Young blue 3 spot Gourami     7/30/18
hello I own a 55 gallon tank with 3 zebra Danios 1 goldfish comet and one gold male Gourami adult and one blue female Gourami adult and had recently bought 3 young gouramis female about 2.5 inches big. no problems in the water ph 7.1 no ammonia problems etc. two filters one sponge and one regular. water stays around 78 degrees.
<All sounds fine.>
I added my 3 new gouramis in slowly the way your supposed to and I've had them 2 weeks and one of the baby blues started swimming funny like backing up every few seconds while it's standing still if you get what I am saying
<Do you mean he is swimming normally, but uses his fins to swim backwards?
That's normal. If you mean he's staying on one place, but rocking side to side, sometimes with his pectoral fins clamped closely onto his sides, then that isn't normal. It's sometimes called "shimmying" or "the shimmies" and is a strong sign a fish is stressed.>
and then over the next few days a bulge appeared on its right side she didn't eat for a 2 days then started eating again only a little but I'm assuming because very hungry and today the bulge popped and poop was coming out brown from the bulge on her side
<You mean the 'poop' is something coming out of a wound on the side of the fish? This is extremely serious, and honestly, the fish is unlikely to recover. If the 'poop' is simply faeces coming out of the vent, that's normal, and fish do get constipated at times.>
and I quickly QTed her I can't find the condition online I've been searching for a remedy hoping maybe I can save her or if there might be a problem now for my other fish. help. please.
<If we're dealing with constipation here, then read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm
If the burst wound was in the muscle on the side of the fish, then I'm less optimistic. Quarantining certainly; excellent water quality; and above all effective antibiotics will be needed to have any chance of a wound this deep recovering. I have seen fish recover from muscle injuries like this, but it takes a lot of careful looking after.>
thanks
<Good luck, Neale.>
Re: young blue 3 spot Gourami     7/30/18
hello.
<Hello,>
thank you for the quick reply.
<Welcome.>
and as for the swimming it's weird she stays in one spot but slightly backing up not going anywhere her fins are no clamped on the sides or pectoral strings ate not clamped but her dorsal stays down but yes the bulge is on the side in between the fin and tail area
<Understood.>
and it burst and the stuff coming out looks exactly like the color of food they eat
<This is very bad.>
a tanish red color it actually looks just like a long feces string but your right it's coming out of the muscle
<If you're lucky, it's just a pus or bacterial discharge of some sort.
As/when the wound heals, this should stop. But if the digestive tract has been punctured, and there's a steady flow of partially digested food out of the wound, this fish isn't going to heal. Not without help from a vet, anyway. If that's the case, I would honestly perform euthanasia here. Let me have you do some reading, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm
The clove oil method is cheap, effective, and much more humane than other methods used by aquarists.>
I assume on her side and she's is only swollen on the one side the bulge actually went down some but occasionally stuff still is coming out of the hole but not as much as yesterday. she is trying too eat but only getting a small flake or 2 down and spits the rest out and today is sitting at the bottom of the qt tank but not gasping for air.
<Do not overfeed. Indeed, it might be worth not feeding for a few days to see if that stops "stuff" coming out of the wound. If it is food coming out of the wound, as I say, euthanasia is the best choice.>
I had read online something that this might be that could be dangerous for humans if infected and contagious for my other fish
<Unlikely to infect you. This sort of wound honestly sounds opportunistic.
In other words, it was caused by either the environment or physical damage, and as such, isn't contagious. But if conditions in the tank are harmful somehow, other fish could indeed get sick.>
so I did a water change last night for my main tank and added marine salt hoping to kill any bacteria if that's the case.
<Salt will not kill bacteria.>
thanks so much for you insight I ha e been collecting Gourami s and other small tropical fish for 2 years now so I'm still quite new at the illnesses with different fish
<Glad you're enjoying the hobby. Fish diseases are usually caused by some problem with the tank, so it's always a good idea to review the aquarium in terms of size, filtration, tankmates, diet, etc. Bad luck sometimes comes into play, but a wise fishkeeper looks at their tank critically. Good luck!
Neale.>

THREE SPOT GOURAMI... red fins      4/29/17
Hi I need help with my three spot Gourami , recently I treat her with Seachem Paraguarí and she get more sick after the treatment. She had little ragged fins and sometimes flash against the decoration so I thought she has
some kind of parasite, so I treat her with SeaChem Paraguarí.
<Not a bad choice at all if you're dealing with White spot or Velvet (the usual reasons for 'flashing') and Finrot (the usual reason for raggedy fins). So if used as directed, you should get good results.>
After the treatment its over she still seats in bottom of aquarium facing the back of the aquarium. Only comes out when was feeding time. She develop red fins and tail, but to extreme redness .
<This sounds very like Finrot. Let's recap: Finrot is something that happens after something else has damaged the fish (often fighting or fin-nipping, but can also be environmental, for example exposure to water that is too cold for the species being kept, or non-zero ammonia and nitrite levels, which can bring on Finrot very quickly). Finrot is basically just bacterial that otherwise consume decaying organic matter infecting areas with dead/dying cells, such as wounds. These wounds become congested with blood because of all the bacteria, and what you see is red patches alongside white patches (dead tissue) and decay (raggedy fins).>
She stop eating , I don't know what to do., I change the water very often now so she gets little better but the red fins stays.
<Something is causing this. While Paraguard and other anti-Finrot products usually work very well, they can't stop the problem re-occurring if the conditions aren't right. Review, urgently. Water quality problems are
probably the number-one reason for Finrot; any ammonia or nitrite level that isn't zero is bad, and even "low" levels can cause Finrot if the fish is exposed to them for extended periods (i.e., days or more). The second
most common reason for Finrot is fighting and/or fin-nipping. Three-Spot Gouramis are mildly aggressive, so if you have two or more males, they will sometimes chase one another if they feel cooped up. Other gouramis and even cichlids like Angels will sometimes interact this way too, so review your stock list and look for possible problems there. Next up, fin-nippers.
Serpae Tetras, Tiger Barbs, and Black Widow/Petticoat Tetras are probably the "top three" fin-nippers aquarists buy without understanding this, though a few other tetras and barbs will sometimes be nippy if they're bored or not kept in sufficient numbers.>
Her front fins was flicking fast sometimes and she still flashing against the decorations. she's in separate tank right now I'm doing partial water changes everyday . Please help me, I really don't know what is wrong with
her. you think maybe she was poisoned by the SeaChem Paraguarí, or maybe she's sensitive to this medication?
<Do see above.>
I will really appreciated if somebody contact me its really URGENT
sincerely,
Angelica
<Hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: THREE SPOT GOURAMI      4/30/17
Thank you for contacting me. I have only one Gourami and three 1 inch very young albino Corydoras, there is no other fish in the tank. I have clear for life 20 gallon tank. Recently I put gravel in the tank, before that I have bare bottom tank. Maybe the gravel is the problem, my ammonia is 0 and nitrate Is 0. Nitrate barely 10.
<Which all sounds fine, and I can't think why gravel should be a problem.
It can be for burrowing fish like Spiny Eels, but not midwater things like Gouramis.>
I maintain this tank very well I try to do everything right. The pH is 7.2
<Fine.>
maybe I am doing something wrong I don't know that's why I contact you guys.
<I'm drawing a blank here!>
I have this Gourami for 5 years she never was sick in till now.
<So not too old.>
She was living along in 20 gallon, I thought she was lonely so I buy 3 albino Corydoras,
<It's possible they brought in a disease with them, such as Whitespot or Velvet. This, in turn, can lead to Finrot if not treated. I would medicate for both, and hope for the best. Will make the important reminder to REMOVE CARBON from the filter; oftentimes, when people medicate and their fish fail to improve, it's because they left carbon in the filter! Carbon
removes medication, preventing it from having the desired effect.>
The temperature fluctuating, at night when was cold drop even 5 or more degrees and I have good heater so I don't understand.
<Indeed. How big is the heater? While a 50W heater is fine in a warm room, if the room gets cold at night, the "next size up" would be better, so 75W.
For one thing, a heater that has to work very hard (stays on for longer) is a heater that'll break down more quickly.>
She's progressing a lot her front fins it's almost clear, but tail stays little bloody. Is longer I am on the Gourami subject What can I use with gouramis and Corys, I really don't know what medication could be use with them since they are labyrinth fish.
<Both Corydoras and Gouramis will be fine with all the usual medications. I would tend to avoid copper and formalin with more delicate species, such as loaches, but the aquarium companies will have tested their products against the commoner fish like yours.>
I was searching all over the internet can't find anything. I would Like to treat them with more natural approach. I have Ich attack which is 100 % herbal.
<Unfortunately, these "natural" products don't work reliably. Melafix for example probably does more harm than good because by the time people write to us, their fish have gotten no better, even worse, after a week or two of treatment using Melafix instead of an antibiotic. So, break out the good stuff! In the US, the old Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2 combo works well against a range of bacterial infections, while Whitespot and Velvet medications of
all sorts are in the shops. Here in the UK, I use two European products, eSHa 2000 for Finrot and eSHa EXIT for Whitespot and Velvet.>
Can I use that with for Corys and gouramis? And can I use salt with them.
<Yes; the old salt/heat method will work well against Whitespot and to some degree Velvet; do read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/SaltUseFWArtNeale.htm
Do understand salt will help against Whitespot and Velvet, but has little/no impact on bacterial Finrot.>
Thank you so much, Sincerely Angelica
<Welcome. Neale.>

Reddish tint on gourami fins = ammonia issue?      2/1/16
Hi team, hope you had a great weekend. I added a nice set of 5 feisty cherry barbs to my year-old aquarium last week--love them so far--and they acclimated themselves very quickly.
<Would plan to get a few more unless the tank is tiny... Cherry Barbs look best in largish groups, 8 or more, ideally half that group being females.
But yes, a great species.>
However, today I noticed my two gourami (one gold and one Opaline) are starting to redden on their caudal fins, radiating from the body. I also noticed the spots where their pectoral fins meet their bodies becoming red.
They are eating well but their fins are folding more than normal, and they are a bit more lethargic than normal, although not laying on the bottom. Also, the gold gourami's colors aren't as bold. No open stores tonight for a testing kit but I read that this could be potential ammonia poisoning, possibly due to a spike from adding so many fish at once and/or overfeeding?
<Could easily be, or fin-nipping, or fighting. So you need to review. Take an ammonia test, though honestly, I prefer to use nitrite test kits because they both reveal filter problems but nitrite is less likely to report a false positive (neutralised chloramine for example can register as ammonia, so check some tap water with water conditioner added, and compare to your aquarium water ammonia test results).>
The gourami are occasionally gasping for air (more than just a typical anabantid gulp) which furthers my thought that it's ammonia.
<Might be, but they do of course breathe air, as you state, and do so more often the warmer the water.>
I skipped their meal tonight, did a 30% water change, and will get a testing kit tomorrow. Is there anything else I can/should do? Is there any hope for my fish? Also, if I should keep doing changes now, where can/should I get healthy water in a pinch? The packaged "aquarium water" from the local big box?
Thanks in advance!
Matt
<For now, stick with daily water changes around 25% or so, until such time the fish behave more normally. Medicating as per Finrot isn't a bad idea, but you might find the fish heal under their own steam if conditions improve. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Reddish tint on gourami fins = ammonia issue?        2/3/16
Following up! Both conditioned water (used Prime) and tank water tested 0 for all ammonia--no nitrite kits at LFS--so I guess that's not the problem?
<Looks like that's true, yes.>
Could last night's 25% have changed everything? 1 gourami looks a little better but the other seems worse, jumpy and a bit of shimmy, if those terms are correct.
<Water changes *do* indeed fix a lot of problems. A good rule of thumb is to see what happens if you do a big water change, 25-50%, keeping temperature and water chemistry the same. If the fish perk up, the problem is probably environmental, and medicine might not be needed if you can fix things quickly enough. Perhaps do a series of water changes, once every day or two, for a week, ten days. After that, good chance everything will be fine.>
Cherries and Corys seem fine. Haven't fed in a day and doing another 25% as I write, as you suggested.
<Cool; good luck! Neale.>
Re: Reddish tint on gourami fins = ammonia issue?        2/3/16
Thanks Neale! I'll report back in a week. You're awesome.
<Not sure the Mrs. agrees, but I try! Cheers, Neale.>

Trichogaster repro.? Constipation? What?      7/28/15
asking a question about my gold Gourami my female Gourami is pregnant and there is no male Gourami to build a bubble nest what to do .
asking a question about my gold Gourami my female Gourami is pregnant and there is no male Gourami to build a bubble nest what to do
<Female Gouramis don't get pregnant. Your Gourami is either constipated or has Dropsy. The former is caused by poor diet, typically too much flake and not enough fibre (fresh greens, frozen brine shrimp, that sort of thing).
Dropsy is a bacterial infection caused by a poor environment. Do read:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/dropsyfaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
I checked and she has eggs     7/28/15
<How? How can you tell if a female Gourami has eggs inside her? True, females will appear a little more convex around the abdomen when 'ripe' and ready to spawn, but this isn't particularly noticeable. If she looks swollen, like she's swallowed a ball, then she has some other problem.
Constipation or else Dropsy, this latter characterised by the scales rising up from the body, very noticeable when viewed from above ('pine cone appearance'). 99 times out of 100, when casual fishkeepers say their egg-laying fish is pregnant, it's wishful thinking. Cheers, Neale.> do I use it properly? Pictures included below. Thank you.
<Bob may have some ideas. Cheers, Neale.>
<<Epsom salt. B>><<No pix anywhere>>

Blue Gourami       3/14/15 My blue gouramis body has just began to turn orange but his head remains his original color (silver/blue), and he never leaves his little home except on the few occasions when he eats. Would you guy's be able to tell me what is wrong? It would be much appreciated, thank you. <Without a photo can't say anything sensible. Sometimes Gouramis do change colour, whether naturally or because of nerve damage, stress, or some other factor. Blue Gouramis are semi-aggressive, particularly the males, so if you have two or more, and just the one is hiding away a lot, chances are good he's being bullied by another male. Review, and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale.> re: Blue Gourami      3/15/15 I do have two but one does not bully the other they are actually really good friends and if it changing colors like blue to black and black to orange is normal thanks for the information <How do you know they're friends? Interactions between Gouramis are easy to misread. Hmm... good example... "kissing" of Kissing Gourami fame is often fighting. If they're happy Gouramis, they'll largely ignore each other. Spending much time with each other might be short-term pairing (if male and female, though males chase away females after spawning) or fighting... Keep an open mind. In any case, without meaningful data (photo; description of aquarium in terms of size, water chemistry, water quality) it's hard to say anything more detailed. Cheers, Neale.> re: Blue Gourami      3/15/15 Well they do ignore each other about 96 percent of the time <Hmm... still not convinced they're getting along.> and the tank size is about one foot long and about one foot tall <Too small. Let's say your tank is a 12 inch cube. That works out at about 7 US gallons. A single Blue Gourami needs at least 20 US gallons just to be healthy. I would have you read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/stocking.htm On top of that, two males WILL NOT tolerate each other even in tanks that small. As the Americans would say, it's a "rookie mistake" to keep more than one male Blue Gourami in an aquarium. In fact it was one of the first fishkeeping mistakes I ever made, some 35 years ago! While very hardy, Blue Gourami males are very territorial and can be extremely aggressive.> and I have no idea what the water quality <Easily fixed. Either buy a water testing kit or take some water to your local tropical fish shop and have them test it. At minimum, you want a nitrite (not nitrate) test and a pH test. These are the most informative tests. My hypothesis here is that poor water quality has made injuries on your weaker Blue Gourami become infected.> is and I didn't put a picture because I don't no how to put a picture<Take photo, resize it so it isn't too big (less than 1 MB, please), the attach to your email. Really is helpful. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Blue Gourami       3/16/15 So since it needs 40 US gallons just for two blue gourami it's a bad thing I have a sucker fish and another gourami (platinum, gold, or orange I don't know which) and today I saw the one that's turning orange has a black head now <Blue and Gold Gouramis are the same species (kind of like how people come in different colours) and alongside Lavender Gourami, Opaline Gourami and Cosby Gourami are all just Trichogaster trichopterus (apparently nowadays properly called Trichopodus trichopterus). Any and all of these Gouramis will view each other as the same thing, and males will be territorial towards one another and pushy towards females, sometimes violently so. You can keep a singleton in 15-20 gallons, and a male and female in 20 gallons with a bit of floating foliage for shade and shelter. But two males will squabble in small tanks, and I wouldn't risk two males in less than 25, 30 gallons, and the bigger the tank, the better. Oddly enough, overcrowding can help, which is what you see in the tropical fish tank, where a dozen males and females live cheek by jowl without much aggression. But just two or three males together with squabble, as I say, and is best avoided. Really, I do need a photo to say what's going on to the "black-headed" Gourami, but at the same time, if he's hiding a lot, chances are he's being picked on. Males have longer dorsal fins than females, so sexing Trichopodus trichopterus is quite easy. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Blue Gourami      3/17/15 I will try to get a photo later on in the day <Great... that'll help a lot. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Blue Gourami      3/21/15 Here it is, you can see the black stripes <Not sure that I can, to be honest; the gourami is at the back, out of focus, and the photo is rather faint. But in any event, review our recent correspondence and act accordingly. Read, perhaps starting here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/anabantoids.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/GouramiDisFAQs.htm Cheers, Neale.>

cropped, enhanced/RMF. Re: Blue Gourami      3/22/15 Your not sure you can what? <See the black stripes on the fish. Neale.>