Gourami With Tumor

[Clbrtwewill]

The first fish that I got when I started back up, the spring before last, was a powder blue dwarf gourami. He was the last one left at the store I was at and I have a feeling he wasn't that young when I got him.

He's got a tumor now (at least, a bulge on his left side) and isn't nearly as active as he used to be, he's been sitting at the bottom a lot and his fins are tattered. None of the other fish are picking on him or anything.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me - he's been lethargic for awhile and only recently stopped eating.

 

[LauraFrog]

Might need a bit more information - can we please have the water stats (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/pH/temp) and a clear photo. There's a lot of things that could cause swelling in the abdomen - if it is a tumour, there's very little you can do. I've removed two from fish, one was on the side of the body and growing on the skin, I cut it off and the fish recovered. The other was on the operculum (gill cover) and I damaged the operculum so badly removing the tumour that I didn't let the fish wake up. Fish are so small that I really don't think removing an internal tumour would be possible.
It could be something else though, for example parasites, and these other conditions could be treatable so a photo would be great.

Thanks

 

[Clbrtwewill]

Might need a bit more information - can we please have the water stats (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/pH/temp) and a clear photo. There's a lot of things that could cause swelling in the abdomen - if it is a tumour, there's very little you can do. I've removed two from fish, one was on the side of the body and growing on the skin, I cut it off and the fish recovered. The other was on the operculum (gill cover) and I damaged the operculum so badly removing the tumour that I didn't let the fish wake up. Fish are so small that I really don't think removing an internal tumour would be possible.
It could be something else though, for example parasites, and these other conditions could be treatable so a photo would be great.

Thanks

I do not have any problems with water stats, other than a relatively high pH (of 7.6). I've done some more reading and my gourami is colisa lalia: with symptoms of Gourami disease. I was just hoping that someone here would have had some experiences with this occurring in dwarf gouramis with some suggestions.

He is still laying vertically in the corner of the tank, opposite the heater & bubbler. The tumor's been there for over a year now (he's got a lump protruding from the left side of his body). I do not have any plan to try to remove it, he seems to be getting more and more lethargic and I am going to just let him go. None of the other fish in the tank are exhibiting any symptoms (I had two newly introduced corys die within three weeks of getting both of them, suddenly each without signs of disease).

I am keeping an eye on water conditions, doing water changes as I normally do, etc. I don't think he's going to last much longer, it is just dissappointing because I have had this one the longest out of any of my fish. Some of my reading has indicated that colisa lalia should just plain be avoided due to these types of problems.