Dwarf Neon Gourami Issue - Sylvia Help

[Jozlyn]

I have previously had a dwarf neon gourami that died within a matter of weeks of brining him home. He had what appeared to be a blister on the side of his face next to the left side of his mouth which grew and grew until it interfered with his eating (at least I think it did) and he eventually died.

That was in my old tank.

I've since bought another (just after Christmas) and I've noticed today that he has a very small blister beside his mouth, it looks identical to the blister on the other Gourami's face and is in the same place. He's also started "pacing" up and down the front of the tank almost constantly again, which I'm guessing means he's stressed in some way, he did this for a couple of weeks after I bought him and then settled down and only "paced" now and again.

Does anyone know what this is and if I can treat it, I really don't want him to die

Edit - I've just read Southern Cross's post on his Gourami problem sounds much the same as mine

Why do the ulcer's kill them, what does it do to their little bodies?

Everyone else in the tank is fine, I'm so depressed that I'm going to loose another Gourami, maybe it's some sort of problem common to Australia

 

[Jozlyn]

Just had a thought, can I put him in with my Betta? Or will they fight because they're both Labarinth (or however it's spelt) fish?

*sighs* doing a water change to see if that helps at all, water param's are ok but the amonia is slightly elevated.

 

[stang1]

Hi Jozlyn,
Sorry to hear you are having problems. The Betta and Gourami will fight if kept in the same tank together.
I don't know what it is with Dwarf Gouramis, I lost 2 with exactly the same syptoms. From what I can gather it is a common problem with the Dwarf species. I did try treating mine with Melafix and Pimafix but sadly it didn't work, maybe I didn't treat them in time.
I really don't know what to suggest as far as treatment goes but you could post in the Emergencies section and see if you have more joy there.

 

[Jozlyn]

Hi Jozlyn,
Sorry to hear you are having problems. The Betta and Gourami will fight if kept in the same tank together.
I don't know what it is with Dwarf Gouramis, I lost 2 with exactly the same syptoms. From what I can gather it is a common problem with the Dwarf species. I did try treating mine with Melafix and Pimafix but sadly it didn't work, maybe I didn't treat them in time.
I really don't know what to suggest as far as treatment goes but you could post in the Emergencies section and see if you have more joy there.

I thought as much, it's so depressing, I don't think I'll get anymore, I get too attached to them

Nice picture change, you've been busy lately. two changes in two days, well for me anyways!

 

[stang1]

Takes me ages trying to find a picture I like!
I know how you feel with your Gouramis, I was upset when we lost ours. We decided not to replace them as we were worried the same thing would happen.

 

[SouthernCross]

Hey Jozlyn

I just sent you a response to your PM actually, but I'm only just reading your post now. (Psst....I'm a she! )
Your problem DOES sound exactly the same as mine. Did you see the pictures of my gourami's ulcer I linked to in the other thread? Look the same?

I'm hoping you have better luck than I did. Since you've only noticed it today, if you medicate soon you might have a chance at saving him. Honestly I think I let it go on for too long before I got meds in the tank (By the time I figured out what to treat with - I had to order them online - wait for delivery etc) and I just think it was too late and he was beyond all help. He'd been great, swimming actively and eating well up until two days before he died - then he refused food, and hovered in one spot just under the surface and did nothing except struggle to the top to breathe - then it was over . I'd only got the meds in the night before he died.

So, best of luck with it all.

Oh, P.S. since you offered some good Aussie-related supplies advice before - I'll return my own. I've been ordering a ton of my stuff from www.theaquariumshop.com.au - their prices #### all over the prices at my LFS (even with the delivery charge - especially if you make a largish order) and even though it says it take 4-7 days for states outside QLD - I have always received my order within two working days and I'm in NSW! Well packaged too. Might be no use to you but thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

[Jozlyn]

Yep the blister/ulcer looks identical to your pic's. The symptom's identical to my other Gourami that died from the same thing. When I asked about the problem last time I got no responses!

Sorry about the he thing, I'm a bit stressed at the moment, normally I check people's bio's before I do the he/she thing. I'm in the process of doing a major water change, the handle on the bucket decided to break just as I walked through the archway into to the lounge room, water everywhere, damn good thing we haven't got the carpet down in there yet (we're renovating a 100 year old house), so there was no damage done but I did have to mop up about 15lt's of water! Then as I'm walking back to the tank with a refil bucket, I decide, for some strange reason, to go in the opposite direction around the island bench to the way I normaly go, bang, hit a stool about another 5 lt's on the kitchen floor now!

What a night!

Thanks for the web site, I'll check that out, I live in the middle of nowhere and I'm fairly confident that neither of the two shops (one's a nursery and the other a stockfeed outlet!) in Horsham will stock what I need, but I'll ring them before I order stuff online as I have to go there on Saturday anyway to pick up the Java moss I ordered and to do some shopping.

 

[SouthernCross]

I didn't realise we had censorship on this board! (re my above post, ) Don't worry bout the he/she thing - its an easily made internet mistake!

Well, if you've thoroughly checked out my other thread I don't think you'll get more comprehensive advice than what sylvia gave me there - honestly she's fantastic. Really helped me, even if we didn't have a happy ending.

Sorry to hear about your water accident! I haven't had any major spills yet (touch wood!) but the whole area between the tank and the tap/sink is tiled so hopefully it wouldn't turn out to be too traumatic...

But anyway, best of luck again.

 

[sylvia]

Aww SouthernCross thankyou so much!

I would say pretty much the same as I said on that thread in this case as well.

But I did notice something now I didn't really think about before - you are both in Australia! I think I mentioned a study done recently concerning the dwarf gourami virus in SouthernCross' thread - it was actually done in Australia with Australian LFS fish. It seems the virus is particularly common over there unfortunately.

BTW, even if you decide to give up on dwarf gouramies (And I wouldn't blame you! I've stopped keeping them for the most part as well.), it would still be worth trying some other small gourami species - like honey or thick-lipped or, in a slightly more roomy setup, pearls, bandeds or moonlights. These are much hardier but occupy the same water level and are generaly quite similar to dwarfs behaviour-wise. You could also try less 'typical' species like croaking or sparkling gouramies. None of these are particularly prone to disease.

 

[Biulu]

Could anybody tell me what the chemical substance is in the meds that you are using to treat this? I am having the same problem at the moment (the dwarf suffering from it is definitively the lowest in the hierarchy....), and the medicine they recommended me contains acriflavina every 48 hours 1 drop for each litre for a maximum of 6 days.

Thanks!

 

[Rhiannon]

Thats very sad about your gourami.

I never knew pacing up and down the front of the tank was a sign of stress. My gourami did this for about 1.5 weeks constantly, even in the night with the lights off, before he passed away.

 

[cuticom]

Southerncross mentioned theses threads to me, so thought I'd come for a looksie.

I've had almost the same thing happen with 3 consecutive dwarfs gouramis, then it crossed species and killed my bristlenose catty. Except it developed on the gill plates rather then the mouth. I've given up with those guys, I'd say its something to do with Australian stock, I never really found much info on it on the net either.

I tried treating with a variety of medicines but they usually died about 3-7 days after I first saw the blister/ulcer

 

[Jozlyn]

Given that it's a viral infection, anti-biotics wont do anything for it. The same way the Dr sends you away with no script and says "you've got a virus".

Went back to the LFS on the weekend and told the owner, when I looked in the tanks I immediately spotted another Gourami with a tumour and pointed it out to him. He said he was going to speak to his supplier.

Mine's still going ok, I'm doing bi-weekly water changes to keep the water as perfect as possible, the tumour doesn't seem to be growing, but it may be on the inside where I can't see it. It's really depressing as the odds are he's going to die.

Rhiannon, I don't know if pacing is a sign of stress for sure or not, I just happened to notice that he did it when I first got him and has started to do it again, so I'm guessing that is.

 

[fishlette]

I have previously had a dwarf neon gourami that died within a matter of weeks of brining him home. He had what appeared to be a blister on the side of his face next to the left side of his mouth which grew and grew until it interfered with his eating (at least I think it did) and he eventually died.

That was in my old tank.

I've since bought another (just after Christmas) and I've noticed today that he has a very small blister beside his mouth, it looks identical to the blister on the other Gourami's face and is in the same place. He's also started "pacing" up and down the front of the tank almost constantly again, which I'm guessing means he's stressed in some way, he did this for a couple of weeks after I bought him and then settled down and only "paced" now and again.

Does anyone know what this is and if I can treat it, I really don't want him to die

Edit - I've just read Southern Cross's post on his Gourami problem sounds much the same as mine

Why do the ulcer's kill them, what does it do to their little bodies?

Everyone else in the tank is fine, I'm so depressed that I'm going to loose another Gourami, maybe it's some sort of problem common to Australia

tis sad your little fella isnt well. i havent heard of this prob before (im in brisbane). my dwarfs have always been fine and healthy and lived decent lives. maybe we have it better up here in queensland with fish health but its scary to think there is something out there that dwarfs are susceptible to

 

[Maximumbob]

recently dwarf gouramis have been suffering from an iridovirus - generally speaking 'terminal illness'. This has broken out 'allegedly' due to farming practices. I have lost a number of gourmais - all dwarf, to the blasted thing.

This article explains

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...m.php?news=1139

I'm now left with 2 female and 1 male cobalt blue dwarf gouramis who appear well. Am now considering breeding them to avoid buying new ones!

That aside.. if you have fish that die, look for abnormal things/chemistry in your tank water etc!