macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 It's really not been a good week for my tanks. Over the past few days one of my Honey Gourami has started to slow down. He has been resting on the bottom a lot. At first I wasn't too concerned since both honey gourami tend to rest on the bottom/hardscape occasionally but he had been doing it more frequently. This fish has always been significantly smaller than the other honey gourami in the tank, but that could be a m/f difference. Today I came home from school and looked at the tank and he was laying on his side on the bottom of the tank. I thought he was toast but his gills were still moving so I thought I'd let him live out the last few days/hours of his life. About an hour after I noticed this I went to check on him and he got scared and swam to the surface, took a gulp of air, and then swam back down and sat down on his ventral fins. He struggled a little bit getting up and getting back down but it wasn't terrible. How should I treat? The only QT I have on hand is a 2.5 gallon. I can set it up with an HOB and some cycled media. I'm assuming salt would be recommended, but how much and can I do anything else? Do anabantoids tolerate salt well? pH 7.8 Nitrate 10 soft water medium buffer ammonia/nitrite 0 I can't get a picture of him right now because he is sitting on the bottom under a piece of drift wood but when I saw him he looked like normal. I know I should, but I don't have salt on hand and won't be able to get it until tomorrow. If he makes it to tomorrow I will get the salt, set up a QT and start treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 What I would do is quarantine and treat with epsom salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for 5 days as Epsom salt acts as a muscle relaxant to help relieve pressure on the swim bladder if you don't notice much improvement after 5 days I would do a course of maracyn2 or kanaplex that level of salt safe for gourami's@macdaddy36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) On 3/7/2024 at 8:09 PM, Colu said: What I would do is quarantine and treat with epsom salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for 5 days as Epsom salt acts as a muscle relaxant to help relieve pressure on the swim bladder if you don't notice much improvement after 5 days I would do a course of maracyn2 or kanaplex that level of salt safe for gourami's@macdaddy36 Does it matter what kinds of epsom salt? Is there a specific product you would recommend? Edited March 8 by macdaddy36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 1:19 AM, macdaddy36 said: Does it matter what kinds of epsom salt? Is there a specific product you would recommend? Any brands fine to use as long as it's Plane unscented epsom salt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) I have Skin and Body care brand. The only ingredient is Magnesium Sulfate USP 100%. It doesn't seem to have any sent. Does this work? Edited March 8 by macdaddy36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) @ColuAlso to be clear this is for a in tank treatment and not a bath? 1 table spoon for 2 gallons seems like kind of a lot. Edit: I looked at the thread in you signature and I saw that you recommended baths. 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for 15 minutes, 2 times a day? Edit 2: Do I need to quarantine if I'm only doing baths? Edited March 8 by macdaddy36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 (edited) On 3/8/2024 at 1:31 AM, macdaddy36 said: @ColuAlso to be clear this is for a in tank treatment and not a bath? 1 table spoon for 2 gallons seems like kind of a lot. Edit: I looked at the thread in you signature and I saw that you recommended baths. 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for 15 minutes, 2 times a day? Edit 2: Do I need to quarantine if I'm only doing baths? You can do bath I would put him in the quarantine tank with Epsom salt at that level for the 5 days the reason i usually recommend epsom salt bath is because epsom can raise you GH and at that level will kill plants it's upto you if you want to leave him in the main tank and do epsom baths or quarantine and treat Edited March 8 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/7/2024 at 8:38 PM, Colu said: You can do bath I would put him in the quarantine tank with Epsom salt at that level for the 5 days the reason i usually recommend epsom salt bath is because epsom can raise you GH and at that level will kill plants it's upto you leave him in the main tank and do epsom baths or quarantine and treat 1 table spoon for 2 gallons just seems like a lot because elsewhere I have read 1 table spoon for anywhere from 5-20 gallons. I'm setting up QT now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 1:43 AM, macdaddy36 said: 1 table spoon for 2 gallons just seems like a lot because elsewhere I have read 1 table spoon for anywhere from 5-20 gallons. I'm setting up QT now. You can use a lower dose of epsom I have had the most success treating swim bladder with 1 table spoon for 2 days you could start at 1 table spoon for 5 gallons and gradually increase it over a couple of days 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 One problem, unfortunately I don't have a heater for the tiny tank so I'm going to try to get one ASAP but will wait till then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 1:56 AM, macdaddy36 said: One problem, unfortunately I don't have a heater for the tiny tank so I'm going to try to get one ASAP but will wait till then. If you can't get the quarantine tank going for a couple of days I would do the epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/7/2024 at 9:04 PM, Colu said: If you can't get the quarantine tank going for a couple of days I would do the epsom salt baths 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for no more than 15 minutes for 5 days The heater is arriving tomorrow. I will do an epsom bath now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 He explored his new 15 minute home for about 1 minute after adding him. now he is resting because he is too tired😔 he looks dead but if you tap on the glass he starts swimming around He was swimming around again, but every time he tries to do the typical gourami “hover” he starts to sink backwards. Now he is back to laying on his side 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 2:25 AM, macdaddy36 said: He explored his new 15 minute home for about 1 minute after adding him. now he is resting because he is too tired😔 he looks dead but if you tap on the glass he starts swimming around He was swimming around again, but every time he tries to do the typical gourami “hover” he starts to sink backwards. Now he is back to laying on his side It might also be worthwhile doing a course of kanaplex just in case there's a bacterial infection of the Swim bladder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy36 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 This morning he doesn't seem do have gotten better or worse. I don't have Kanaplex but I will order it and use it if I don't see improvement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now