Honey Gourami sudden death

[HoneyGourami2023]

Hi all,

I had 3 Honey Gourami along with lots of other fish in a community tank.

1 male and 2 female. 1 of the females was much smaller and paler than the others when purchasing about a month ago. While active and eating she never seemed to grow while the others did. This morning I found her dead at the bottom of the tank with no visible marks.

She was ignored by everything else in the tank, is it possible the male or other female may have killed her? I'm at a loss, she did seem a bit lonely as the larger female seemed to pair with the male but they have never appeared to be breeding, we had planned on adding a couple more females to keep her company. All water tests are normal.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar sudden death experience with a honey gourami or might have any explanations, thank you.

[beastie]

I had two gourami, import from asia breeders, both dead within five to six weeks of purchase. Healthy, swimming, feeding, dead with no signs.

Is weak stock or genetic issues from the mass breeders

[andieb]

Sorry to hear about your loss!

Maybe when you bought her she had a disease or infection, like internal parasites, that might not have been outwardly apparent. In my experience, the highest rate of fish death is in the first month or so after you buy them since many fish come with infections/parasites. Maybe keep a close eye on your other two to make sure that what killed the female hasn't spread to them. I'd wait to make sure they are healthy before buying any more fish for that tank. A subtle sign to look for is eyes that are bulging out slightly, it's a sign of infection and I noticed it once in a male honey gourami I had a few days before he died. He had no other outward sign of illness besides lethargy. 

A general rule of thumb I stick to is never to buy a fish at your LFS that is in a tank with any other dead/dying/sick/pale/skinny/weak looking fish. Once you've decided you'd like to buy a certain type of fish, just start keeping an eye out for them. Don't settle for "meh" looking stock. Wait until you find colourful, healthy looking stock and buy those. That's how I bought my Corydoras sterbai - I knew I wanted small, warm tolerant corydoras, and I'd actually overlooked Sterbais since in pictures they looked ho-hum but one day I saw a tank of absolutely amazing looking sterbai, so I got 6 and they have all survived to this day. Currently, I'm looking for Dwarf Chain Loaches, I've had an eye out for over a month now. 

Good luck and I hope your other two gouramis stay healthy!