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Hi All,

4 weeks ago I bought a Dwarf Gourami. For a few days it was a bit shy and hid away alot, but after that it was happily swimming around the tank and eating. Then, two days ago I noticed it was just sitting in the back corner of the tank hiding again. If I put food in, it would very slowly rise towards the top of the tank, then just sink back down again and refuse to eat. Yesterday I found it floating dead.

There are a school of barbs also in the tank, and they seem completely unaffected. I noticed a small patch of algae forming on the glass, but surely this alone couldn't kill the fish?? So...can anyone please suggest what might have caused this death, so I can prevent another??

Thanks,
Keith.

It would help if you could give us the tank size, as well as the water chemistry results.

Were there any other symptoms? Labored breathing, weird coloration, scratching/flashing, anything like that?

Just right off the bat I'm guessing it could be a viral disease that is killing loads and loads of labyrinth fish (it seems to affect gouramis most of all). No cure for it. As far as I know, it's not transferable to other families of fish, which could explain the barbs' apparent wellness. I'd still keep a close eye on them, though.

I had one die within 24 hrs. I know the cause tho, he grossly pigged out on tubliflex worm. Now I feed in little amounts.

Tank size is 72L (approx 60cm x 35cm x 35cm). I don't actually own a water test kit, I had read that Gourami's and Barb's were pretty easy to keep and their water wouldn't need too much monitoring (except for a 30% water change each week, which I always did). The fish's colour was fine, no scratching or odd symptoms, but not sure about the breathing. I guess if the Barb's are still ok in a week it would be the viral disease.

By the way, I love your HypnoToad pic Joe

their water wouldn't need too much monitoring (except for a 30% water change each week

Sorry to say that statement is totally wrong. There are several reason for saying that. It can be altered by filtration type of & how it is maintained, substrate type & depth, any decorations and even plants or lack of.

Also the water supply might not be suitable for fish.

Changing the water also involves dechlorinating if necessary and I always store it for a week as well as adding a dechlorinator.

I strongly suggest you take two samples to a good LFS one from the tank and the other from your water supply and get a full test done.
Then get back to us with a full report of your water.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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What Keithgh said is absolutely and totally correct, and I have just one thing to add to it.

I had read that Gourami's and Barb's were pretty easy to keep and their water wouldn't need too much monitoring

Unfortunately, with all the inbreeding of DGs in trying to create all of the different strains, they've become a lot more delicate than they were even 5 years ago. It's the same thing that happened to Neon Tetras. You really need to keep an eye on the water with these guys.