Open sore on my Paradise Gourami ☹

[roberttothjr]

I noticed yesterday the wound on my paradise gourami. Does anyone know if this is a possible disease, infection, etc? Also what would be the best medication to use? Below I listed what I've been using, and what I have handy.

Tank is a 20 gallon long. Tank mates are 6 gold barbs, 4 Cory catfish, and a newly added rainbow shark (small, approx 1.5") added 6 days ago.

I've watched the shark and he hasn't shown any signs of aggression towards any other fish that I've SEEN.

Water parameters are normal.
Nitrates always less than 10ppm
nitrates 0
pH 7.0
Water changes: Typically 20% every 2 weeks.
The only chemicals I typically use is Prime for my conditioner, and the occasional freshwater salt.

I had a few natural medicines handy. I've been using Melafix, but I also have Herbtana and Artemiss by Microb-Lift. Would one of those 2 be better to use than the Melafix?

 

[docpark]

I noticed yesterday the wound on my paradise gourami. Does anyone know if this is a possible disease, infection, etc? Also what would be the best medication to use? Below I listed what I've been using, and what I have handy.

Tank is a 20 gallon long. Tank mates are 6 gold barbs, 4 Cory catfish, and a newly added rainbow shark (small, approx 1.5") added 6 days ago.

I've watched the shark and he hasn't shown any signs of aggression towards any other fish that I've SEEN.

Water parameters are normal.
Nitrates always less than 10ppm
nitrates 0
pH 7.0
Water changes: Typically 20% every 2 weeks.
The only chemicals I typically use is Prime for my conditioner, and the occasional freshwater salt.

I had a few natural medicines handy. I've been using Melafix, but I also have Herbtana and Artemiss by Microb-Lift. Would one of those 2 be better to use than the Melafix?

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Hi roberttothjr:

From your pictures it does look more like a wound than an infection. The Melafix is very mild and probably won't affect your biofiltration, so it was a good choice to start with. I'm not familiar with the other products you mentioned, although others on the forum may be. Is there any chance you can get your gourami out of the main tank and into quarantine, in case you have to use something stronger like Maracyn-Two or one of the other broad-spectrum antibiotics? I wouldn't add any more salt to the main tank because of the corys. Is the gourami still eating and otherwise behaving normally?

 

[roberttothjr]

I attached a photo of my Microbe-Lift medicines. They can also be used as an immune booster, when alternating doses every 12 hours for 2 days. Anyways, back to the point..

Crap, I forgot an important piece... I also had a female red paradise gourami that died 5 days ago, she was dead I believe the morning after bringing home the rainbow shark. She, however, didn't have ANY wounds, sores, or frayed fins whatsoever.
He really hasn't been acting himself the last 2-3 days. He is eating like normal, but he is incredibly shy right now. He's been constantly hiding, mostly behind the filter at the very top. He's slightly dull, but colors otherwise look normal.

I was thinking the rainbow shark was the culprit, but I NEVER see the shark messing with him (I know, I can't see everything all the time & this still could be the problem?). I see the shark chase my barbs occasionally, and they chase him right back. It seems more playful than aggressive, and I've checked over all of my barbs, and no wounds or anything on those guys. All of my Cory cats still look great also.

With my prior knowledge and experience, I figured the shark would be okay in this tank. The LFS kept him with a couple other rainbow sharks (but I know they get aggressive towards their own typically at adult stage), a handful of small gouramis, and a large school of cherry barbs. The shark is still pretty small, I have two gold barbs that are bigger than he is. And the gourami that is injured is about 3-4x his size. He was always the head honcho of the tank, and he knew it and always strutted it before.

As far as the freshwater salt goes, I only added a small handful a few days ago. Other than that, I typically add it in MAYBE once a month, but typically after quite a few water changes and once alkalinity starts to drop.

I have a ten gallon tank that I could probably use for him if need be. It currently has a male betta fish and a 1" baby self-cloning crayfish, those two could be rehomed in my other tanks if I have to.

If it comes down to that, I may need some help and suggestions with antibiotics. I've always used natural remedies, mainly because I've never really had an issue. 4 fish tanks established for almost 2 years now, and I've only lost about 4-5 fish in that time. Two of which was just a bad shipment, as I went back to the LFS and the rest of the delivery had crashed by the next morning.