Paradise Gouramis

Question
Hi Chris,

I have a 40 gallon fresh water tank that houses platies, one opaline gourami female, one paradise gourami female, neon tetra's and cory cats. I do weekly to bi/weekly water changes of 10%. I check my water weekly and everything seems to be fine on the chemical side. I use aquarium salt in my tank with good results. My tank has been set up for about 5 months. I keep the temperature around 79 degrees. My question is - I really enjoy the paradise gourami fish, but can't seem to keep any of them alive!! I have bought three in the past five months. Two have died, and one is dying now the same way the others died! They all get very lethargic and pale, and they sit on the bottom of the tank, only coming up for air. After a few days they die. This most recent female I have had for several months is now doing the same thing, although I have noticed a new symptom with her. Red vein-like lines in sparse areas of her tail and body. Could you please give me some ideas as to why I can't keep a paradise fish alive? I read they are supposed to be hardy fish, but maybe I am doing something wrong. I only feed them little bits of food twice a day. Can you give me any advise?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Megan;

It could possibly be the other gourami hassling them, or the water temperature...or the combination of both. Gouramis of all types usually don't tolerate each other very well and you may have an exceptionally aggressive female opaline. They can be very subtle in their intimidation and she may just frighten the poor paradise to stress leading to death. Paradise fish also prefer a lower temperature, from 61 to the lower-70's. They can tolerate higher temps for short periods but the quality and immune systems of many captive-bred fish these days is not very good. Their weakness has caused many to be intolerant of any kind of extreme in conditions. You could separate your paradise to a smaller tank. She doesn't need a heater so it's pretty simple to set up. A 20 gallon with lots of plants would be good.

Many fish are mass-produced with little to no regard for anything but profit these days. They are in-bred too, in order to produce more colorful fish. But, they are fish that end up with very weak immune systems that get sick very easily.

Good luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins