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Hi everyone, I'm new. Well I've been keeping fish for a little while now, but only realized a few months ago how wrong I was doing everything but I got on the water changes and maintenance and everything seems fine, except for a couple things.

My tank's a 29 gallon, there are three guppies, two platies, a molly and an allegedly female dwarf gourami. I bought her when I didn't know what I was doing and never thought to question what the petstore told me. But just today I noticed that her stomach swelled up IMMENSELY (poking around I saw a thread with a similar problem in a Betta... Kitten's fish, I think). So I did some research on female dwarf gouramis and though there were very few pictures of them, mine doesn't look very much like the ones I found. My fish is about 1 3/4" long, kind of a dull pinkish brown color with faint vertical blue stripes (they used to show up strongly when she was stressed, but since I got on the clean up that hasn't happened). I don't know what you'd call them, but she had two thread-like things hanging down from her stomach. I don't know how to post a pic, but I'm pretty sure I could get one up if that would help. Anyway, she looks like she swallowed a marble, it's that bad. I was wondering if you could help me ID the fish if it isn't a d.g., and what I can do about the bloating. I apologize, my dad stole my test kit so I can't post any measurements, but if there's any advice you could give, that would be great. Thanks in advance!

I don't know what you'd call them, but she had two thread-like things hanging down from her stomach.

They're ok, all gouramies have these "feelers" it helps them detect food.

It certainly sounds like a Dwarf Gourami but possibly a male from the color describtion,if the colors are really faint it may a female - a pic would help.

The swelling could be from bloat or constipation. Has the fish being pooing, or is the poo stringy ?

BTW, I'll move this to the Hospital forum where you may get more help.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Thanks for moving the thread
I haven't noticed her pooping, but I'll keep an eye on her. I don't think she's male, I had a male one a long time ago and he was much brighter than her. I'll try to get a pic later today.

Thanks again!

Okay, here are the links:

http://tinypic.com/52ma86

http://tinypic.com/52madj

I don't know why they came out so dark, and they're blurry, but that's the best I could do. All the other fish swarmed around, but you can see her stomach from the first one.

Last edited by bensaf at 13-May-2005 20:39

Can the fish maintain her balance in the water, are her scales pineconing, what do you feed the fish, what does it look like when the fish goes to the toilet, try the fish on some shelled peas to make sure it isn't constipation, and the white thread things sound like an external parasite.

Last edited by kitty163 at 13-May-2005 16:14

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but that almost looks more like a paradise fish than a gourami. Hard to tell with the tummy, too. Also, haven't seen many pics of female gouramis, so I dunno.

And yes, that was my thread you saw. (Yay for being recognized)

Anyway, if gouramis/paradise fish are anything like bettas, they have a propensity to overeat... at least, my girls do! I've never kept gouramis personally, but it may simply be that she likes to eat. I know I have to make very certain how much I feed to my betta girls, because they're absolute pigs.

Assuming it is a female, it could be full of eggs (which is no bad thing, she just needs to drop them or reabsorb them) or simply chubby. It's only when they become eggbound that it can be dangerous.

How long has she been like this? What did you feed in the days prior to this occuring?

I concur with the suggestion... try feeding her peas. (Frozen peas are good... defrost it, then break the outer skin. Mush up the insides into bite sized pieces and try feeding her that. Don't feed the outer skin.) If it's simply constipation, that will help. If not, try fasting for a day or two... that might also help out a bit.

Good luck!

Last edited by Kitten at 13-May-2005 17:12

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Kitty:

She's swimming straight and still coming up for air and everything, just the tummy seems to be hindering her. By pinecone, do you mean like the scales are sticking out? It doesn't seem like that. I feed my fish Wardley Total Tropical flakes. I haven't seen her go to the toilet as of yet. I'll try the peas, and no, the threads are just her feelers, they've always been there. I just didn't know how to say what I meant .

Kitten:

All of my fish love to eat, but I've only noticed the tummy in the past day or two. Yeah, I looked up female dwarf gouramis and they didn't look like her, so I was wondering if Petco got it wrong A paradise fish? Hm, that would be interesting. Are those at all aggresive, because she never has been before. If she does need to drop eggs, does that require a male or will she just naturally do it? And is there any way to counteract being eggbound?

Edit: I looked it up, and she IS a paradise fish! She looks almost identical to the female on this page (scroll down a bit):

http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Mopercularis.html
How did Petco screw THAT up?! Now that I know what he/she is, are there any new requirements I need? Does it need a bigger tank, because I'm not sure I can provide one. I really love this fish, but if he/she won't thrive in my tank, then I don't want to have to keep it...
Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

Sorry for the edits, I kept screwing the link up.
Last edited by Firenze at 13-May-2005 19:23

Last edited by Firenze at 13-May-2005 19:24

If it is a Pardise female it will be fine in a 29gal.

Just keep an eye on it, Paradise can be pretty agressive, but a female shouldn't be too bad.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Phew, her stomach is back to normal!
Does this happen regularly with females?

Thanks for all your help with my fish!

If she's healthy and happy, it's like bubble nesting in male bettas... the males build the nests and the females carry the eggs to tell you they're so happy and healthy, they'd like to breed now! In most cases, the eggs are not an issue and the female will reabsorb or release the eggs. I'd say she was either constipated and finally passed it, or she was healthy and full of eggs and got rid of them.

Did she look stressed or anything? If not, I'd go for the happy and healthy bit.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~