Possible Swim Bladder Infection?

Question
Info:
-tank has been set up for 2 and a half to 3 weeks
-10 gal
-2 male gourami, 1 male betta, 1 female balloon molly, 1 male balloon molly and 1 balloon molly with questionable sex. Total 6 fish
-Aqueon Filter
-pH between 7.2 and 7.8 (we have very hard water, which I believe makes the water more alkaline. I have used the AquaPlus tap water conditioner once yesterday to help, but has not made a difference yet.)
 -nitrate level is 0
 -nitrite level is 0
 -I have done 2 25 % water changes since set up including gravel vacuum.

So far all of the fish have been doing well. I test my water often, don't overfeed, feed them a variety of foods including tropical flakes, crumbles and dried blood worms, and a little betta food sometimes for the betta. My temp is at 76 or 77 F. Today I noticed my flame dwarf gourami started laying on the bottom of the tank sideways. If another fish bumps him he'll swim away quickly, but he just overall seems kinda tired. Also, he is struggling to swim without leaning to one side or the other. I read about the whole cooked peeled pea trick, but he wouldn't eat it. The other fish were quite happy to but not "Pockety" ( my 3 year old named him.) What do I do next? I have seen some swim bladder medicines for purchase, but I don't know if he indeed has this or not, or if the medications would work. Is is just constipation? any other way to unconstipate a fish? I learned a little about dropsy and it doesn't appear to be that...the only thing that matches his symptoms so far is SBI. Any help you can give would be great as I have become quite attached to my kid's fishes...more so than they are! Thanks!

Answer
Hi Hayley;

The best chance your little gourami has is to move him out to a separate hospital tank. Make it at least 3 gallons with a bubbler and keep it in a warm place or add a heater. Fill it with 75% water from the main tank and 25% fresh conditioned tap water. (Refill the main tank with more conditioned tap water.) Change 25% of the hospital tank water every day with fresh conditioned tap water. I don't think it's just his swim bladder, but an internal infection of some type that is affecting the swim bladder. You could try to medicate him with some kind of antibiotic such as "Maracyn Two" but I'm afraid the chances are very small that he will recover. Especially since we don't know what his problem really is. We just can't see inside them to know.

Dwarf gouramis on the market these days are just not very strong fish and often develop disease soon after they are purchased. Being moved from the hatchery to the wholesaler and then to the fish store is just too much for their weak immune systems. Then they are stressed further as they go to hobbyists homes. The ones that don't get sick end up very aggressive and grow larger than promised. They are quite inbred and are mass-produced for color instead of strength and vitality, but the stronger surviving "throwbacks" really go over the top. (Yikes!)

Unfortunately, bettas and gouramis should not be in the same tank together anyway. Especially if they are all males. The betta thinks the gourami is another betta, and vice versa, because they are in the same family of fish. Two male gouramis should not share a tank either for the same reasons. They can be very subtle in their fighting, and simple intimidation can be enough to really stress one or the other out. They are both territorial and will continually be in conflict, leading to stress and death for at least one of them. It's such a shame. They are both quite beautiful.

You have another problem looming as well. Your tank is still in the break-in period with a lot of fish. Too many fish leads to a very difficult break-in. You will need to be testing for ammonia as well as nitrite. Please read my page about new tanks so you know what's going to be happening in the next few weeks. Here's the link;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins