Is My Gourami Ok?

[mike777]

Hello all,

I noticed this on my gourami about 3 weeks ago and never got around to asking this but now I will.. My neon blue dwarf gourami has a weird brownish grayish spot on top of his head. Do any of you know what this could be?? thanks!!!

 

[Sinuhe]

Is there anything sticking out of the spot, like a tiny hair like thing?

 

[KellieFishEggs]

Mine has the same thing! Is it kind of flakey-looking? I have been trying to figure out what is going on with my Gourami too. I added Melafix to the water about 5 days ago, but so far it hasn't gotten any better.

 

[mike777]

Is there anything sticking out of the spot, like a tiny hair like thing?

no there is no hairy thing sticking out of it...

 

[AquaNut]

Are you certain you're not looking at its labyrinth? It's a breathing organ on the top of the gourami's head that allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. They're not particularly noticable on my gouramis, but on some of my bettas, they're clearly visible.

 

[Starry^]

Could also be the start of hole in the head, we have had 2 gouramis die this way, I think mainly because they are picked on by other fish and cant handle it, or just didnt handle the change/s when being added to a tank, or the water parameters..
gouramis can be quite sensitive I have found.
If its eyes start to glaze over or it starts rocking back and forth , then its probably a goner..
There isnt really much you can do, just make sure your water is clean.
there are some treatments, but because most of them are just strong chemicals anyway, they seem to make the matter worse.
We had a female dwarf gourami die like that, she had a greyish spot on teh top of her head, then they usually develop a whitish mould like substance on their bodys, then the eyes glaze over, its a very slow very sad process..
I would recommend a quick form of Euthanasia,if the latter of those symptoms start to appear.

Goodluck

Starry^

 

[AquaNut]

Whoa Starry.. that doesn't sound like hole in the head that I have dealt with. Hole in the head produces numerous holes in the head and gill area before being fatal, and they are very clearly holes, which sometimes will appear to be filled with a greyish fungal matter. There is a VERY effective treatment for hole in the head, namely metronidazole. Yes, it's a chemical drug, but it's extremely effective and hith is actually very VERY treatable, provided it's caught early. I'm not familiar with gouramis having hole in the head. It's most often seen in some of the new world cichlids, like angelfish and oscars, although I'm sure gouramis can probably get it too. At any rate, I wouldn't diagnose anything based on the intitial description in this thread. I would suggest we all need more info, including the person with the gourami. Watch the fish carefully and let us know if you see anything of interest.

 

[Starry^]

**Could also be the start of hole in the head**
I wasnt trying to diagnose and say it WAS hith, I was just saying that it could be a possibility.
The Greyish sinking in at the top of the head is what I was talking about.
We have also had a ramirezi who died this way, and metronidazole did not help at all, though it is the only time we have tried it.
I was saying euthanasia is a kind option if its eyes glaze over and it rocks back and forth like ours did, because they were very clearly suffering.
And I wasnt even talking about hith then, its just some of the symptoms my gouramis have had b4 they died.
t**hey usually develop a whitish mould like substance on their bodys, then the eyes glaze over, its a very slow very sad process..
I would recommend a quick form of Euthanasia,if the latter of those symptoms start to appear.**

I wasnt proclaiming that was the answer.. I was just sharing my experience.
SORRY