My Gouramis Keep Getting Sick & Dying

Question
Hi there,
I got a 20 gallon aquarium this past Christmas. Since then, I have been maintaining the freshwater tank in the best way I know how, with the help of my parents. At the moment I have 3 gold barbs, 3 black phantom tetras, and three dwarf gouramis (one flame, two blue). All the fish seem to be doing really nicely, except for the blue dwarf gouramis. Let me explain further.

When I first started out, I got the 3 black phantoms, and also 2 blue dwarf gouramis. They seemed to be doing great at first. They were beautiful, and they all did well together. However, just a few weeks after that, I woke up one morning and one of the gouramis was dead. I was shocked, because he (or she) had been fine the night before: he ate his meal, and went about exploring the tank as he usually did. He just up and died, seemingly for no reason at all. The deceased fish had a warranty on him, so my dad took him back to Petco, and we were given the 3 gold barbs in exchange. Apparently, the gouramis there had all been sick with ich. He also went to a different pet store and got the flame dwarf gourami.

Life in the tank seemed to return to normal after we introduced the new fish. However, a day or so later, my other blue gourami started looking sickly as well. He stayed at the surface of the tank and was breathing rapidly. I was alarmed, and I told my parents about the issue. I asked them to get some ich medicine, but they said that they didn't think that was his problem. We measured the pH using a test kit we bought, and it was always turning up really high (7.5+). I added several doses of pH Down over the course of the next few days, but there were no signs of improvement, and the test kit still continued to read 7.5 (the highest reading on that particular scale, so for all I know it could have been 7.6 or 7.8 or something awful like that). The blue gourami was by then looking deathly ill. Occasionally, the flame gourami would go up to him and nibble on his tail fin. He would swim away, and he would always be either lying against a wall or plant on the floor of the tank, or at the surface. His fins had started looking ragged, and he hadn't eaten a thing for days. I asked my dad if he thought the flame gourami was hurting the blue one, and he didn't seem to think so. He went back the the pet store where he got the flame gourami and asked one of the workers there about it. He said that the pH levels weren't important. We got an ammonia/nitrite test kit and tested the water. It read at about a 1.0. My dad thought that maybe there was too much ammonia in the tank for the fish. I suggested that he do a partial water change, but he got some stuff that gets rid of ammonia and put that in the tank instead. The ammonia readings were at 0 after that.

After all this effort, however, poor fishie was still not getting any better. Despite the use of pH Down, neither was the pH level of the water. The temperature was normal (78-80 degrees), and I fed them just the right amount, but he would not eat. After a few more days, he passed away. I was terribly sad and upset about the deaths of both my fish. My dad saw how my I loved the blue gouramis, and he went back the the pet store (not Petco) and got 2 more of them. And for awhile, we had no more problems.

That was, until 2 days ago. I noticed that one of the new blue gouramis was displaying the same symptoms as the last one. I told my parents, and they went out and got some ich medicine. We put some in the tank yesterday. Today, the fish is looking worse. His fins look like they're being eaten away. His tail fin is almost gone, and it's spreading to the rest of his fins. I'm really scared for him and I don't know what to do. I'm pretty sure this time it's not the other gouramis, as they don't nibble at each other at all anymore.  It's only the gouramis that are getting this sickness, the other fish have gone unaffected. So far, it's only been the blue gouramis. I'm only 15, and I have trouble convincing my parents that something is seriously wrong with our pets. This has happened many times before when I have advocated for my animals, and our golden retriever died because of that. Will my other gouramis get this...whatever-it-is disease? Will my fish die? What can I do, if anything, to save him before he falls to the same fate that did the other two gouramis in? What is afflicting them that is so rapidly turning vibrant, healthy fish into living zombies? Please help me! I have to save this fish. I can't let that happen to him.

Thank you so much for reading this and hearing me out about all my concerns. Please let me know what I can do as soon as you can. I hope you have a very nice day.

Ann

Answer
Hi Ann,

PH of 7.5 won't kill your gourami. That is a bit high, but it's okay.  By your description of being at the top of the tank and breathing rapidly, this tells me your ammonia, nitrates and probably nitrites are high and/or the water contains Chloramine and is poisoning your fish.  

In order for me to give you expert advice, I need more information.

What size filter (make and model please) are you using and also, where are you obtaining your water?  Is it tap water from a well or a municipal city water reservoir?

What treatment do you use with the water when you put it in for the fish?

What temperature is the tank kept at?

Are there any signs of illness on the fish such as small white spots, or scales which are distended?

Gouramis do breathe air as well as tank water.  They are Labyrinth fishes, which means they breathe both water and air.  They are not typically at the top, gasping, however, and this is a bad sign.  This is a water quality sign 99.9% of the time.

So, please help me to help you with additional information and I will do my best to assist you with this.

I'm so sorry you lost your little gourami.  How frustrating!

Meantime, please do this immediately.  Stop using PH products on your water.  Please change out 25% of the water today, and 25% day after tomorrow, and hopefully I hear back from you by then.  Use a Dechlorinator water clarifier or if you can, please don't use tap water at all.  Go to a fill station for water in a store and buy water there.  I pay a dollar for five gallons.

I do not believe your PH is your issue. Stop dosing PH please.

I have one more question: How long did the tank cycle before you put fish into it and how long has it been set up?

I will check email periodically back and forth so I can get your information and try to assist you in time to save the other gouramis. :)