gourami - swim bladder disease?

my male pearl gourami seems to be having buoyancy issues when swimming towards the middle or bottom of the tank. If he swims forward at a fair pace all looks normal but when he goes slower his entire body flips vertical. He's sticking to the top of the tank and his dorsal and caudal fins are starting to look a bit ragged, I'm guessing from rubbing up against the wood and plants when he goes vertical.

Other than that he acts normally. eats well and chases his lady friend.

Tank is well established, not overstocked. weekly 20-30% water changes. I'll check water params again tonight but I dont anticipate any funnies.

I feed a mixture of good quality flakes, granules and frozen bloodworm.
I did a 30% water change again last night just in case.

help??

 

Could be a swim bladder problem....sometimes caused by an internal blockage to the intestinal tract... Raise temp by 2 - 3 degrees (to max 30) and feed him on Daphnia for a couple of days.... Daphnia acts as a laxative to fish,often helping to get the blockage gone.

 

Thanx
frozen daphnia ok, or does it have to be fresh?

 

Fresh would be better,but I have had good results with frozen as well...

 

awesome. will go daphnia hunting this aternoon