gonzo127

Hi all, just after some thoughts,

i got a dwarf a couple of weeks ago, all seemed great for the first week, he was nuts and kept shooting around the tank however the last 4 days he has just stoped and now spends most of the day at the top of the tank near the heater i havent seem him eat and one of his 'side' fins is not being used from what i can see.

i have just performed a 30% water change and that doesnt seem to have made him move far, he does seem a little bloated but i have no previous experience to go by if he is,

my platie which is the only fish he shares the tank with is very happy and eating happily

so can anyone give me any ideas what it might be or is it normal for a dwarf to stop doing anything?

if he survives the night i will do another water change tomorrow but i dont know if there is anything else i can do for him?

cheers

Shawnie

oh no im so sorry hes sick
are there any other signs on his body?
have you tested your water parimeters lately for a mini cycle?
try a small piece(the size of his eye) of fresh garlic....that sometimes entices and stimulates their apetite
prestine water is a bonus and the water changes help allot...I hope he gets better!!

iloveengl

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your little gourami. I can't imagine what's wrong, but I really hope he gets better!!!

gonzo127

no other signs that i can see, he keeps flopping on his side a little bit, not all the way over just a little sideways

hm garlic, will go buy some in a few mins, thank god we have a 24 hour tesco just around the corner, just hope it helps.

checked water last week and was all fine no mini cycle started (that is a check after the first week of him being in the tank and was ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 15) but havent checked today just went ahead and did the water change.

do you think it would help if i did a further water change this evening? maybe another 15-20% i am just worried that disturbing him any more might send him over the edge so to speak

Lucy

I'm really sorry your DG isn't doing well.
I can't offer any advice other than the good suggestions above.

gonzo127

just attched a couple of pics i have just taken aswell

Attached Images

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	DSCF9067.JPG (593.8 KB, 74 views)

Lucy

Could he have hurt himself?
What are you feeding him?

gonzo127

i dont know if he has hurt himself as i cant see any damage but then again he is hiding behind the heater so i cant fully see him and i dont want to stress him out by trying to move him around the tank to have a look

i currently have flakes and pellets which i rotate, both are sold as 'complete' foods

sirdarksol

Ugh... I'm so sorry that your fish is having a problem. Sounds like fairly typical sick/injured behavior; clamped fins (you said the front fins aren't being used. That sounds like clamping, where the fins are pressed tight against the body. It's like humans and the fetal position.) hiding in the safest place in the tank, generally acting odd.

Flakes and pellets. Are they Tetra, Wardley, Omega One, Hikari? I ask because the latter two are high-quality, the former two are the fishy equivalent of McDonald's hamburgers and fries; an okay snack, but not good to live on.

Have you added anything to the tank in the last week? Plants, inverts, other fish? Anything that might have carried an illness?

Definitely good information above. Unfortunately, it's difficult to diagnose problems unless they present a specific, visible condition (like ICH or velvet). Hope the little guy pulls through.

gonzo127

well he has survived the night and i have done another 20% water change this morning but he doesnt seem to be eating still even thou i did try the garlic

and the food is by a company called aquarian which is the most easily available food where i live however i would expect not a really high quality food going by the above, will see if i can find a store open on the way home to pick up some better food or some blood worm to try and get him eating

aquarist48

Good morning Gonzo. Glad to hear he has survived the night. Will be keeping my fingers crossed for you both!
Ken

iloveengl

Gonzo, I'm glad your little gourami is still with us, but I'm sorry he's not feeling better. I wish I had some suggestion to help, but I do wish you the best fishy healing wishes.

gonzo127

well he is still alive , unfortunatly i couldnt find an open store on the way home which sold anything other than what i already have,

that being said he is out a bit more in the centre of the tank which is good to see and i have seen him eat a little bit of food,

however it has meant i can see him more and he really does seem very bloated and keeps flopping over on his sides which is a worry, going to do another water change again tonight of about 20% and hope he gets through the night again, guessing i will just have to take it one night at a time at the moment and hope he gets better,

one last question can any suggest something else i could try for food instead of the flakes or pellets that i could get at a supermarket?

cheers all

Lucy

Is he pooing? If there aren't any other physical symptoms perhap he's constipated.
You can try feeding him a couple bits of thawed frozen pea cut the size of his eye.
It sinks really fast, so maybe put just one tiny peice in, see if he's interested.

gonzo127

i have not seen him pooing so am just thawing a pea... oh and just done the water change so hopfully that will help

kloseo

so sorry for the fish hope your little baby is doing better

Lucy

Me too, good luck.

Amnagrla

I really hope the pea works! At least he seems to be out and about a little more.

At the very least... I'm sure he knows you're doing everything you can for him.

Also, since you can't seem to find quality at the supermarket, have you ever thought of ordering from http://www.drsfostersmith.com or some place like that?

gonzo127

thanks for all the well wishing, just a little update he has survived last night as well so is trying to fight it, just hope he eats a bit more today but he was in hiding again this morning, but probably just morning blues,

thanks for the link to the store however since i am in the UK it might not be best place to order from, however having looked on it the flake food i am using is on the following link
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...81&pcatid=4381

i am planning, if he manages to survive to the weekend, to head out to one of the bigger stores around here to get some better food its just due to where i work and the hours i work i cant get to it in opening times until then

Amnagrla

LOL You think I would have bothered to look at where you were from.... sawry..

AlyeskaGirl

Hello, I am sorry your DG isn't feeling well. I have a question about his fins.....they look short and a little ragged....did they look like that when you got him?

gonzo127

well being honest i am not sure if they where, i dont believe so however couldnt say for sure, i watched him for a good 20 mins or so before i purchase him and he didnt get picked on and was VERY active in the tank and was very brightly coloured, he also was very active in my tank for the first week, second week he has slowed down which i believed was normal, then the weekend he became very unwell,

however he is still hanging on in there bless him, and i think after all this if he does survive i think he is going to become a very spoilt and probably my favourate fish with how much spirt he has shown fighting this,

my wife thinks its silly how much effort i am putting into trying to help the little guy out, with all the water changes, going to the supermarket to pick up some fresh food for him trying to get him to eat etc, shes of the thinking of 'its only a fish and we have only had him for a couple of weeks' my theory is if he was a puppy or kitten no one would think twice about doing everything they could to try and make them better and keep them alive

i just want him to hang on in there for another couple of days so i can get to the big fish store and pick up some medication and best quality food i can get

gonzo127

oh well Valon Behrami the Dwarf Gouramis has died suprising how attached you can get to a fish in under 3 weeks thanks for all the advice anyway people

Lucy

I'm really sorry you lost him.
It's tough losing a babies you've cared for.

Amnagrla

Aww. I'm not surprised at all. I actually think that because you were aware he was sick you got more attached to him in trying to nurse him back to heath. It can be intense.

Anyways, if no one else understands how you're feeling, you know everyone here does!

bolivianbaby

So sorry you lost him

PetiteTank

Sorry to hear. I've lost a two of my gouramis, too.