Help, my dwarf gourami was trapped!?

Question

I have a 55 gallon tank, and on one side of the tank, there is a waterfall ornament with a little space between it and the wall. My dwarf gourami, Sushi, had been missing for a few days. I finally found him trapped between the waterfall and the tank glass, and managed to free him without crushing him. However, he just fell to the back and next to an air stone and is just sitting there with his mouth moving. I know he's not dead. How do I save him?

Update:

Alright, he's swimming around upright, but he seems to have a lot of trouble and won't eat.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

He's probably in shock. Since he was stuck there for a few days, he may have scratched himself while trying to wiggle free, and his slime coat was probably rubbed off. I would recommend you add a little stress zyme to your tank, as well as aquarium salt (that is, if you do not have catfish or snails). Both will help regrow the slime coat of your fish, while de-stressing it.

Move the ornament either closer to the wall so no fish can get between it and the tank wall, or more towards the middle of the tank so they have space to swim around it. Your fish should be fine, I would recommend turning off the tank lights and leaving your fish alone for a while. It should recover on its own, give it a few days of peace and quiet. He'll start eating once he feels comfortable.

noselessman · Answer

Try adding some stress coat, he would have lost a lot of slime coat if he was struggling to get out.   Besides that,  keep things calm around the tank, and keep the lights low.  One of my loaches got stuck in a peice of deco once, and he recovered.  Hope your gourami does too.

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Help, my dwarf gourami was trapped!?

2 Answers