have heard of that works.

 

[rabbit]

ok. How do you do that? What concentrations, etc? (should mention that there are 2 other gourami there eating the same feed, etc, nothing wrong with them).
Anyone?

 

[butterfly]

She's been in the tank with a male for a year. hmm, have they ever spawned? Mine looked exactly like you described yours "like she had swallowed a marble"
and she was full of eggs. just another take on the situation