Powder Blue Gourami Scale Loss

[Knockout10]

Hey there!

I have had my powder Blue Gourami (name is lightning) for few months. When I got him, he was beautiful and doing great. I've noticed over the last few days that he's losing his scales. I have noticed that one of the fish goes after him occasionally but he's a Chinese algae eater. My blue ram and him will chase each other occasionally, but I figured it was a territory thing, so I would switch the tank up a bit and that helped. Now since his scales are missing, I've put a divider in the tank for good measure. He's been like this since last Friday, and he was eating today (Monday) is the first day he has not eaten. I feed them all tropical flakes and they get brine shrimp once a week. I only feed them 3 days a week. Found that's the best for the fish.

Here's the params:
5 gallons
Ph: 7.6
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
There's 4 fish:
Gourami
Killifish (not sure what kind but can post pic of needed)
XL Blue Ram
Chinese Algae Eater

Everyone else is fine with no sign of scale loss. I am not really sure what to do

Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

 

[connorlindeman]

Welcome to the forum!

that tank is pretty small for that amount of fish. Did you cycle the tank? Just wondering because there shouldn't be ammonia present in a cycled tank...

 

[Knockout10]

Welcome to the forum!

that tank is pretty small for that amount of fish. Did you cycle the tank? Just wondering because there shouldn't be ammonia present in a cycled tank...

Yeah I cycled it for over a week and I do regular water changes. I haven't changed/cleaned the filter which is why the ammonia is just a lil bit high.

 

[connorlindeman]

Yeah I cycled it for over a week and I do regular water changes. I haven't changed/cleaned the filter which is why the ammonia is just a lil bit high.

Hmmm. Lets wait for a more experienced member to reply...

 

[Byron]

Chinese Algae Eaters are known to eat the scales off fish, so I would rehome this fish (the CAE) immediately. He gets large (5-6 inches) and eats little if any algae as he matures. They can be quite vicious too.

 

[Knockout10]

Chinese Algae Eaters are known to eat the scales off fish, so I would rehome this fish (the CAE) immediately. He gets large (5-6 inches) and eats little if any algae as he matures. They can be quite vicious too.

After I figure out where to take him, what can I do to help the gourami? I feel bad for the lil dude the place I got him from didn't say anything about that which really sucks.

 

[Knockout10]

I have a smaller tank with literally one shrimp in it, just a cherry red. Is it okay if the CAE goes in there with him while I figure out what to do with him?

 

[Colin_T]

The scales have all been removed and this could be from the algae eater or from a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections usually show up as red and there doesn't appear to be any red on the fish.

If the fish has stopped eating, then it could be bacterial but not showing red.

Do you have any pictures of the fish when you first got him?

-------------------
Maybe treat the fish with a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus, bacteria and external protozoan infections. However, it might not help if the fish has stopped eating. When an animal or fish stops eating, it is a bad sign.

 

[Knockout10]

The scales have all been removed and this could be from the algae eater or from a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections usually show up as red and there doesn't appear to be any red on the fish.

If the fish has stopped eating, then it could be bacterial but not showing red.

Do you have any pictures of the fish when you first got him?

-------------------
Maybe treat the fish with a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus, bacteria and external protozoan infections. However, it might not help if the fish has stopped eating. When an animal or fish stops eating, it is a bad sign.

Okay I'm attaching a pic of when I first got him. He got bluer as time went on too.
Today was the first day of not eating, I am going to try brine shrimp since I know he loves it.

What would you suggest I get medication wise?

I can go to Petco/PetSmart tomorrow after work, wherever really. Planning on moving the Chinese algea eater to a tank on his until I figure out what to do with him.

He's never rubbed up against anything either in the tank. I just want to him.

 

[DoubleDutch]

The scales have all been removed and this could be from the algae eater or from a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections usually show up as red and there doesn't appear to be any red on the fish.

If the fish has stopped eating, then it could be bacterial but not showing red.

Do you have any pictures of the fish when you first got him?

-------------------
Maybe treat the fish with a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus, bacteria and external protozoan infections. However, it might not help if the fish has stopped eating. When an animal or fish stops eating, it is a bad sign.

are you sure the scales are gone or only discolored?

In my opinion the fish is dieing.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

CAE are NOT algae eaters once they are approaching maturity

They thrive on the slimecoat of slab sided, slow fish such as a sleeping Gourami. CAE are nocturnal attackers, they latch onto slow moving and sleeping slab sided fish, suck the slimecoat, severely damage the victim and leave bacteria behind that eventually kills the victim.

CAE are not aquarium fish, they should never be sold as aquarium fish.....they need banning. They are nasty fish. I seriously doubt that the shop that sold the CAE did not know what they were selling. They sold you a killer.

The Gourami is likely going to die, the damage is severe, the likely infection from the CAE attack is likely rampant within the immune system of the Gourami. If the fish has lost interest in eating usually means there is no way of saving it. You should go get the clove oil and euthanise it

As for the CAE...take it back to the shop, if they refuse to take it back, euthanise it. They are dangerous to have in an aquarium once matured, they outgrow most home aquarium settings and will attack any fish within the aquarium overnight. Get rid of it asap.

 

[itiwhetu]

Please put some floating plants in the tank for this guy to hide under. Please get rid of the Algae eater.

 

[Colin_T]

You could try a broad spectrum medication (not antibiotics) that treats fungus and bacteria, or salt. However, salt might be painful considering the scales are gone from a large section of the body.

See if the shop will take the Chinese algae eater back.

 

[Knockout10]

Thanks for the help everyone, unfortunately the gourami did not make it through the night. I will be taking the CAE back to where I got him.

Should I dose the tank with any medications for the other 2 fish? Just want to make sure they are okay too.

 

[Colin_T]

Should I dose the tank with any medications for the other 2 fish? Just want to make sure they are okay too.

There's no need to dose the tank for the other fish unless they are sick. The reason i mentioned medication was to treat any infections that might appear on the gourami. However, since it died, there's no need to treat.

What you can do is a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. That will clean the conditions up and give the remaining fish a nice clean tank to live in. I recommend doing this any time you lose a fish.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.