Help Needed Quickly, Please

[LiveLifeGoJump]

What appeared to be fungus (short white fluffy patch) on my Dwarf Gurami is no longer fluffy (Fungus & finrot meds. in since 16:00hrs yesterday) but is now a large patch where the scales have disapeared (rotted away?). Is this the normal progression of fungus as it is clearing up or is it something else?

He looks worse for wear now & is trying to keep out of the way.

 

[nmonks]

Dwarf gouramis are susceptible to a variety of bacterial infections, some of which are very difficult to treat without antibiotics. I wrote a mini-FAQ on this topic here.

However, fluffy patches can be one of two things, fungus or a bacteria called Flexibacter columnaris (a.k.a "columnaris"). Fungus is easily treated with a variety of things, but columnaris is much trickier. Telling the two apart is difficult, but typically columnaris starts off as a grey patch before becoming fluffy. It is usually associated with sores or patches of dead skin. True fungus usually sets in where there has been damage to the body (often the fins) or if a fish is kept in the wrong water conditions (classically, when mollies have been kept in fresh, not brackish, water).

Anyway, you need to go by a treatment for either fungus or columnaris depending on what you're dealing with.

Saltwater dips can also be therapeutic for many fish, but I'm not sure that dwarf gouramis are robust enough for that sort of regimen. Best to ask in the gourami section of this forum. When done properly, salt dips can work very well for "mysterious" external infections.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[WILDER]

Change the med never did rate that med for columnaris, do a water change and add some black carbon for a few hours, do you have a bacterial med in the house need to use it with pimafix, it getting serious now if the skin is rotting, really you need to issolate the fish and use an anitbiotic.

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

I'm in process of isolating him now. Have anti-bac but not pimafix.

Nmonks suggests that it could be columnaris. Read the link he sent & it does appear to be that.

Thanks both. Will post again soon.

 

[WILDER]

I know, columnaris can come in a nasty strain and wipe a tank out in hours, and by the sounds of it your is nasty if its rotting the skin away, i would get the pimafix as well, as uk meds are not that strong and you have to give them a boost with bad strains.

http/article.discusnews.com/cat-02/columnaries.shtml

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

Have done a salt dip in a weaker solution than reccommended (only have rock salt as all my aquarium salt was used cleaning a couple of larger tanks & I forgot to replace it), dosed the small tank with anti-internal bac. & half dose methylene blue (plus some salt). Will get pimafix tomorrow if lfs have it.

Is it ok to add to the tank dosed as it is or should I do a partial or even full water change.

Now I have him in the small tank there appears to be a gash approx. 10mm long down one side just above the extent of the scale loss (fungus like groth first appeared on the top of his head, spread back & down his sides so I don't think this is the cause, rather the result unless he has managed to find something sharp in the tank to scratch on (never did see him 'scratch an itch').

I have had him for 3 months or so without problem.

Fingers crossed he pulls through

 

[minimed]

i had the exact same problem only a few months ago i went to a fish specialist and they gave me a solution called melafix it has no chemicals and is all natural within a month the gourami's scales had all grown back and is fine now

 

[WILDER]

White fluffiness going along the spine and down the sides that form a saddle appearance is called saddleback columnaris, and columnaris can present it self on the head as a spot with a circling of red around the edges, or a spot in the centre of the patch.