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Problem: I noticed him swimming slowly and a little listlessly a couple weeks ago, but he still ate so I wasn't worried. Now for the past 2 days or so, he's just lying on the gravel either face down or on his side, and his body is curved in a C shape. I didn't notice anything attached to him, no discoloration, no spots of any color, no growths, no swelling of his abdomen,...basically no change in his outer appearance, just his behavior. The people at the local pet store couldn't think of any cause.
Tank size: 20 gallon
Tank mates: 1 other dwarf gourami, 2 glass catfish, 2 swordtails, all 2-3 inches long, all seem fine
Temperature: 75 degrees
filter: Aquaclear 150
nitrate: 20
nitrite: 0
hardness: 300
alkalinity: 120
pH: 7.2
ammonia: .25

Anybody have any ideas?

also: he keeps moving his gills like he's trying to swim but to no avail. Poor guy.

Your ammonia is a bit high (it should be 0 in a cycled tank), and dwarf gouramis are infamously sensitive to toxins in the water. That's proably what did it. How long has the tank been set up?

Glass cats can be a bit sensitive as well.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

it's been up since the beginning of July. I was told 0 for ammonia is ideal, but many don't quite get that far.
So is there anything else I can do? Would a water change help? Last one I did was a couple weeks ago, so they're about due anyway....

All (cycled) tanks should have zero ammonia and nitrite, or they are unhealthy for fish to live in. I wouldn't do any water changes, as that will only prolong the cycling process. If needed, top off with distilled or RO water if you are having evaporation problems.

Track the water parameters until they are normal (it could take a couple of weeks) and your tank will be a lot healthier.

It's weird that you still have ammonia though... Did you recently add a large number of fish to your tank?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

nope, I started with the 2 swordtails then after 2 weeks added the gouramis, then after about three weeks got the catfish. So they've all been in there for at least 3 weeks now.

Just had a thought: about a week ago I got plants to put in my tank (it's the only recent change in the tank). Have fake plants ever been known to make a fish sick?