Help! Missing scales and gold!

M!NK · May 24, 2019

Hi! I recently purchased 4 Dwarf Gouramis (1 by accident and will be going to a friend's tank soon if all goes well), but I noticed that (only today in the evening have they first appeared) spots where the scales of the gourami is missing! Only my powder blue has this strange affliction. And no, it is not from fighting. I have observed them all very closely and while they flare at each other on the occasion they stray from their side of the tank, they do not attack each other especially on the face or around the gills where most of these spots on the powder blue are.

Secondly, the area before their spinal fins is turning a slight gold-like hue on my red-and-blues. Is this something to be concerned about?

Also, I am currently treating my tank for Ich. Could the ich treatment be the cause of it? I'm 100% certain that I haven't overdosed.

Colin_T · May 24, 2019

Do not give one of the fish to your friend. Leave them in the tank they are in until they die of old age. If the fish have the Iridovirus, it will spread to your friend's tank if you move the fish into their tank.

It looks more like excess mucous over the body than missing scales. However, dwarf gouramis are riddled in diseases and regularly carry the Iridovirus and Tuberculosis (TB). This isn't TB but could be the first signs of the Iridovirus.

Make sure your water quality is good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20ppm nitrate.).

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day or every couple of days for 2 weeks.

--------------------------
The safest treatment for whitespot is heat. Raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. No chemicals needed

M!NK · May 24, 2019

Colin_T said:
Do not give one of the fish to your friend. Leave them in the tank they are in until they die of old age. If the fish have the Iridovirus, it will spread to your friend's tank if you move the fish into their tank.

It looks more like excess mucous over the body than missing scales. However, dwarf gouramis are riddled in diseases and regularly carry the Iridovirus and Tuberculosis (TB). This isn't TB but could be the first signs of the Iridovirus.

Make sure your water quality is good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20ppm nitrate.).

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day or every couple of days for 2 weeks.

--------------------------
The safest treatment for whitespot is heat. Raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. No chemicals needed

Hi, thanks for your reply!!

I actually have already done a recent 75% water change (just 1 day ago actually) as well as a water test. I know that the nitrite levels are slightly above 0, but not so much that it would cause a problem (I'm also getting some more plants to help alleviate the problem) and that the rest are at perfect levels, but I will test again to make sure.

I'm just a little worried about stressing the fish too much with the recent water change and the fact that I've already administered Ich-X into the aquarium and to do another huge water change might be more negative than positive... your thoughts?

And also, is the Iridovirus the scalelessness on the powder blue or the golding on the red and blues? Sorry about all these questions, I'm really new to the aquarium world so I honestly don't know as much as I'd like to.

Colin_T · May 24, 2019

I'm not sure on the directions for the medication, but if you do a big water change before retreating the tank, that will cover the big water changes.

Fish are fine with big daily water changes, as long as the new water has a similar chemistry (pH, GH & KH) and temperature to the main tank, and as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

--------------------
The patchy scales could be the start of the Iridovirus or it could be something else.
I wouldn't worry too much about the yellow colour on the other fish.

--------------------
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

M!NK · May 24, 2019

Colin_T said:
I'm not sure on the directions for the medication, but if you do a big water change before retreating the tank, that will cover the big water changes.

Fish are fine with big daily water changes, as long as the new water has a similar chemistry (pH, GH & KH) and temperature to the main tank, and as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

--------------------
The patchy scales could be the start of the Iridovirus or it could be something else.
I wouldn't worry too much about the yellow colour on the other fish.

--------------------
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Thank you for the help! I just finished removing all of the activated carbon and dug up a bubble stone that I hadn't placed in due to its tendency to reject the air pump, but I'm determined to get it working now and will lower the water level so that the filter can drop more cleaned water from a higher point to produce more air. I'll send another reply when the conditions change!

Regards and thanks,

M!NK

M!NK · Jun 1, 2019

Colin_T said:
I'm not sure on the directions for the medication, but if you do a big water change before retreating the tank, that will cover the big water changes.

Fish are fine with big daily water changes, as long as the new water has a similar chemistry (pH, GH & KH) and temperature to the main tank, and as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

--------------------
The patchy scales could be the start of the Iridovirus or it could be something else.
I wouldn't worry too much about the yellow colour on the other fish.

--------------------
To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Update!

The fish are super happy with the bubbler that finally worked after a few hours of fiddling. The Gourami are all perfectly healthy again and the scales on the powder blue are back

(I'm trying to post a photo, but it's too large for the server D: )

Colin_T · Jun 1, 2019

If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

M!NK · Jun 1, 2019

Thanks! I got these two to upload. The rest of the time he was doing his 'FEED ME AGAIN' dance, so this is the only decent pic I got. Thanks for all of the help!! I really appreciate it.

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