One of my gouramis is getting very thin. It comes to eat when I feed them but it is like it can't swallow. It sucks food in as though it is hungry but then spits it all back out. This has been going on for awhile. Has anyone ever heard of this before? Or does anyone know what I can do about it? Could it be a parasite or something that could be treated? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Had a look on the web for you one site refers to breeding and the following section might be relevant depending on how long you've had them:

When she carries the eggs in her mouth, the symptoms are more than evident, as well as a swollen throat (noticeable or not) she shows an apathetic behaviour, staying out of the way of all males and refusing to eat. She seems to seek food, but obviously cannot swallow it, just staring at it. She also moves her mouth often, just like she was chewing something (obviously the eggs), and when she swims up to breathe loses some bubbles on the way down. (Concerning this, some authors mention that she also occasionally loses one or two fry, that are quickly swallowed again, but I have never seen this).

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...e_Gourami.html

Also this from another forum:

Pink Kissing Gouramis not eating
My kissing gouramis which I purchased two days ago are not eating flake food or brine shrimp. The tetras and mollies I have in the tank with them eat fine. It is a 55 gallon tank and the temp is fine. What can I do to get them to eat?
< Give them a few days to get use to their new surroundings. When they get hungry they will eat. There are actually very good algae eaters and are often seen "kissing" plants and rock when they are actually eating algae.-Chuck>

Re: Pink Kissing Gouramis not eating
I didn't' find any info helpful there, and they are still not eating. Please help.
< With no external symptoms then I am going to assume that they may be in the early stages of an internal bacterial infection. The best way to treat this is with Metronidazole. Do a 30% water change and service the filter. Vacuum the gravel if it has not been done in awhile before treating the tank.-Chuck>

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...ouramifaqs.htm

Hope this helps

I had 2 dwarf gouramis, then one died. like yours, he got very thin. and he appeared to shrink, as the other one grew and grew. he had no disease symptoms, other than he started to stop eating, and took to hiding and taking cover for long amounts of the day. when he got really bad,he becam lethargic, sitting in a plant, not moving until the bigger gourami chased him. after about 4 weeks, he got really bad. he didn't move for days on end, and began floating at the surface for hours. several times, i thought he was dead, but he wasn't. then 2 days later, his eyes went "rusty" and a ugly brown film clouded them over, but the other gourami pecked this away. he died later in the evening.
as gouramis are comercially bred, and the places where they are bred use tremendous amounts of antibiotics, there immune systems shut down, and i have heard they are succeptible to similar problems, even when the water is top quality, like mine.

Might be desease, might also be due to stress. See Actually, gouramies are like bettas, they are somewhat territorial (among the males). This feature doesn't show in the lfs as there are too many of their kinds to fight for, sometimes over 50 in a 2ft tank. However, when brought home, there are less competitors and when the conditions are right, the gouramies will start thinking of... well... sex! which is when they start to dominate each other. Sometimes, it's really hard to tell between the sex when choosing gouramis at lfs unless you're experienced enough.

As in both of your case, i think that since just one of the two died of, growing thin. and the other remains healthy as a bull, this should minimise the possiblity of desease, though i'm not saying that possibility should be eleminated. However, in your scenario, i think you have bought 2 males, and when they tried to compete for production right, the stronger one just won! and the loser will freak and eventually died due to intense stress. i never experience it with my gouramies, but went through it with my swordtail, the defeated male just freaked. when i remove it from the tank to another small quarentine tank, he grew back his colour and size within a short period of time.

I don't think my gourami could've been defeated in the fight for production rights, as i just had 2 males, who got on alright most of the time. he'd always been a bit smaller though. They never fought or nipped each other, just one was slightly boisterous at feeding time.