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I have two male dwarf gouramis in my 10g..I am in the process of cycling another temporary tank for one of them since he is getting bullied. Jerry..the one being bullied, stays at the top of the water..in the corner, looks skinnier, but i know he eats, and constantly has a clear string thing hanging from him. I dont know if something is wrong with him or if it is just the fact that he gets picked on. He doesn't breathe as fast as Jimmy (the bully) and rarely fights back. I checked my water and everything is fine..Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, and Nitrates 40. My pH is 7.6 and the water temp. stays around 76..although we just had a cold front come through and I had to put a heater in the tank so it stayed around 72..not getting lower that 70 before i put the heater in. I wish I could cycle that other aquarium faster but I'm only starting the process. I go in every now and then to see if Jerry is still alive. I don't want him to die as he is my fav..but there is nothing i can do yet in terms of moving him. Any thoughts about if he could be sick? Anything would help. If you have more questions..feel free to ask.
P.S. His tankmates are the other male gourami, 2 danios (which I've never seen bother him), and 2 small algae eaters.

*Kristin*

has a clear string thing hanging from him

This can be because of internal parasites. I had this problem with my tiger barbs. I took some blood worms and soaked them in garlic juice and fed them to the barbs for some weeks. They seemed to love them and the problem was solved!

I don't know whether gouramis like garlic though. Hope your dwarf gets better. Good Luck.

I second Warrion, it is likely an internal parasite.
A good medicine that works well is dog wormer. Get the once a month stuff, break open a capsule and pour the contents onto about 2 tablespoons lightly moistened flake. Allow to dry and then feed to fish for the next few days until the flake is gone. You can repeat this 2 weeks later to ensure the parasites are gone.
Dwarf Gouramis are very  e to internal parasites.


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I don't have any capsule wormer but I could get some. I do have some liquid puppy wormer..would that work..or does it need to be dry? Thanks! He is still alive..he just stays in the corner..kinda floating but still breathing.

Also..would it hurt the other fish to do this?

Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 30-Apr-2005 13:08

*Kristin*

yes, use the liquid puppy wormer, the same dosage for a puppy, soaked into some flakes until dry and then fed to the fish.
No, it wont hurt any other fish, and will help them if they have caught the parasite the gourami has.
Also, you might do well to add a dose of melafix to the tank, which might help perk him up a bit, or maybe a small dose of aquarium salt @ 1 teaspoon per 20g.


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