Dwarf Gourami Pregnacy

Question
I have two dwarf gouramis.  For the past 5 days or so one of them has been bloated around the belly and throat.  It has been sitting motionless on the bottom only moving it's mouth, but sometimes swims up to the top and puts it's mouth out of the water.  Then it floats to the bottom and stays at a 45 degree angle to the rocks, usally in a corner.  My other gourami seems to hangout near it, but it's fine.  I don't know what sex these fish are.  I am wondering if my gourami is dieng or pregnant. What should I Do?  Thank you  

Answer
Hello,

This could be a disease of which I have encountered and is usually fatal. It is called dropsy. The syptoms involve bloating, raised scales, listlessness, gasping at surface, swollen eyes and not eating. If your fish has any of these other syptoms it could have this. It such a case, raise the temperature of your tank a few degrees and purchase dropsy antibiotics from a pet store. You can move your fish to a hospital tank if you have one. Outlook is poor, but I have had a fish survive it.

If that does not seem to be the case, you can send me another e-mail with further details. If your fish is not eating then it is probably a disease rather then a pregnancy. I don't know much about breeding gouramis, but you should ask your fish dealer if it is easy or hard. If it is difficult, then again it is probably not a pregnancy.

Hope this helps!

From Stephanie