Food Coming Out Through His Gills..hes Getting Worse :(

[electric yellow]

I posted a topic a few weeks ago about my blue gourami being covered in white stuff. I treated him for a week and a bit with Pimafix and Myxazin and he started to look heaps better. The white stuff started disappearing.

Today i moved him into a solo tank with plants. The gills on his left side are totally exposed. (I think) and whenever he eats the food comes straight out of it.

Why is this happening??

He doesnt appear to be losing weight but he was getting better and now this. He is two years old and the first fish i got.

His hospital tank stats:

ph: 7 neutral
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nirate: 0ppm
decor: silk plants, air stone, rock, gravel and a tunnel, internal filter.
26-28deg

I dont know whether he is in pain or should i treat him or is he in his last days and should i let him live it out in peace?

I fed him with the rest this morning and the food came straight out of his gill and some even got stuck on the edge of the inside of the gill.

 

[electric yellow]

I went to my aquarium and got some gill fluke treatment. Im sonfused though as to whether to dose everyday or not.

I got:

Aquamaster
Fluke and Tape worm Pellets

Dose: Use at the rate of 1 tablet to 20ltrs of water. After 48hrs from initital treatment do a 25% water change and clean filter medium. Repeat dosage after 7 days to avoid reinfestation.

Should I be treating the 3ft tank he was in aswell? I moved him to the hospital tank today. Is there anything else I can use to repair his fins or scales? I was going to use Pimafix which i was using for his fungus but am not sure if it will react with the gill fluke treatment...

*confused*

He looks in such a bad way. His tail fin in down to a 1/4 of what it should be. he is swimming fine and dandy but looks terrible

 

[WILDER]

How do his gills look do they look pale with excess slime or red and inflamed.
Any excess slime on his body.
Anys signs of flicking and rubbing.
Is the fish laboured breathing.
Can you see any sores inside his mouth.
Try and crush his food up to see if that makes a difference.

 

[electric yellow]

How do his gills look do they look pale with excess slime or red and inflamed.
Any excess slime on his body.
Anys signs of flicking and rubbing.
Is the fish laboured breathing.
Can you see any sores inside his mouth.
Try and crush his food up to see if that makes a difference.

Hey Wilder,
No excess slime on his body. What colour would the slime be?
No signs of flicking or rubbing at all
No laboured breathing
No sores inside his mouth i can see.

I gave him pellets this morning but he let them go so i tried him on some crushed up food i use for my fry and he seemed to eat it. Well not as much came out his side.

His face looks a lil less puffy on the side today. But his gills are still inflammed and red. It looks like a slit but a puffy slit. I treated him yday with Pimafix to see if that helps. He swims around fine still so i dont think he is in too much pain. His fins look like they are still disintergrating.

Do you think I should dose the tank again with the gill fluke med? I dosed for a 20ltr tank as the tank is a lil aqua start 320 which i believe is a 38ltr tank or such. I will try for a photo tomorrow. His sore is sort of pink to. Its like a bristole nose bite mark. Round and indented. The sore has been on his back just before his tail fin for nearlly three weeks now.

 

[WILDER]

Red inflamed gills can be gills flukes if water quality is excellent, plus fish spit food out when they have gill flukes.
Have you seen him flicking and rubbing, or labour breathing.
Excess slime will look like the fish is producing more slimecoat, it will look a greyish white colour.

 

[electric yellow]

Red inflamed gills can be gills flukes if water quality is excellent, plus fish spit food out when they have gill flukes.
Have you seen him flicking and rubbing, or labour breathing.
Excess slime will look like the fish is producing more slimecoat, it will look a greyish white colour.

He hasnt been flicking or rubbing at all

He seems to have normal breathing...maybe slightly shallow breathing. He didnt eat much this morning.

The fish in the 3ft tank he was in are not showing any signs or symptoms of being sick of having flukes. All though i lost a platy last week. She went 'skinny' and had laboured breathing and just went down hill.

Here is some pics...he is in the hospital tank..

You can see the hole/inflammed gill...

This one makes me sad when i see the state he is in...

The water quality is generally pretty good. i try to do weekly 25% water changes with a gravel vac. The 3ft tank had a ph swing a few weeks ago which took a while to get back under control. If it is flukes are the other fish he was with at risk? Most of them are bottom feeders like clown loaches, bristol noses a cory and fox. Plus a few danios and two tetras. I had a problem with internal bacteria a few months ago wiping out half the tank but the biggest and elest fish survived that.

 

[black angel]

looks more bacterial than parasitical. flukes wont cause holes but the bacteria will rot the gill plate.

look for gillrot

 

[WILDER]

How old was the platy that went skinny.
Did she lose weight throw not eating.
Holes in gill plates can be fish tb.

 

[electric yellow]

How old was the platy that went skinny.
Did she lose weight throw not eating.
Holes in gill plates can be fish tb.

The platy wasnt to old or young. I had her for about 5mths. She would eat...but i thought she got picked on a bit so went skinny from stress. She did not exhibit any signs of flicking or rubbing. Just went skinny one day and down hill from there.

If it is fish tb does that move quickly through the tank? All the other fish seem to be fine...I was going to dose the 3ft for flukes and tapeworm that he has lvied in since we got him yrs ago but am not sure what volume of water the tank holds. I was going to clean the filter this weekend for my 3ft just incase there is something yuck in there and do a gravel vac. I would of thought it would move pretty quickly through them...even for a bacteria. I dont want to lose any of the others as ive had them for nearlly two yrs and am attached!!

He seemed to eat ok this morning. Ive been dosing the tank at night when he sleeps with Pimafix to try to aid in his fin and scale repair. Ive only dosed him once with the flukes and tapeworm. He is due for a water change this weekend. If the gil is still as it is next week i was going to do another flukes and tapeworm treatment to be on the safe side...his face isnt as swollen today but there is still the definant hole.

Im not sure what to do...keep medicating him or do i let him go to sleep if hes just going to get worse? Id rather him not be in pain and miserable...

The only visible signs he is not well is his appearance...otherwise his energy levels seem fine and his fins are flipping around as normal.

 

[electric yellow]

My main concern now is the tank he was in and the other fish he has been living with. Whether they will get sick or not?

 

[black angel]

i lost a few fish to gillrot. its one of those diseases thats hard to cure. tb is really really rare. treat for gillrot.

 

[WILDER]

If you think your fish had gill flukes you have to treat up to 4 weeks to kill the young parasites when they hatch.
Bacterial gill rot you will need anti internal bacteria med by interpet.
This is a good link about gills even though its a kio site.
[URL="http/www.koicrisis.com/symptoms/gill.html"]http/www.koicrisis.com/symptoms/gill.html[/URL]

Is there any way the fish could of injuryed it's self by peircing the hole in the gills by a sharp object in the tank.

 

[electric yellow]

Thanks wilder, i shall have a squizz.

The only pointy thing in the tank is the driftwood which has a few pointy bits on it....he could of poked himself..but highly un likely...

Its just weird that NONE of the other fish are showing symptoms...which is why im confused what to treat their tank with...

I fed him this morning and he ate. The pimafix seems to be helping a tiny bit..not much. Im going to dose him again for flukes on the weekend. And pick up an anti internal bacteria med by interpet as suggested.

 

[electric yellow]

Mr Gourami has gone to heaven now

In the eight hours it took today to take my car to the mechanic and do my stuff and go to the lfs he died...

I still dont know what is was wrong with him...maybe a combo of flukes and and old age?

Tmw i will be doing a thorough gravel vac and filter semi clean of his big 3ft tank he was in so the other fish dont get whatever he had...



Wilder: thanks for all your help.