Injured Fish

[Benson112]

I know im becoming a bit of a pain but im relatively new to this. My filter has 2 sections which you can remove and clean that are like little plastic cages with black balls in there....im presuming this is the black carbon?
Do i only need to remove this whilst i treat the fish? Is this because it reduces the O2 aswel?

 

[WILDER]

I would ask in tropical discusson about the black balls they do sounds like it carbon to me.
If you leave the black balls and they are carbon they will just remove the meds from the tank.
No black carbon dosn't lower aeration in the tank they just removed meds from the tank.

 

[Benson112]

Thanks very much You have helped alot i will keep you updated on my progress and will post pics up tonight

 

[WILDER]

Ok good luck.

 

[Benson112]

Just finished with the tank. Ive decided not to isolate the injured fish (now named Tabby! lol) because he appears to be back to his usual self ruling the tank. I have bought an air disperser tube to pump some bubbles in there but it seems to be creating too much current and some of the fish are struggling to deal with it so i wont leave it on for too long at a time.

I bought the melafix so well see how that works. Ive took a video of his injuries and uploaded it to youtube as it will be easier to see than from still pics: Tabby At about a minute through the vid you can see the kink in his body that i was talking about

Typical that whilst im spending my time trying to learn about gourami's....one of my new white ones is exhibiting some of the symptoms i have been reading about. lying about on the bottom like he is dead then swimming to the top gasping for air so he may have this disease i have been reading about. His tale isnt moving at all I will be most annoyed to say the least. Ive included him in the vid and the extremely fat guppy lol

 

[Spishkey]

ooh are the injurys the nasty browny looking patches ouch!

 

[Benson112]

Yep...on the right hand side near his eye, on the left all don his body and the top and bottom of him. Just watching him now and he looks like he is struggling to stay up right, keeps leaning over to one side. Never a good thing is it!

 

[RedeyesUK]

Maybe I'm hoping a little here, but as far as I can see on the video, his dorsal fin (the top one, along his back) seems pretty battered. This fin is used to stabilise the fish from rolling, which could be the reason he can't stay upright!

Hopefully this'll be the case, and it'll grow back to a reasonable degree.

 

[Benson112]

Thanks very much for that...been wondering what these were for lol. I hope it grows back!! He can stay upright whilst swimming just not whilst floating

 

[8inary]

fish are tougher than we give them credit for.

I had almost the exact same problem with a 11" silver shark, it got stuck between some artificial coral and in the process of trying to wiggle free, took several large chunks...and I mean chunks out of his body and head. It look so bad, I couldnt grip him and had to use a towel, he had a large '10pence' size hole across his head, and similar chunks around his body. You could see right inside him...gross I know!

However, with plenty of water changes and good water stats, over the next week, he healed up really well and is now back to normal...well, he has a lil dint in his head. But no abnormals noticed, so all seems well.

Another story...if I may, to give you an idea of how tough some fish are: a friend of mine has a friend in Italy. He says on a certain day there is a market, and people turn with plastic carry bags for the fish, trout etc, they buy the fish, put it in the carry bags...no water...just the fish...still alive! they then walk/get the bus home, and put it in the bath with water until they are ready to cook it.

 

[Benson112]

Another story...if I may, to give you an idea of how tough some fish are: a friend of mine has a friend in Italy. He says on a certain day there is a market, and people turn with plastic carry bags for the fish, trout etc, they buy the fish, put it in the carry bags...no water...just the fish...still alive! they then walk/get the bus home, and put it in the bath with water until they are ready to cook it.

Now that is just rank! lol

Cheers for the story about your fish mate. It has intrigued me too about the salts....ive never heard of salts for tropical fish?? What do they provide for the fish? Ill give anything a go to be honest this is really bugging me.

And a bit of an update on the new white fish...he looks like he is giving up. Not even trying to swim now! Arghhh...doubt there is anything i can really do! Think if gourami's are going to get ill a fair bit i should invest in a hospital tank!

 

[WILDER]

Brown patches on fish can be columnaris to velvet.
Does the brown patch look fluffy in appearance,
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.
Did you get the anti internal bacteria med by interpet.

 

[Benson112]

They didnt have any of the anti internal bacterial med i am going to a different shop tomorrow to get it.

the brown patches seem like they are smooth in the middle but rougher around the edges. What does "columnaris to velvet." mean?

 

[WILDER]

Velvet is a parasite and will look like a rusty brown varnish on a fish.
Brown patches can also be columnaris it will have a fluffy texture.


http/www.nippyfish.net/flexibacter.html
Resting on the bottom of the tank can be a sign of a bacterial infection.

 

[Benson112]

Fish seems fine and his wounds seem to be healing slowly. Thanks for your help.

I am currently in the process of doing water changes every day until i can get a tester kit (because i cleaned my filer media under the tap...i started maintenance without reading the thread on here). So until i can afford a water testing kit im going to be doing a 50% change every day.

Lost the white gourami though...he eventually give up