flame gourami

Question
My gourami is having a hard time breath(rapid), no other signs of problems but he is not eating. I have placed  him in isolation so others will not pester him. So far the rapid breathing has been going on for 3 days. I have not done a water change because other gouramis are breathing fine. I have added some water to the tank and all other levels are normal. Temp is around 75-78.

Answer
Hi Robin,
Its possible there may be a water quality issue going on. If the ammonia and nitrites have risen at all that's a sure-fire reason he is breathing heavily. Some fish are weaker and more suceptibal than others. However, even high nitrates in the 40ppm range and up can have damaging effects on fish.

As a precaution, I'd change about 30-50% of the tank water everyday until your fish improves. You never know, something may be wrong with the water.

Keep a close eye on him and watch for any signs of disease or other stress symptoms. Dwarf gouramis are very prone to bacterial infections and internal parasites (watch for stringy white poo and faded color)

I hope this helps!
Karen~