Blue Gourami Struggling - Can Anyone Help Please?

[fergusek]

Hi,

Can anyone help please. I have two blue gouramis that we've had over 2 years now.

All our fish mix really well. We have a 180 litre tank.

About 3 weeks back I noticed one of the gouramis was hanging about at the top of the tank kinda resting against the filter inlet pipe.

On the gouramis underside near the front I noticed a red/brown mark which I thought looked like he'd rubbed against something and rubbed off his skin but I don't know as melafix hasn't helped.

All these weeks later the mark is still there and I've not really seen the gourami eating properly. Certainly not like it did.

It does swim away from the top when I open the lid, and every now and then but mostly balances against the pipe. It looks a little bloated in places compared to teh other gourami and swims a little bit sluggish and maybe a bit unbalanced.

I noticed on saturday the gourami had cotton wooly poo that hung on him for ages even when he did swim around when I opened the hood.

I've used melafix, and since yesterday I've started using Interpet 8 Anti Fungus and Finrot because I noticed th cotton wool like poo.

All the other fish are fine, eating, swimming and no symptoms.

Can anyone help please with a diagnosis and treatment? MANY THANKS

 

[mattlee]

wilder will be more accurate at this but if it has white stringy poo and is not eating then it could be internal issues... if it is then i find interpet 9 anti internal bacteria very good but dont treat until 1005 sure

 

[fergusek]

Thanks Mattiee, I really appreciate your reply.

If anyone else can help that'd be great too. Cheers

 

[laxation]

http/www.fishlore.com/fishforum/general-discussion-archive/4729-melafix-alert-labyrinth-fish-all-please-read.html

Apparently Melafix shouldn't be used for gouramis - I dont have any first hand experience with it, but I did remember reading this about it a few weeks ago.
Maybe that has something to do with his problem?

 

[fergusek]

Thanks very much for replying. I#ve used Melafix for years with no ill effect before so I'm not sure?

 

[mattlee]

apparently it leaves a oily layer on the surface of the water and some air breathing fish may suffer a bit or not get enough oxygen. things like gouramis, corys, otos, bettas etc etc

 

[fergusek]

Thanks for all the replies.

Did a water change and the goramis swimming a bit now but still has the reddy/brown mark and still going back tyo resting against the inlet pipe.

Can anyone please suggest what I can do or use?

MANY THANKS

 

[WILDER]

He needs treating with an internal bacteria med.


Signs of bacteria infections.
Resting to oneside.
Resting on the substrate for long periods and tilting to oneside.
Acting listless and lethagic.
Looking pale or darker in colour.
When the fish trys to get off the bottom of the tank the fish falls back down again.

Is the fish still eating if so try some shelled peas.
Also soak the fish fish in garlic juice to stimulate appetite, and boost the fish immune system.

Is the anus enlarged or red and inflamed.
Is there any whiteness to the brown, red mark.

Not keen on the med anti fungus and finrot med by interpet. It's not very good, and has been know to cause fish deaths and side affects.

 

[fergusek]

Thanks very much Wilder, I'll get the internal bacteria med. Appreciate your help. Cheers

Resting to oneside. YES
Resting on the substrate for long periods and tilting to oneside. YES
Acting listless and lethagic. YES
Looking pale or darker in colour. NO
When the fish trys to get off the bottom of the tank the fish falls back down again. NO

Is the fish still eating if so try some shelled peas. NO BUT WILL TRY
Also soak the fish fish in garlic juice to stimulate appetite, and boost the fish immune system.

Is the anus enlarged or red and inflamed. YES, THINK SO
Is there any whiteness to the brown, red mark. NO

Not keen on the med anti fungus and finrot med by interpet. It's not very good, and has been know to cause fish deaths and side affects.

 

[WILDER]

Check when the fish goes to the toilet. For signs of long stringy white poo, clear mucas poo, or worms prutruding from the anus.

Does the fish look bloated or skinny. If skinny is that due to the fish not eating, or did the fish go thin before it stopped eating.

 

[fergusek]

Thanks again Wilder

Things are now worse - help please!

To answer your question first tho - the gourami is bloated and losing his balance when he stays still so has to rest at the top of the tank against the inlet pipe.

He actually attempted to eat this morn but as the food starts floating down he's not getting anything. No poo at all. Tried the peas but he showed no interest.

Using Waterlife Myxazin internal bacteria.

Only mark on him is the red brown bit on his front underside that looks like a chunk missing from him ( only way I can descibe it)

The new problem is one of my Black Widow tetras is very bloated and his gills are scarlet red.

Did a water reading and my ammonia is emerald green! Instead of 0 its between 4 & 8!!!!!!!!!!!!
PH, Nitrate and Nitrite are fine.

Did a 25% water change and will do same first thing in the morning.

Is there anything you can advise? MANY THANKS

 

[fergusek]

Hi,

To my suprise my black widow tetra is still living this morning - thank goodness! Blue gourami still the same.

The red gills on one side look slightly less inflamed.

Tested wateragain this morn and ammonias down to btwn 0 - 0.25?!!! (liquid test) I'm thinking the Myxazin gave me a false read last night?

Was gonna do a 50% water change this morn - would that help? And do I stop the meds or keep going? Myxazin or something else?

Can anyone please suggest anything else as well? THANKS

 

[mattlee]

if you have a reading of 0.25 for ammonia then you need to do a large water change of about 75%. this will get it back down to 0. also if you have meds in the tank they will need to be replaced accordingly with the water changes and be sure to finish the meds course.

 

[fergusek]

Thanks for the reply. I've bought Stress Coat + water conditioner to use with the water change as I think thats the best one/ Had changed to Nutrafin but thiking the change has maybe been part of the problem so going back to what I used pre problem!

To make sure I've understood correctly - I still continue using Myxazin?

Do you think its the ammonia and also an internal bacteria problem?

Thanks again to anyone who's helping me. Much appreciated

 

[mattlee]

Thanks for the reply. I've bought Stress Coat + water conditioner to use with the water change as I think thats the best one/ Had changed to Nutrafin but thiking the change has maybe been part of the problem so going back to what I used pre problem!

To make sure I've understood correctly - I still continue using Myxazin?

Do you think its the ammonia and also an internal bacteria problem?

Thanks again to anyone who's helping me. Much appreciated

it could well be ammonia poisoning

when meds have been added to a tank and a water change has been carried out the % of meds removed with the water will need replacing. so if you have say a 100L tank and have dosed 10ml of meds and do a 50% water change the meds will have halved that remain in the tank, 5ml of meds will remain and 5ml will have been removed with the water change. so half the meds need replacing to get it back to the required level. does that make sense?
also always complete the full course reccomended by the manufacturer even if the fish seem better. after treatment add some carbon to the filter to remove the meds from the water and do a large 50% water change. if another med is needed then wait 24-48 hours for the 1st med to be cleared from the tank in the carbon, then remove the carbon before adding another dose or a different med.


keep testing the water and if ammonia ever goes above 0 then a water change is needed.