hi, need a quick advice, basically 3 days ago I have brought a pair of mosaic gouramis and now one of them is miserable (it lays on the bottom of the tank or in the surface) and the second one is just gulping for air all the time. I dont know what to do, I dont want them to die, please help :ccc
Posted by merymajonez
9 Comments
Maybe more oxygen?
No water test?
What are your water parameters? That will always be necessary information to answer a question like this.
Gouramis are labyrinth fish, meaning they can breathe air. So the gulping itself isn’t too concerning. Without more info about the tank it’s hard to say anything else
Your surface looks super still and no agitation. And thats a typical low oxygen response.
If not that, I recently had my fish act this way after a water change. Turns out i didn’t put enough water conditioner in and the chlorine was burning their gills.
Yes, as others have mentioned, there doesn’t seem to be much surface agitation in the video.
Constant gulping can be caused by low oxygen, but it’s also very common with ammonia or nitrite issues.
I’d definitely test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to rule out water quality problems.
In the meantime, increasing surface agitation or adding extra aeration could help while you figure out the cause
I’ve had gouramis for years. They do this all the time because they can actually breathe air. It’s normal for them in my experience. I wouldn’t worry about it unless they start acting odd in other ways. Lying down on the bottom isn’t normal for them so that may be a reason to be concerned. They are usually near the surface.
Low oxygen, and check your ammonia levels.
Gourami can breathe air so that in itself isn’t an issue but they usually just take in 1 or 2 “gulps” of air and move on, they don’t typically sit still at the surface still like that.
As everyone else said, you need to allow the tank to cycle. It’s too late now because you have the fish, but [You need to understand the Nitrogen Cycle and how it works to keep your water habitable for fish](https://share.google/eRymLSF30JWtwZq4v).
Gulping is usually a trait of fish experiencing stress from either ammonia, lack or oxygen, or ph imbalances. The fact that you’re asking about the behavior is a sign that their behavior has become abnormal. Something isn’t right and diagnosis from a video is impossible.
That being said, Gouromis have a labyrinth organ and can breathe air, and blow bubbles to establish bubble nests when breeding. That doesn’t appear to be the case here, and likely isn’t the case since the tank mates have only been associating for a week.
The first thing to do is get either test strips (minimum) or an API Test Kit (standard) and test all of your water parameters – it takes about ten minutes to do it. If they begin “flashing,” that’s an additional sign of stress or poor water conditions.
Also, a capful of Seachem Prime is a great way to ensure that your water is safe(r) as your tank cycles. Your home water filter likely isn’t going to remove all of the chlorine in the water, and if your utility uses chlorimine, your filter probably won’t remove it at all and it takes longer to naturally breakdown.
Honestly it sounds like you don’t know how to take care of a tank so I’d refer to the other people’s comments (coming from someone who has a dedicated fish room saltwater and freshwater also a pond with alligator gar)