splotchy color loss on pearl gourami

[Sgooosh]

hello, i recently noticed that the smallest of my 4 pearls has some discoloration on her head area, and i separated her into the quarantine tank. this was after a 30 water change and a filter clean. she had some minor tail rot as well but was easily treated with a water change

does anyone know how to treat this? no strange behavior

 

[Colin_T]

How long has it been like that for?
Is the fish eating normally?
Was the fish being bullied in the main tank?

It could be the start of a bacterial infection or an external protozoan infection. However, if the fish has had the symptoms for more than a week then it's unlikely to be bacterial. And if the fish isn't rubbing on anything then it's unlikely to be an external protozoan infection.

It could be stress colouration or minor injury if it was being picked on in the main tank.

I would monitor and see how it goes in quarantine. If it gets worse, post more pictures.

 

[Sgooosh]

How long has it been like that for?
Is the fish eating normally?
Was the fish being bullied in the main tank?

It could be the start of a bacterial infection or an external protozoan infection. However, if the fish has had the symptoms for more than a week then it's unlikely to be bacterial. And if the fish isn't rubbing on anything then it's unlikely to be an external protozoan infection.

It could be stress colouration or minor injury if it was being picked on in the main tank.

I would monitor and see how it goes in quarantine. If it gets worse, post more pictures.

thanks. It's the smallest fish, so definitely could be getting picked on (smallest in the group)
Because of an accident, the pearl gouramis sex ratio is off.

I wasn't really paying attention to the maintank this week, but I would say less than a week. will salt work for these infections? or just clean water

 

[Colin_T]

Salt should fix any external protozoans but I'm not sure it's protozoan or bacterial at this stage. I would watch and wait a few days and see if it changes. Then add salt if it gets worse. But post new pictures before adding salt.