Sick kissing gourami.

[Shannsey]

I've had a kissing gourami for a few years now, and he never showed any real signs of illness. He ate well and was very active.

Just today, though, I came home and found him lying on his side on the gravel. I poked him a bit, he swam up, swam around at the top for a few moments, and then fell down. His swimming seems to be very labored.

Whenever I poke him and he swims up to the surface of the water, he releases some air bubbles, as if maybe he was having trouble breathing before. Whenever he's lying on the gravel he doesn't move until I poke him or make a lot of motion above him in the water.

The one thing I can think of that may be a problem is his back/spine. It's bent at maybe a 110º angle. I don't know what caused that to happen, but it's been like that for a while.

If anyone has any suggestions or advice, it's appreciated.

 

[knifefishfreack]

How big is he what size tank is he in, what are the water conditions and wat are his tank mates.

 

[Shannsey]

He's in a 20 gallon tank and his only mate is a tiny Corrie catfish. I'm not sure how to check for ammonia or nitrate content, so sorry for the lack of information in that area..

I added a heater yesterday to make the tank a little warmer, and he's breathing more easily and more regularly than he was yesterday, but he's still lying on the gravel. I'm going to give him the "salt" treatment I've heard so much about. I just hope I do it right.

Edit : I did the saltwater bath for 10 minutes. He's still fine, but I don't know if it had any positive effect yet. Later maybe I'll try the thawed pea trick.

 

[phOOey]

hmmm, the bend in his spine could be stunted growth of some sort. Your keeping afish that can potetially gow to 12 inches in a 20g. The lack of space could of caused his spine to become deformed and could of lead to him being ill

 

[Shannsey]

Thank you for the information, Barb. Do you think removing some things from the tank (such as a relatively large castle that sits in the center of the tank) would help the situation, or should I experiment with a bigger tank?

 

[phOOey]

I doubt removing things from the tank would help that much, but you could try it and see how it works, But if you plan on keeping him for the rest of his life, you need to think of getting a bigger tank, no less than 55g i would say.

 

[Shannsey]

One last question. Since he already has a curved spine, would getting a bigger tank help anything? Would it eventually straighten out, or would he be able to swim more easily?

On another note, I'm getting very worried because he's not even coming up to eat. But I'm not giving up yet.

Thanks for all of your advice so far.

 

[phOOey]

I dont think his spine will ever straighten out, but getting him a bigger tank will definately help as it will stop it becoming worse. Hopefully he will recover from this and he will get used to swimming around again and then beable to swim aound easily and happily.

What are you trying to feed him? If your not already try live bloodworms becasue them wriggling about might tempt him to take a nibble

 

[Shannsey]

I've tried feeding him flakes and freeze-dried bloodworms. Though I'm a bit squeamish, I'll pick up some live worms.

Thank you again.

 

[phOOey]

No problem *thumbsups

Please tell me if he gets any better or worse

 

[Shannsey]

I think I am going to have to euthanise him.

I fed him some live bloodworms, but I had to literally push them into his mouth for him to consume them. He barely moves (and if he does, it's like he's flailing underwater and he can't maintain his buoyancy at all) and his breathing is becoming even more erratic and laboured.

I've been thinking about euthanasia for a few days, and I think it's the best choice. We had him for a good 4-4.5 years. He lived a good life, and I want him to die painlessly.

Thank you again for everyone's help, and happy holidays.

 

[trouthead]

I think you are right. 4 years is a good old age for a gourami and the chances of recovery are nil .

 

[abarse]

Hi, I am very new at this, but I also have a potentially sick gourami. I have a pearl gourami that I added to my 20 gallon tank about a month ago. As of a few days ago I have noticed that his poop is abnormally stringy and sometimes red or green. Now I Know that it's Christmas and I could just say his feces is being festive, but I am a bit worried. The longest piece was found at about 5 inches....keep in mind he's only about 2.5 inches himself. What does this all mean? Should I be concerned? I did move him to his own tank, but I'm afraid it's not enough. Help please.

 

[phOOey]

Sorry to hear about that shannsey . As trout said 4 years is great age for a fish and its best to put him out of his misery than two let him suffer. How are you going to do it?

abarse - a while back my opaline gourami had long stringy poop, i just left it and after a week or two it just went back to normal.

 

[Shannsey]

I researched a few methods, and since I don't have access to MS-222 I think we (my father and I, since I'm only 15 and I leave these things up to him) are just going to decapitate him.

From what I heard, the boiling method may take longer for larger fishes, and the freezing method only works well on certain types of fishes... and I'm afraid we'll mess up with the clove oil/vodka method.

Abarse - I hope your fish gets better. One of my balloon mollies had that problem before, and though I'm not sure if they're similar to gouramis, the problem cleared up pretty quickly.

Edit : I just went to check on him and it turns out my father already "did the deed" before anyone was awake. He said he didn't even flap or resist, and he did it quickly.. It's best this way. One last thank you to everyone.

 

[Lotus]

Sorry to hear about him, Shannsey.

abarse, fishes' poop usually is the same color as what they have been eating. If he eats red or green food, his poop will be the same color.

 

[abarse]

thanks very much you guys!