can I help my sick fish?

Question
My blue paradise guarami seems to be sick. I have had it for 3 days now. It seems to spend it's time divided between resting on the bottom of the tank or floating (not swimming) at the top. Today I noticed a new habit: she is having trouble staying upright. She starts to lean to one side, then flaps her flippers to adjust herself. Then a few seconds later she is starting to float on her side again.
I'm pretty sure she was sick when I bought her. The condition of all the fish tanks in the store were deplorable and most of the fish in all of the different tanks seemed lethargic. (I even noticed one puffer fish with mold looking stuff growing on it!) I actually thought she was dead while I was picking out my other 2 fish. When I noticed her slight movement, I bought her in the hopes of resusitating her.
I currently have 4 guarami's in a 2 gallon tank. (I had only intended to buy 1 guarami as a friend for my kissing guarami. When I saw the sad conditions at the store, I had to liberate 3 of them!) I know I need to get them a bigger tank ASAP, all 4 of them have been together for 2 days now. What size would you suggest?
Is there anything I can do to help her?
thanks much!
Daphne

PS the other blue paradise guarami and the dwarf guarami I bought at the same time are just fine. Their colors are a little duller than most I've seen but I'm thinking that could just be the individual fish rather than an illness.

Answer
Hi Daphne,

The Gourami might have swim bladder disease. Swim Bladder is often caused by a bacterial infection. If you don't notice any obvious signs, other than her difficulty swimming, then I'd recommend that you get an antibacterial medication from your local fish store, such as Maracyn. Also, change 30% of the water first. After you buy your medication, read and follow the instructions carefully.

See this link for additional disease diagnosis:

http://www.fishlore.com/Disease.htm



You MUST get a bigger tank ASAP! A 2 gallon tank cannot house any fish healthily, not even a Betta! Did you know that a kissing Gourami can grow to over 12" (One foot, or 30cm) if kept properly? That means that if you want to keep your Kissing Gourami, you'll need to get at least a 30 gallon tank, preferably larger, as they grow. If you are just going to keep Dwarf Gouramis, a 10-gallon tank with good filtration should do.

If you won't be able to get a 50 gallon tank or larger, return the Kissing Gourami, or give it to a friend.

In the future, don't buy fish from that store any more. Obviously, they don't know how to keep fish healthily. If fish are going to be kept that way, take your business elsewhere. A good, fairly common chain store is Petco or PetSmart. (Canada & US)

P.S. The puffer you mentioned at the store probably had a fungal infection, or Columnaris (cottony growth disease)

Good Luck, and I hope your fish recover!