Kissing Gourami struggling to swim

Hi there,

I've had a Kissing Gourami for about 6 years now. It's always been a healthy fish, active swimmer and active eater. For the last 3-4 days he as been staying at the bottom of the tank for very long periods of time. He will still eating ok, but today, after monitoring for a while, I noticed that it appears that he has trouble swimming. Like he really wants to get to the surface or swim around, but swims quite vigorously and then just kinda goes back to the bottom again to sit there. A lot of bubbles also come out his gills when he's trying to swim.

I see no visible markings, lumps etc., he looks perfectly normal.

My tank is well cycled and I replace approx 25%-30% of the water every month using salt, nitrifying bacteria and dechlorinator.

ANY help/advice would be greatly appreciated! I am very fond of this fish.

Thanks

 

hi nams
i dont really know anything about gourami's, but don't you think it could be his age?

 

Salt? Why do you add salt to the aquarium and how much salt do you add.?

 

It's salt for aquariums that I get from the pet shop. Can't remember from who or when I was told, but the advice I got back in the day was that the salt is good for the water and also helps against parasites.

I use very little as I have a clown loach in there that's very sensitive to salt. He's fine and also about 5 years old and very active.

@llewellynkearney: I'm not sure about the aging as he was perfectly normal last week. My bf's one lived for 14 years.


Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

Does anyone have any knowledge on constipation in these fish? Could it be that?

 

Hi @Nams.13
Could you possibly post a pic? Are the sides of your gourami swollen? Any darkening of fins etc? Have you done any water changes prior to this happening?

 

Hi MarcHawke,

He's same size as normal, no darkening fins. I did a water change around 2 weeks ago, but nothing different to the norm. Same water, same chemicals, same amount. Haven't added any new fish. Even the food is the same brands.

It may sound like I'm imaging it, but we all know how our kids act daily and mine is not ok :-(

The spots on him are little algae spots from the glass, it's not on the fish.

 

Hi @Nams.13

I must be honest and say I can't see anything obvious. If you change 25-30% of your water once a month that might be the problem? Have you tested the water? What are your ph, ammonia, nitrates?

 

r maybe its getting old?

 

@MarcHawke: I'll only be able to get to the pet shop on Monday to have my water tested. Did a 20% water change last night. Been watching him again now and it seems that he has trouble staying upright when he's resting on the substrate. This is something he normally does, but with fins clamped and balanced. Now it seems like he'll fall over if he's not against something or using one fin to stay upright. The back of his body is also sorta drifting up slowly when he's on the substrate and today he seems to be taking gulps of air the whole time. I know this is not a good sign...

He tries to eat, but looks like he can't stay at the surface long enough. He's not even pestering the clown loach as usual during feeding time.

@Ryno: I hear what you're saying about age, it's just funny how he was perfectly fine last week. He's only about 6 years old. There's a bronze cory in there that's older!

 

thanks for all the replies so far, I really appreciate your time.

 

sounds like swimbladder infection or sort.

 

What do I do if it's that?

 

Can I ask if you feed frozen foods? (There is a reason for the question!) It does sound like a swim bladder problem, but I'm def not a gourami expert.

 

Hi tracyp, I haven't fed them frozen foods in many months. Just normal fish flakes and pellets for the bottom feeders.

 

Ok, so the pet shop has given me effervescent tablets (Jungle) to drop in the tank that supposed to help for swimbladder as well as fungus and bacterial issues. There are still no physical signs of any sort on the fish to indicate a specific disease.

I've also done 2 partial water changes in the last 2 days, so here's hoping and praying with everything I've got! He's still not eating, but appears to be a bit more active today.

 

How is it going with your Gourami? Hope all is well...

 

Still the same... No change and the no eating is concerning me greatly.

There's another pet shop in my area I'm visiting in a few minutes.. just for another opinion and a water test.

Thanks for asking

 

Let us know the results of the water test. Do you maybe have a breeding trap or shallower tank to make it easier for your gourami to get to the surface?

 

He died.