Desperate for help - mass burst on dwarf gourami

[heavenlydi]

I am in desperate need of help. Our favorite fish, a dwarf gourami, is in a hospital tank and in dire need of treatment or euthanasia.

He had been showing signs of some kind of spots all over for a few months. No treatments of ich worked and no other fish in the tank had any of his symptoms. He would relax under one of the rock decorations but always came to say hi and never had any issue swimming or eating. About a month or two ago we noticed a lump by his top fin and his scales appeared to have the top layer brushing off (thin clearish/white mucus-like).

Last week I put him in the hospital tank and treated with eSHA2000 and exit per directions on their site. No change. I then did a large water change and added Prazipro thinking maybe it was parasitic?

Tuesday night he appeared extremely bloated and wouldn't eat. I tried feeding him peas even by hand and he had no interest. Wednesday morning we noticed a large mass extending past the bloated stomach.

Thursday morning I added aquarium salt in hopes it would relieve constipation if that was what was going on. Hours later the large mass burst. I added Melafix and have done a 50% water change.

He is now eating but is pooping out where the mast burst. His fins are still up which he normally does when he's in a good mood, and he's swimming around, coming out to greet us each time we're near the tank.

Is this something he can recover from or would it be kindest to euthanize him? We really love this fish and don't want to have him suffer, but don't want to end his life if there's hope.

 

[Uberhoust]

First are you sure that waste from the fishes' digestive track is escaping from the wound from the burst mass, possibly it is left over material from whatever left the mass? There could be blood and pus in the wound that is being discharged rather than waste.

If it is waste leaving lesion then I think the fish would be best euthanized because now there is now a hole into the body cavity which will eventually become infected along with the hole in the intestines or stomach.

I am not an expert but the stringy material leaving the mass does not look like waste to me but, instead looks more like a parasitic nematode. If it is a parasitic worm then the fish might recover though that is quite a wound on the side of the fish so you will want to keep the water conditions very clean.

Hopefully someone with more experience with these issues will weigh in. At this point I would monitor the fish closely unless you are confident that the material leaving the wound is waste.

 

[UnknownFishies]

@Colin_T
Do some more water changes, make sure to keep a close eye on it. It does look more like a parasitic worm but I don’t know how to treat those or even if that is a worm.

 

[Boundava]

Looks like a worm to me as well, wondering if some fenben or praxipro would work on it?

 

[UnknownFishies]

Looks like a worm to me as well, wondering if some fenben or praxipro would work on it?

Know anyone that’s good with parasites? I already added Colin_T but idk anyone else.

 

[heavenlydi]

First are you sure that waste from the fishes' digestive track is escaping from the wound from the burst mass, possibly it is left over material from whatever left the mass? There could be blood and pus in the wound that is being discharged rather than waste.

If it is waste leaving lesion then I think the fish would be best euthanized because now there is now a hole into the body cavity which will eventually become infected along with the hole in the intestines or stomach.

I am not an expert but the stringy material leaving the mass does not look like waste to me but, instead looks more like a parasitic nematode. If it is a parasitic worm then the fish might recover though that is quite a wound on the side of the fish so you will want to keep the water conditions very clean.

Hopefully someone with more experience with these issues will weigh in. At this point I would monitor the fish closely unless you are confident that the material leaving the wound is waste.

Ok, thank you for your reply. I was thinking it was poop because that’s the color of the food. Now I’m not so sure as it’s been hanging off him for a few hours at this point.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Ok, thank you for your reply. I was thinking it was poop because that’s the color of the food. Now I’m not so sure as it’s been hanging off him for a few hours at this point.

Yeah, keep an eye on it and hopefully he gets better.

 

[heavenlydi]

Looks like a worm to me as well, wondering if some fenben or praxipro would work on it?

Thanks for the reply. I did do a dose of prazipro on Sunday and again on Wednesday. Maybe that's why the mass burst?

 

[Boundava]

Know anyone that’s good with parasites? I already added Colin_T but idk anyone else.

No sorry, I am relatively new here.

 

[UnknownFishies]

No sorry, I am relatively new here.

it’s ok.?

 

[Utar]

So sorry about your dwarf gourami, but that looks really bad to me. That looks like a parasite of some type and not poop. I tried looking this up on the internet but failed to find anything that comes close. I did find a different post here on this forum along the same lines but person's dwarf gourami died. Previous Post

 

[heavenlydi]

So sorry about your dwarf gourami, but that looks really bad to me. That looks like a parasite of some type and not poop. I tried looking this up on the internet but failed to find anything that comes close. I did find a different post here on this forum along the same lines but person's dwarf gourami died. Previous Post

Thank you for your reply. It does look horrible I have no idea how he appears normal in every other way. I did determine one of the things he expelled somehow was a worm but I am unsure if it was from that wound as I didn’t see that specific one exit him.
I couldn’t find much if anything on the internet either- our luck it’d be a rare or not well documented occurrence. ?

 

[Utar]

Thank you for your reply. It does look horrible I have no idea how he appears normal in every other way. I did determine one of the things he expelled somehow was a worm but I am unsure if it was from that wound as I didn’t see that specific one exit him.
I couldn’t find much if anything on the internet either- our luck it’d be a rare or not well documented occurrence. ?

Did the worm that you found look like the one shown in the picture you posted?

 

[Colin_T]

the hole is caused by a bacterial infection and the fish is going to die, euthanise it now

 

[Utar]

@Colin_T Do think Melafix will work to stop bacterial infections like the one @heavenlydi 's fish has. I know it is too late for the dwarf gourami, but to help something like this before it gets too bad in the future.