Treating tank with aquarium salt, confused?

[V227]

Keep your head up. We all lose fish from time to time. I think a bigger tank and tougher fish might change your outlook.
Keeping eight Neon Tetras alive for a year is a great achievement. They are a very fragile fish.
The Gourami deaths likely weren't your fault. Most are already infected with a species specific lethal virus, ( no cure).
Guppies are wimps.
I think you are doing a good job. Things will get much better.

 

[mishyc]

Thanks for that. I have been doing everything to the letter and it just hasn’t happened for me. So, it’s not worth getting anymore gourami, what about blue rams, or do they carry the same problem?

 

[V227]

I think a pair of GBR's would do fine. There are some true experts on AA regarding Blue Ram
Breeding and upkeep. So there will be no shortage of information.

 

[Easy E]

I believe it's just the dwarf gouramis that have genetic defects. I've found the other types to be very hardy. They can even breath air if water conditions deteriorate severely. So I wouldn't completely give up on the species if I was you. Choose wisely though if you have a small tank. Some of them get huge.

Blue Rams are only a good choice if you buy them from a reputable local breeder. I WOULD NOT buy them from the same place you got your gouramis. If you do, they will also be likely have a gut full of bacteria and parasites. If you can find a good place to get healthy Rams, they should do fine, as long as your water is not too alkaline (hard).

 

[King Fisher]

Or you could try Bolivian Rams. They aren't as finicky.

 

[mishyc]

I think you’re right about the lfs I’ve used, they didn’t have a clue when I described what was wrong with my fish, and when I went back in and said it may have been internal parasites, they said they had never heard of that and didn’t stock anything for that [emoji47]

 

[Easy E]

That could be why your fish continue to die. If your lfs gets their fish from the factory style breeders, they keep their fish in a bath of hormones and antibiotics. So they look healthy and colorful when they arrive, but have no immunity to the bugs in a normal tank. By the time you buy them, they've probably already been infected. If you sell sick fish, you can blame the illness on the customer, then sell them cures that don't work, and eventually more fish when theirs die. Win, win for the unscrupulous lfs. If they claim to have never heard of fish having internal parasites, they're either lying or ignorant. I would find a different source for fish immediately, and don't blame yourself for the death of anything you got from there.

Many areas have local aquarium clubs with experienced breeders as members. These clubs quite often have fish available really cheap or even free. I would pursue that route, if possible, if I was you. It would definitely lead to a much greater enjoyment of the hobby.

 

[mishyc]

Yeah I have found one that specialisers I’m only fish and have a good reputation, I’m never going back to the one I used as they are useless!