Gourami Bacteria

[Colonel Mustard]

i have noticed that my femal Gourami has devolped a fleshy area, i think it is hole in the head but im not sur, anyway i thought that it would improve in time but all that has happened is that she has passed it on th my male

is this hole in the head?
how do i treat it?
will it pass on to any more of my fish?

P.S for bigger pics go to:
http/picasaweb.google.com/i.brunt/Fish02

 

[sylvia]

They are ulcers. They are caused by a couple of things but I'll just direct you to this thread as it was concerned with precisely the same problem: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1511598 There have been a lot of people lately with this problem. It's a shame but dwarfs are particularly prone to it. If you can isolate your sick fish to a cycled hospital tank for treatment, that's ideal. Otherwise, it isn't overly likely that the other fish in your tank will contract the disease - except any other gouramies you might have that is.

 

[-Nemo-]

I wish you the best of luck.
My female had one as well (looked almost identical to yours) and it looked like it was getting better, but then she sadly died less than a week after it appeared Luckily none of my other fish have since inexperienced this because of her.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Thanks Sylvia, i hope the little guys live, but just to ask one more question.

If the gouramis die and i get some more how likely is it that the new gouramis will get the same thing.??

 

[sylvia]

It is, unfortunately, extremely likely that they'll suffer the same fate. It's not because it's highly contagious though - they just happen to be particularly prone to this kind of thing and are likely to be carrying it already. My suggestion would be to find a local breeder and buy their fish or try a different LFS that uses a different supplier (that can be tricky ). I find the only fish you can guarantee are disease-free are the ones you've bred yourself.

As an alternative, consider honey gouramies (Colisa chuna/sota) or thick-lipped gouramies (Colisa labiosa). Either, kept as a trio (1 male, 2 females), would make an ideal dwarf replacement - and neither is as susceptible to disease.

 

[noodles]

It is, unfortunately, extremely likely that they'll suffer the same fate. It's not because it's highly contagious though - they just happen to be particularly prone to this kind of thing and are likely to be carrying it already. My suggestion would be to find a local breeder and buy their fish or try a different LFS that uses a different supplier (that can be tricky ). I find the only fish you can guarantee are disease-free are the ones you've bred yourself.

As an alternative, consider honey gouramies (Colisa chuna/sota) or thick-lipped gouramies (Colisa labiosa). Either, kept as a trio (1 male, 2 females), would make an ideal dwarf replacement - and neither is as susceptible to disease.

My honey gourami's developed something very similar one after each other too unfortunately and didnt recover.

 

[SouthernCross]

Wow, that thread of mine sure has been getting a lot of play lately.

So now we're on 4 people (me, Jozlyn x 2, Biulu (going well for him I hope), now Colonel Mustard!) with this problem in the last fortnight! And cuticom has lost several recently too, and Nemo in the post above had a loss. Not good.

Best of luck Colonel Mustard.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Thanks southerncross, by the way did you get any more gouramis since your dwarf died( very sorry to hear, hope my fishy doesn't have the same fait although at the moment it looks extremely likely) if so which breed and how are they donin

thanks to everone who has posted on this topic

 

[SouthernCross]

No, I haven't been and gotten any new fish yet. At first was making sure the rest of the tank was ok (which they are) and I just haven't been able to get to the LFS recently. But probably going to make a trip this weekend. I actually need some more before my platies give birth AGAIN - something to keep that population under control, or I'm going to be in trouble!

I had thought I'd try again with dwarfs, but since the huge number of people posting with this problem lately I might save myself the heartache. Was thinking about pearl gouramis actually. They seem to be pretty hardy, and pretty peaceful.

Hope your fishies are going to be ok...keep us posted.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

There are more ulsers up and down his and her body. he seems to have more of them but she has a great big one near her head. both still eating fine although they seem to be hiding away more. the other fish seem unaffected how long left?

 

[sylvia]

Are they still eating? That's always the first obvious sign that they will not recover.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Well the female never realy ate much so i cant tell you much about her but the male is showing signs of not eating as much as he once did. he comes at the begining has a bit then swims off. this never used to be the case. He used to stay and eat as much as he could.

another point i should mention is that the ulcers have spread all down his body and he is covered in them. The female seems to have less than he does but i now see less and less of her so its hard to tell. anyway thanks for all of your posts ill just hold on and wait