Red Robin Gourami dying?

Thanks. I'll try to do what I can. I moved the fish to the temporary silver dollar tank and put it in a glass jar, in the tank, just so it doesn't get stuck in the rocks etc. It is moving a bit more but seems as if it can't use the body. He just moves his side fins and kind of reverses around in the jar. Should I put ti back? Should I feed him?

 

I completely disagree with excel being the cause WHATSOEVER. I do not contradict that the stuff is pretty nasty, but I have, in the past, dosed 5x the recommended dosage to battle algae, for at least 3 weeks on end, without a single fish dying, or even looking at me funny. The fact is, a lot of fish that are imported, are already on their way out(unfortunately) Weve bought 30 red robbins, with only 2 or 3 surviving, whereas other shipments have had a 100% survival rate.

Ps. Excel can be considered "natural", as it is part of the photosynthetic pathway. This is why plants can absorb it as a source of carbon

 

I'm sorry to say but i completely disagree. I have personally dosed it on my system in the past and watch loaches and torpedo barbs go into convulsions and die. That made me have a look at the active ingredient and a chat to a few people. I would rather not dose carbon than dose something thats that poisonous.

 

@Razer2007 - to get back to your sick fish.... I am not commenting on why I think it is sick,just making a general comment on it's condition....

that fishie is in pretty bad shape condition wise and I'll bet it didnot get to be so in your aquarium... hollow belly,general lack of colour and an extremely emaciated bodyshape..
Think I have posted something on this in the past,but cant find it...so here goes.
about a week or so ago,your Gourami and his chums where swimming around a pond somewhere in Asia,munching away at copious amounts of food... they then get caught(dragnetted in larger systems) and stuffed in holding tanks ready for distribution around the world... Bagged up with about 200 others,drove,often for many hours,to the airport where a 36 hour + transit time awaits them - thats if there are no flight delays or chump head customs officials delaying them further...
From there to a wholesaler here in SA where they go yet again into new water,then bagged a day or so later off to your LFS - Yup - you guessed it - new water again....
Then you go buy it - take it home and new water yet again in a tank that is not completely cycled....

Just having one of your fishies reacting badly is not anything to be to worried about now that you know about all the stress it went through to get to your house...

 

Well we all have our experience with excel, and I think that if it were it that cased the fish to go weird, the the other fish should also have been affected.

I hope it's just one of those unavoidable things like @azurekoi said, because this morning I woke up to a dead fish. As I've sair earlier, I put it in a glass jar inside the tank that it doesn't get tossed around by other fish or possibly the current, and it somehow got out of there...

 

Yup - think you just bought a weak,stressed fishy mate...

Dont want to climb into the whole Excell debate,just add that I dose dayly - often 5 x the dose to combat algae.... My Sewelia loaches have now spawned twice under these conditions and dont forget my Squirrel loach breeding....lol - maybe the Excell did the trick to get these difficult to breed fish to spawn...lol

 

OK. I hope excel works though. I'm just dosing the correct amount, sometimes a fraction more. Hoe does excel fight algae? Isn't it to promote plant growth?

 

One of the "side effects" of Excell at high doses(5 x normal dose) is that it inhibits algae growth... often used to spot treat via syringe,the dreaded black brush algae...

 

Ah thanks for that info

 

@Razer2007

Let's just go back a few posts to something that people haven't picked up on yet...

If I understand correctly: you have REMOVED the fish, and placed them into a separate glass jar and placed them into another tank?

Whilst I understand why you have done this, it will not assist in any way at all... but possibly cause further undue stress on these fish. Reasons as follows:
* There will be no water movement within this jar. Thus no fresh water will be getting to the fish, and thus no fresh oxygen.
* Because there is no water movement, you will experience ammonia and nitrite spikes within that jar very quickly.
* If the fish are carrying any disease, you have now potentially infected the other tank.. thus both your tanks are potentially infected.
* Azurekoi discussed the various waters that the fish have been through over the past few weeks... and now we have done it again.

Don't mistake the fact that because the fish is now swimming around in the smaller jar for getting healthier... it could easily be that they are stressed out further.

I hate to be the carrier of bad news, or reprimanding you, and I trust you will understand and agree with where this is coming from:
The advice given to you was to monitor the fish, ensure top quality water conditions (through Water Changes), feed less, but good quality food. Sadly I am still of the opinion that these fish were, (as I clichéd it), "doomed from the start". Meaning I honestly think that there is nothing that you did wrong, and that these fish arrived over stressed, probably underfed, and thus susceptible to any disease, parasite or pathogen that may have been in your water, or transported with them from other water.

If these were my fish, and my tanks, and had the limitations you are having, I would honestly move the fish back to where they were. Turn the lights off to minimize further stress. Do a good WC on the tank they are going into. (Remember to dechlor). And if money allows it, purchase a small bottle of Seachem Stress Coat.
I would also advise a good WC on the other tank (85-90%) today. Also dose with Stress Coat, and maintain WC every alternate day on this tank. IF the fish were carrying any disease, you would want to keep your Silver Dollars in good health to fight it off. (This is done with waterchanges providing good quality environment, a good quality food, and the stress coat helps their immune system)

 

Yes, but the glass jar wasn't closed and the top of the jar was right under the filter too. There is water movement in the jar because there was a small piece of flake in there and i'ts moving around. I moved it to the other tank that I can feed it less in the hope that it's just constipated.

It doesn't look like the fish have any external signs of a disease or sickness, just it's behavior. The fish is dead now, but I will still do some water changes, but it's harder in the silver dollars tank because they splash the hell out of me and sometimes on the electronics.

I feel stupid for moving it now I guess it's too late except if you can re-animate the fish and make it zombie. I don't have stress coat and cant go to a LFS to buy it unfortunately. I'm just glad my other fish looks OK.

 

This Gourami died 2 days ago and now the other one, and one of the brochis splendens are going on like that. Only difference is that these move a bit more - they spin around and can't swim properly. The Gourami is also bent. I can also catch them by hand. What the hell?

What could be wrong? Could it be whirling disease? What can I do? I took a vid of it but it's too big to upload

 

Guys please! Are there any chance of them surviving or should I take them to the kettle?

 

@Razer2007, When I had a look at the fish, everything look normal to me.
Smell the tank water by holding your nose close to it. It should have a earthy smell like fresh ploughed earth.
If you smell anything like rotten egg or you move suddenly away from the tank, there is something wrong with the water. (amonia)
Water-changewas okay. How of 50% is recommended with a spoon of salt.

You have tested the water, and everything was okay. how long did the tank cycle?
What/ how much are you feeding?

Good Luck, and keep us posted.

 

Razer, Im gonna make a suggestion, and please take it from where its coming from.

STOP adding fish, plants and anything else. Everytime you fiddle with the tank u are creating stress on your fish, and I am now starting to believe you have a parasite, bacteria or something else in the water. The ONLY thing I want you to do for 6 weeks, yes, SIX weeks, 42 DAYS is a 30 percent water change every second or third day. Have your lights on for a MAXIMUM of 6 hours a day. Dont add anything to the tank. Nothing. Nada. Only dechlor and fish food. Thats all.

 

Yeah the fish turned like that in a matter of hours.

The water smells OK. Like my water always smelled. I'm going to be away for a while and can only get them food. The tank has been running for about a week with plants and 4 fish before I tested it at Panorama. All was fine. I'm feeding those flakes I showed you and bloodworm. The last time I gave them bloodworm was 3 days ago.

I won't add anything soon again. How do I get rid of a parasite/bacteria?I'll do 30% WC every second day but from tomorrow till the 26'th I'm not going to me home I have somebody to feed them every second day though.




I put those 2 in a quarantine tank which had a recent 50% WC.

 

Good advice!
Don't even think about adding rams!

 

sigh - i think its ammonia poisoning. If you want you come meet me at the warehouse and i'll give you a bottle of Special Blend.

 

I would want to but as I said I'm going away till the 26'th. If the test showed 0 ppm Ammonia, how could the ammonia spike then?

 

Tests are often inaccurate. . . Especially the tests with the strip of paper. If the tank.hasbonly been running for a week it has not cycled yet, you are then overstocked, and are goong thru ammonia and nitrIte poisoning.