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He is hanging out behind the power head (no current I suppose) and his belly is swollen. He is swimming at the correct angle, not leaned over or anything. Yesterday he didn't want to eat, and I haven't tried since then.

He is in a 60gal tank with cardinal tetras, harliquin rasboas, and 2 platys.

I can't provide current water test results yet, as I am typing this from work. But I tested 2 days ago, and had ammonia=0, nitrite=0, and nitrate=40. Ph was 7.6 temp is around 78.

As far as I can tell, this is probably either swim bladder disease, or he is constipated. Obviously, I'm hoping for the latter. He had been eating a LOT the couple days before this happened.

Any tips? I read somewhere that feeding him a shelled pea would help if he's constipated. Is this true?

I was going to hold off feeding the whole tank today so he has a chance to clean out his system.

Any tips would be great. thanks.

-Dennis

Could be constipation, or, it could be dropsy. Important distinction-- Is there often a trail of feces from the Gourami?

If there isn't, I'd lean more towards dropsy. Unfortunately the most recognizable symptom and from what I've seen is the only way to be sure, is when their scales stand up. Unfortunately again, that can sometimes be too late.

The symptoms are similar at first, try looking up on this site or others what differences you can find. If Dropsy becomes the case for you, I treated my fish successfully with Maracyn-Two. (Sorry I don't have more advice on constipation or swim bladder problems. I don't think it's the latter though since he isn't swimming at funny angles)I really hope it's constipation instead, good luck with treatment!

the day before yesterday, I was amazed by the 6inch long poop hanging out of my 2inch long fish! The next day is when I noticed him hiding. It's hard to tell now, because he's hiding so well.

So I guess that sounds like a good thing according to your post right?

I don't see any raised scales yet.

I am a little confused though, if constipation is when you can't poop, wouldn't a trails of feces tend to mean it's NOT constipation? I'm not arguing, just trying to learn stuff. I hope you are right and it's constipation.

thanks for the advice,
-Dennis

I'm no expert on fish constipation, so I hope somebody else drops by. It seems a little odd to me too, but here's a quote from what I've read.

"Symptoms: A string of feces trails behind the fish, the abdomen swells, the fish has little interest in food, and the fish is sluggish or resting on the bottom. No symptoms of disease is present. "

I hope that helps a little more. From the same site, here is the recommended treatment for constipation.

"Treatment: Do not feed the fish for two days. Separate it from its tank mates if possible with a glass partition at feeding time. After the two day fast, feed the fish herbivore plant and vegetable foods such as romaine lettuce, algae or green peas (remove skin) for the next two days. After the treatment period, feed a proper and varied diet."

From your new post, it is sounding more like constipation. If you can, try and observe him a little more.
-Kelsey

thanks for the info!

His symptoms are just what you quoted, except he hangs at the surface, not the bottom. But as he breaths air, I suppose that makes sense.

Yesterday, I fed the tank, and he didn't want to eat. Today, I just made everybody fast So tomorrow, I can try the pea idea.

If I need to seperate him, he will need to be moved to another tank. I don't have any glass partitions.

I will certainly try to observe him more, but he is a GOOD hider

thanks much for your help. I'll let you know what happens.

-Dennis

Well, today he is doing better! His abdomen is still swollen, but he is swimming around the tank, not hiding in the corner!

I fed crushed up peas to the whole tank. Of course they sunk instantly. I'm not sure the gourami got any, but everybody else got some. So the Gourami may get to fast for another day, but I will try again later.

Still no scales sticking out. Hopefully he is recovering.

-Dennis

Hope so !

Just wanted to add that 40 nitrates are too high, you want them no higher than 20. If you have plants, 15 is ideal.
If no plants, the lower the better

ps - don't ask me how much nitrates in my cichlid tank right now, I have to practice what I preach !

The Amazon Nut...

Still sounding good! Another days fast will probably do the trick, and if he is swimming instead of hiding it's definitely a good sign. Don't have much to add except to keep doing what you're doing, and perhaps do a few water changes, now that I've finally realized the high nitrates

Thanks DaFishMan, it must've have gone riiight through my brain, even though it was in the first post.

Ok, now that the boards are back up, I can tell you that he fully recovered and is doing great! I guess he just ate to much.

thanks for the help. and the nitrates are down now.

-Beefshank