What’s wrong with my honey?

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

I have some honey gourami, the one with some strange behavior is at least a year old. As of yesterday, he has been hiding at the bottom back of tank next to sponge filter and he was acting trapped (between it and some driftwood) or possibly blind? Darting in short bursts (fast but only moving about an inch in any direction). When he comes out of the back hiding spot, he’s still acting lost or scared of his environment and even backing into corners. Swimming backwards, doing fast turnarounds of 180 degrees back to back. It’s very strange. I’ve never had a fish swim so erratically before. Any help would be appreciated.

The tank is 29 gallons with HOB and sponge filter, fully cycled and well planted. The other 6 gourami seem fine.

 

[sunflower430]

It would be helpful if you can fill out the emergency template

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 29 gallon
How long has the tank been running? Tank set up June 2023
Does it have a filter? Yes HOB and sponge filter
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78-80
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 7honey gourami, 10 harlequin Rasbora, 1 bristlenose pleco and Farlowella catfish plus an Amano shrimp and couple nerites

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Every 10-14 days
How much of the water do you change? 1/3
What do you use to treat your water? Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both somewhat

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API liquid test
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40
pH: 6.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Daily
How much do you feed your fish?
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Various
Do you feed frozen? Occasionally
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? As treats only

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 1 year
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? A day or two ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? See post

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

I’m currently doing a water change…. I’m hoping that helps. My nitrates are usually around 20ppm

 

[Rummynose27]

My honeys dart around a little bit, but this sounds more serious. I think maybe a video might be helpful. Maybe they are flashing or something. Maybe someone more experienced can chime in…

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

This was the video I took last night during feeding time.

Since then I’ve done a water change and a few hours later the little guy is now hiding under driftwood in a spot where only the pleco can normally get to. I’m afraid he’s rapidly declining as he’s laying down sideways and seems short of breath. Edit to add; I coaxed him out from under the wood, seemed like he was somewhat “stuck” there and didn’t know it? Like he just backed up into a cave and stayed put

Current tank setup:

 

[sunflower430]

A water change was what I was going to recommend starting with. Do you have the ability to get him isolated in a quarantine tank to be able to observe better and see if his behavior changes when he is not around other fish? Are any of your honeys showing their "breeding dress"... a dark/black throat area. Wondering if he is maybe an outnumbered she and getting stressed from excessive breeding attempts.
Just saw the video... is it's one eye (right eye?) cloudy or is that just the video quality? If so, maybe it got injured somehow and is having a hard time adjusting to only one eye, or has some sort of associated infection that is affecting its behavior/brain.

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

A water change was what I was going to recommend starting with. Do you have the ability to get him isolated in a quarantine tank to be able to observe better and see if his behavior changes when he is not around other fish? Are any of your honeys showing their "breeding dress"... a dark/black throat area. Wondering if he is maybe an outnumbered she and getting stressed from excessive breeding attempts.
Just saw the video... is it's one eye (right eye?) cloudy or is that just the video quality? If so, maybe it got injured somehow and is having a hard time adjusting to only one eye, or has some sort of associated infection that is affecting its behavior/brain.

The eye could be the problem, I hadn’t noticed that but it did kind of have a dead look to it. I believe the rest of the honeys are pretty peaceful as far as I’ve observed. And now that my tank lights are back off for their mid day siesta, I’m noticing the fish is finally resting still so that is one positive I think.

 

[Skrabbitskrabbit]

The fish must have a brain injury or something. I’ve now realized that the reason he looks so weird swimming is because he’s not able to swim forwards (like maybe his brain has its wires crossed). Only turn arounds or backwards, occasionally getting himself stuck. He’s a little more calm today but I am worried about him being able to get any food in him… I hope he can pull through