What is wrong with my gourami?

[darthdonkey]

Hi, I have had a blue dwarf gouramI for almost 7 months now. Up until very recently it has been perfectly healthy, but the last couple of weeks it has seemed 'off', lying near the bottom of the tank or sitting near the surface. Today I noticed that it has a green hue near its gills and on the lower part of the body. Can algae grow in a fish's gills??
The nitrate levels in my tank are quite high at the moment as I have not been able to change the water for a while, and there was a lot of algae on the glass. I have just cleaned out the tank and performed a partial water change, although I am wondering what is wrong with the gourami...

 

[darthdonkey]

I think it is dying!!

 

[Gunnie]

The high nitrates might very well be the problem. Water changes are always a good thing. Is your tank cycled? Has anything out of the ordinary happened to the tank?

 

[darthdonkey]

sorry, newbie (or just 'foreigner' question ), but what do you mean by 'cycled'? Also, there has been no sudden or major changes to my tank in the last few months...

 

[Gunnie]

All tanks should be cycled before adding fish. Cycled means your water shows no ammonia or nitrites, and does show nitrates. It's actually called the nitrogen cycle, and it's a process your tank must go through to keep your fish healthy unless you do daily water changes, and even then, daily water changes might have to be more than once in a day. When your tank is cycled, the good bacteria consumes the ammonia and nitrites immediately in the tank. Here's some great links for you to check out, and you will hopefully see what I mean:

 

[darthdonkey]

Oh yeah I did know that ( ), and yes I have. All my other fish are perfectly healthy as far as I can tell, and I have had no other problems really in the last year of having this setup

 

[poefox]

Are you sure its green or does it have a bronze or coppery look to it?

 

[darthdonkey]

It has always been blue. It is now less green, and still alive, but never eats and just lies at the bottom of the tank looking ill

 

[Debi]

What about your filter - is it due for fibre changes? Have you treated it at all with anything, if so what? What else do you have in the tank? How big is your tank and what does your filter cycle (e.g. 1200Ltr/hr).

 

[darthdonkey]

The filter is working all okay, but I am not sure how much it pumps per hour... All the other fish are still fine, it is only the gouramI that displays any problems. My tank is a 60 litre tank, and I have one red tailed shark, 8 neons, 4 tiger barbs, and the gourami. There is no noticeable aggression from the other fish, although the gouramI does just sit at the bottom in one corner...

 

[Debi]

Continue to look at fungal remidies. I also am a big believer in salt (aquarium salt that is) for helping aid in the healing of disease and restore natural slime to their little bodies... after I drop the water (water change) I add salt 10grams to every 10Litres of water. In your case 60grams after your next water change. After I refill the tank I use an empty coke bottle with water from the tank to dissolve the salt and just pour it back in. Salt is one of those things that helps when you have a "what the" factor issue that you can't solve.

 

[darthdonkey]

Thanks, I will try at the next water change

 

[darthdonkey]

Oh, never mind, it finally died today... Just so I know, is it most likely in the end that it died from not eating for almost 2 months, or because of whatever else was wrong with it?

 

[Izabela]

Please observe your other fish carefully. I could have been an infection, or parasites, both of which can be contagious.

Izabela

 

[Debi]

Sorry to hear about that Darth..... they are generally tough little buggers but you must have had something.... how are rest of your fish fairing?

 

[darthdonkey]

They all seem perfectly fine...

 

[Gunnie]

We can't help you if you don't give us more information. What makes you believe there is something wrong?