Help! Gray Spots on Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami and Boesmani Rainbowfish.

[smoosh]

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to share something concerning my aquarium today. It appears that my neon blue dwarf gourami has developed a gray spot on its head, and one of my boesmani rainbowfish has a similar gray spot on its side. These spots were not there previously and seem to have appeared recently. I'm a bit concerned about their health and would appreciate any insights or advice you may have.

Here are the tank parameters:

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 0
• Nitrate: 5-10
• Temperature: 25°C
• pH: 7

Let me know if you need any more information.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

The grey patch on the dwarf gourami seems to be gorami disease and the rainbowfish looks injured. Sadly, there is no cure to gorami disease. As for the rainbowfish, just watch your water parameters and maybye put some medical salt into the aquarium.

 

[GaryE]

The fancy gouramis from farms often carry Iridovirus, a fatal disease that destroys their kidneys and liver. There is no cure and no treatment. Several countries have banned the importation of dwarf gouramis that aren't accompanied by veterinary papers, in an attempt to control the virus. I haven't seen anything that suggests the virus affects other families of fish, like rainbows.
I used to 'specialize' in gouramis, but that was before the GMO forms and the arrival of the deadly virus. Iridovirus is a key reason why I intend to stay far away from gourami keeping in the future. It's hard to see a thing like that and be absolutely unable to do anything to help the victim.

I honestly can't see a problem on the boesemani in that photo.

 

[Colin_T]

The gourami has a bacterial infection along its back, which has destroyed the tissue on the dorsal fin. You will need a broad spectrum medication that kills bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic) to treat it.

The rainbowfish has a few scales missing. This could be a minor injury and a couple of scales pulled out. Or it could be the start of an ulcer. Monitor the fish and if it develops a small red bump with a white bit in the middle (looks like a pimple), then it's an ulcer, which is often associated with Fish TB. But see how it goes and post more pictures if it changes.

Rainbowfish need lots of plant matter in their diet and at least half their diet should be plant based.

-------------------

If you have a quarantine tank, treat the gourami in that. Otherwise treat the main tank.

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

There are 3.785 litres in a US Gallon
There are 4.5 litres in a UK gallon

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

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

-------------------

If you have to treat the main tank, do the following before adding medication.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
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. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

 

[smoosh]

The gourami has a bacterial infection along its back, which has destroyed the tissue on the dorsal fin. You will need a broad spectrum medication that kills bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic) to treat it.

The rainbowfish has a few scales missing. This could be a minor injury and a couple of scales pulled out. Or it could be the start of an ulcer. Monitor the fish and if it develops a small red bump with a white bit in the middle (looks like a pimple), then it's an ulcer, which is often associated with Fish TB. But see how it goes and post more pictures if it changes.

Rainbowfish need lots of plant matter in their diet and at least half their diet should be plant based.

-------------------

If you have a quarantine tank, treat the gourami in that. Otherwise treat the main tank.

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

There are 3.785 litres in a US Gallon
There are 4.5 litres in a UK gallon

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

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

-------------------

If you have to treat the main tank, do the following before adding medication.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
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. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

I have read that these are symptoms of gourami disease, which is a fatal illness with no cure.
I don't want to treat my fish if there is no hope of recovery, but I also don't want it to suffer. Do you believe it is possible that my gourami has this disease?

 

[Colin_T]

it has a bacterial infection.

the fish might be carrying the iridovirus but the damage along the back and dorsal fin is not from the iridovirus.

 

[smoosh]

it has a bacterial infection.

the fish might be carrying the iridovirus but the damage along the back and dorsal fin is not from the iridovirus.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my dwarf gourami's bacterial infection and the possibility of iridovirus. Since I've moved the fish to a 5-gallon quarantine tank, I'm considering treatment options. Out of the three medications I have available, do you think I should use sulfaplex, api aquarium salt, or microbe lift herbatana to treat the infection? I'll keep an eye on the fish's progress, but I'd really appreciate your advice on which treatment to try. Thanks for your help!

 

[Colin_T]

sulfaplex

 

[smoosh]

sulfaple

I've been treating my dwarf gourami with sulfaplex for a week now, but things seem to be getting worse. I'm worried it might be dwarf gourami disease, but I'm not entirely sure. Here are some pictures below.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I've been treating my dwarf gourami with sulfaplex for a week now, but things seem to be getting worse. I'm worried it might be dwarf gourami disease, but I'm not entirely sure. Here are some pictures below.

In my opinion it is dwarf gourami disease, there is a chance you may have to euthanize the fish, but before you do that, lets get a few more opinions from other people first.

 

[Colin_T]

add some salt or malachite green to the tank.

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[smoosh]

add some salt or malachite green to the tank.

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

Hi, it's been two weeks since I last replied on this thread, and unfortunately, my dwarf gourami's condition seems to have worsened. I followed your advice and used both sulfaplex and salt to treat the bacterial infection and the possibility of iridovirus. However, his dorsal fin appears to be more damaged, and I'm concerned about his well-being. I've attached some pictures below for reference. I'm not sure what to do next. Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I am sorry, but i don't think he is going to make it. I don't think there is much you can do

 

[Colin_T]

If the medication and salt hasn't helped, then it's probably a drug resistant bacterial infection and there's no cure, so euthanise it.

Don't buy anymore Bettas or gouramis because if this one has the iridovirus, (I'm not saying it does but they do regularly carry it), then the virus is in the main tank and can infect any labyrinth fish (Betta or gourami) and end up killing the too.

If you want more labyrinth fishes, you will need to set up a new tank for them.