iluvhorses

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum! Up till last night I had two gouramis - a three spot in a 10 gallon tank and a gold in a 2.5 gallon tank (I tried to put them together once but the gold attacked the three spot). The last few days I had been noticing that my three spot wasn't feeling too good (I had her for about a year and a half). She was just lying on the bottom of the tank, wouldn't (or couldn't) come up to eat, and every now and then she looked like she was trying to swim but would just kinda flutter a little bit then lay still again. I thought perhaps she was dying so I went ahead and flushed her. But I don't understand, she was fine last week. Last Saturday I had to clean the tank because a lot of algae had grown in it, and I thought perhaps the build up of the algae in the tank had done something to her, but I'm still confused. Now I have the gold in the 10 gallon and he's as chipper as can be. Is there a way to prevent algae from growing so dang fast aside from turning the light off every now and then?? Whenever I clean that tank it looks great but two days later I can already see new algae growing on the castles and gravel, and then eventually on the walls of the tank. It's really frustrating. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be great!

czarben

There are a couple options: you could get an algae eater, but it would have to be something that wouldn't get too big being that it's a 10G tank, or there are several algae treatments available at most pet stores.

beckers4oranges

dont use chemicals in your tank...get something like an otto...one per 10 gallons is good plus they only get to be about 2 inches long...thats not big at all...and they are one of you the most peaceful fish out there... the gourami thing tho...i dont think the algae killed the fish...if they fought it coulda hurt the other one extremely...but never flush a fish unless your for sure their dead....

iluvhorses

It was last summer when the gold gourami attacked the three spot and the three spot never fought back. I put them together and by the next morning she had pieces missing so I separated them completely. Ever since then her body was crooked and I didn't start seeing any real problems with her health until the past few days. Well - she's gone now. From now on I won't flush unless I can confirm death - I just wasn't sure and was afraid that by the time I figured it out she'd be dead. I'm still new to the keeping fish thing. Um....Is it ok to put an algae eater in a 10g tank with a gold gourami?? He's currently only about 2.5 to 3 inches long (don't know for sure, I haven't actually measured him) but still, I'd be afraid that the algae eater wouldn't live very long.

vin

The other thing is by prematurely flushing without knowing if the fish had any sort of curable illness, you've now put your other Gourami in a tank where you're not sure whether or not the water is carrying some type of disease......You could very well be in store for the same sort of thing to happen to this fish too....

As far as adding other fish, I wouldn't add anything until I was absolutely sure the other gourami isn't showing any signs of illness.

0morrokh

Yes, please don't flush a fish who isn't dead!!! That is basically killing them. They end up in the sewer for pete's sake. And there may have been a chance of saving your fish. I know you didn't know better, but please don't do it next time a fish is sick!
I don't know much about Gouramis, but most fish will get along fine with catfish. I would recomment 2 Otos for algae eating. And no, the algae could not have killed your fish/ http://www.otocinclus.com/ --great Oto site

newbie101

flushing a live fish is like throwing a puppy or kitten down a sewer pipe or something! And the gouramis are tropical fish, do you have a heater in the 2.5 They need at least 20 gallons unless they are the Dwarf gouramis.
Are both tanks cycled? Do you dechlorinate the tap water? Do you use any kind of soap or detergent when cleaning the tank?
And if you don't want that 2.5 gallon I'll buy it...

iluvhorses

Alright - I'm sorry! I killed my fish - I got it. And vin you made a good point that I should've figured out what was wrong before putting Midas (that's my gold's name) in the tank. Crap.

The 2.5 does not have a heater - it's so small that the light heats it up. I had a heater for the 10g but it didn't heat it up enough. I had a thermometer in the tank and instead of going up the temp kept going down so I took it out and, yes, got rid of it (cringes and waits for smacks). It wasn't working right , and it had gotten algae caked on it(stuff grows really fast and I'm really busy)! Um, I have a filter in each tank and I change them regularly. Whenever I put fresh tap water in the tanks I put in with it stuff to de-chlorinate. Not sure what you mean by cycled, but I assume it means filtration, which both tanks have. I haven't been using soap or detergent when cleaning the tanks because I'm not sure what is ok to use.

Now that I feel like a jerk, I'm also a jerk on a low budget. How do I figure this all out and fix it while not spending too much money? How much do otos usually cost??

vin

Step 1. Get yourself a new heater and 2 new thermometers - preferably an LCD type that sticks to the glass and a traditional bulb type that uses a suction cup to stay on the glass. A 50watt should do the trick and set it to 74 degrees to start. Monitor the temperature and adjust so that it maintains a temp between 74-76 degrees.

Step 2. Pick up an inexpensive gravel vacuum. These are nothing more than gravity activated syphons made of clear plastic tubes and hose. Begin getting yourself in the habit of syphoning off the debris and waste that build up on the gravel every week. Do this once a week until you have syphoned off the waste and approx. 1/3 of your water from the tank.

Using a clean bucket and some dechlorinator, refill your tank with fresh water. Do this every week without fail in order to maintain a good water quality.

Step 3. Since you are on a budget, you should take a water sample (before you do your water change) to your local fish store and have your water tested weekly. Ask them to test your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels and provide you with the readings for each. Keep yourself a little diary of your weekly water tests. You want to be sure that the ammonia and nitrite levels are at -0- as these chemical compounds are highly toxic to fish. The nitrate which is toxic, but nowhere near as toxic as the other two should be kept at a level less than 20. Preferrably less than 10. This is done by doing your weekly syphon and water changes.

Change only the filter media - (the charcoal filled sack) and do this about every 4-6 weeks. Do not rinse the filter media - (This could be a sponge or bio-wheel or some other sort of pad) unless the water fails to flow through it. Then, rinse it only in the water you've syphoned out to be changed and do not squeeze it dry. This is where all of your good bacteria live...You never, ever want to replace this unless it begins to disintegrate and you never want to wash it in hot water or clean tap water.

Do this and you should begin to see your fish happy again.

I'll let someone else with more experience with diseases give you advice about precautionary treatments.

After reading your tank conditions it just sounds like you haven't been able to keep up with your regular maintenance. Once you get back on track things should begin to get better. And if for any reason you find that this is too much work for you, then please give your fish to someone who might be able to provide more care for them. Please don't take that wrong, but we're all busy and we've all got financial obligations and it's sometimes hard to prioritize and in all honesty, some things are just much more important than changing your fish's water at times.....

Good luck and keep us posted.

newbie101

WE FORGIVE YOU!!!! :P
sorry if this is harsh on you!!!!!!!! Don't feel too bad, this is how most people start out, and often misled by fish store people but we all want the best for your fish

0morrokh

Yes, most of us can tell our fish-killing stories before we got it right...
Anyway, you asked earlier how much Otos cost, I get mine for $5 per 2 Otos at my LFS. You can get them even cheaper at places like Petco, but I recommend getting them from a good fish store even if it costs an extra few bucks, because as you know if you checked out the Oto site they can be very delicate when you first buy them.

vin

This is true, they can be delicate - but don't let Petco discourage you from buying there. I got mine from there and he's doing great and has from the start. Just be sure to look for one that has a nice round little belly and appears to be polishing rocks, glass, etc. with his mouth. It shows that he's been eating since he arrived. Also try to avoid buying one that's just arrived. Ask how long they've had the fish and when they get their fish deliveries.

When you get them home make your you thoroughly acclimate them to your water. But as I mentioned earlier, I wouldn't add anything until I knew what was going on with my water.