# Dwarf Gourami illness



## Fender321

My red dwarf gourami stopped feeding normally yesterday and I noticed he had a large swelling, primarily on one side. It must have come very quickly because he's always the first one up to feed and I would have noticed. Since then, the scales over that bulge have split apart and fallen off, and a white cottony "drape" hung out of the opening for about half a day. 

Now, there is a hole in his scales and the swelling has come down a bit. He is still not eating. However, he is excreting, and it's mostly clear with bits of white in it at times.

I have isolated him into a separate tank now. I've had him for about 6 months. Water parameters are stable and normal, and temp is at 78 degrees.


Any thoughts?


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## cheseboy

Can you post a picture?


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## Fender321

No I can't get any pictures. I've not noticed any improvements but things haven't gotten worse either. He still has a slight bulge on one side where his scales split open and there is now a hole.

Based on my reading, I guess it could be dropsy combined with a fungal infection. But I haven't noticed the "pinecone"ing of the scales. I can't find any symptom online that involves scales splitting apart and a cottony mass coming out of the opening.

He's mostly just been swimming around slowly. He stays hear the top and breathes in air pretty often.


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## Sprite42

IF he has white, stringy poo, it could be something internal, too!


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## Guest

Fender321 said:


> No I can't get any pictures. I've not noticed any improvements but things haven't gotten worse either. He still has a slight bulge on one side where his scales split open and there is now a hole.
> 
> Based on my reading, I guess it could be dropsy combined with a fungal infection. But I haven't noticed the "pinecone"ing of the scales. I can't find any symptom online that involves scales splitting apart and a cottony mass coming out of the opening.
> 
> He's mostly just been swimming around slowly. He stays hear the top and breathes in air pretty often.



How long have you had this fish?


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## Fender321

I've had him for about 6 months, with no problems. He's been in a 36 gallon tank with various tetra.

And I'm happy to report he's eating again, with quite an apetite. The swelling seems to be gone. The wound where he split open is still there but appears to be healing. His behavior isn't completely back to normal, but it looks like he's gonna pull through.


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## Fender321

Just to close out this thread, my gwarf gourami seems to have made a full recovery. He's back in the community tank and acting perfectly normal.

A friend of mine joked that he just had a zit that popped.


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## Guest

That is always good to hear!


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## comecatchmesir

*my dwarf gourami*

hello everyone, 

I have got a ill gourami fish, he is about 4 years old, and has always been quite small, he has got two lumps on his back on either side, he has one white spot at the front of his head, and he has stoped eating, another of my gourami also has the white spot at the front of his head. I also have a shark fish which is about 4 years old, and full size, he is quite a solid fish, about 2 years ago he jumped out of the tank when i was cleaning it, and he clouded his two eyes over, but they were fine in the end, he has got the same thing again on one of his eyes I hope he has just bashed it and his vision will come back but it could be a illness? 

I have owned fish for about 10 years and never had the gourami problem, water quality is all checked and fine, and all other fish are healthy, there is one angelfish about 4 years old, 3 gouramis 4-6 years old 3 shark fish (1 of which is 4 years old and the ill one) (2 of them are 3years old) 2 catfish which are a year old 4 clown loaches which are about a month old 2 oscars which are about a month old as well i think that is it, temperature is 78-80 degrees

any information would be helpful ...


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## TheOldSalt

The loaches and oscars are new, then? 
Well, any time you add new fish you run the risk of introducing new disease into your tank. ( unless you quarantine them first, and do it correctly ) My guess is that is indeed what may have happened. On the other hand, lumpy gouramis over 4 years old aren't uncommon. As for the shark's eye, it might have just gotten scratched a bit lately, and will either get better or get worse very soon.


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## pxexaxcxex

*My Dwarf Gourami sick too*

I just purchased 2 Dwarf Gourami about3 days ago. At first they looked perfectly fine. Now one has a line of white fuzz or cloudy balls on lower body. Not sure what it is, does not look like the Ich (table salt looking spots). Looks more like this picture I found, but located on the bottom of fish above lower fine and on fin. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/aquaticzone/Miscellanous/Disease/GY1W1323ER2.jpg

I did not notice anything wrong with fish when I brought him home, he looked fine. Yesterday, his second day home, I noticed the balls that had appeared almost overnight. I did some research online and decided it might be the white spot described in another forum, but I am confused, what is the different between white spot disease and ich...the pictures look different. Some look like table salt sprinkled on fish and on other like bigger fuzzy granules....speaking of pictures, not my fish. I have not learned how to load pictures here, so I don't have one, sorry. The white spot seems to have spread since yesterday when I first noticed it. So I guess my main question is:
1) Does Ich look differently on fish or does it always look like the "table salt sprinkled on fish"? 

2) Is it the same thing as saprolegnia fungus?

3) What is the best way to treat for a planted aquarium?

Tank Size:55 Gallon

Water Parameters: (Ph: 7.6, Ammonia 1 ppm, nitrates unsure (no test, but I am using Prime), temperature: 82 Farenheit.)

Water Changes: Yesterday changed out 25% after tank being up for 4 days. Plan on doing another change tomorrow.

Feeding: Daily

Fish in the tank: 2 Dwarf Gouramis, 4 Neon Tetras and 1 Betta.

Infected fish: Dwarf Gourami

Symptoms of the infected fish: White fuzzy looking spots on underside of fish, appearing in a fairly straight line. Got them overnight. Fish seems to be okay, I have not seen him rubbing anywhere. Still eating and swimming normally.

Time the Symptoms occurred: overnight

Age of the fish: a few days

Tank History: Brand new tank. 5 Days old.

Medications in Use: Aqua Safe and Prime


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## Guest

is your tank cycled Peace? is your tank is setup for 5 days? or is running for 5 days after the cycling process? if it is the former, that would explain the 1ppm ammonia. could u get a complete test kit? not the strips but the liquid reagent test kits?

the fuzz like growth on your gourami might be fungus. can u upload a pic?


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## pxexaxcxex

*Here is a pic*

No the tank is not cycled yet, but I am using Prime and Aqua Safe to make the transition for the fish better. Is 1 ppm Ammonia really bad? I am fairly new to the aquatics but I am learning fast! I took pictures, sorry for the fuzziness...not the best camera. I have the liquid test kit for ammonia and also for PH.


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## Guest

looks like fungus....... my neons died with a .50 ppm spike.......so i would say yes but then again it depends on various other factors.


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## pxexaxcxex

*Products?*

Do you have any particular products to recommend?...it can be so confusing when you get to the store, I hate it. 
Regarding the ammonia, some of the instructions I read said that even though I was using Prime or Aquasafe to treat for Ammonia that the Ammonia test kit would still only read the total amount of ammonia, even if it was now converted to something safer for fish. 
My tank looks good though, cloudiness cleared up, I am keeping it clean and there are currently 5 plants in there.:fish:


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## Guest

am from India dude.....the stuff we get here is WAY different from the the stuff available in the states.


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## pxexaxcxex

Thanks for looking at the pics, hopefully someone else can make recommendations. :fish:


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## ron v

I'm confused (again). I think we have about three different people asking questions on this thread. Wouldn't it be better to start new threads?


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## Guest

LOL Ron....Peace just piggy backed on to this thread....


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## ron v

I see a Fender and a comecatchme and a pxexa...LOL....Now we have a peace??? Zakk, what are doing to this old man???


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## Guest

Peace is PxExAxCxEx


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## bmlbytes

Peace, as for products in the US:

You can get a test kit with all of the test supplies in it, much cheaper than buying even 2 of the test things separately. I bought a Master Test Kit for $30 at Petco. I don't see the brand on it since I threw away the packaging but there are 7 dropper bottles and 4 glass test tubes in it. It will help you test all your water, and it comes with a little organizer, so you dont lose the bottles or test tubes.

As for the ammonia, there are several things to reduce it. Look down the water conditioner isle. There are some that specifically remove ammonia and some that remove chlorine and chloramines too. Remember though that you still want to cycle your tank, and some of these may make it cycle slower.


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## pxexaxcxex

*Sorry*

Sorry for the confusion ron, lol. I am a newbie and don't know forum etiquette. I will take suggestions.  As for the fuzzy stuff, I bought some aquarium fizzy tablets to treat the whole aquarium. Turns out the fish that shared my dwarf gourami's tank at Petco are sick, one died. They had fungus on them. Surprised that when I went 2 days ago they were all so happy. The brand I bought is Fungus Clear by Jungle. I hope it works. I will changed the water more often to control ammonia.:fish::fish:

I will start a new thread regarding this and the my many questions.


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