Is This Normal For A Dwarf Gourami?

[sussexgirl]

My dwarf gourami (which I got on Monday) has a kind of whisker on the left side of his mouth. Am I being naive to gouramis or should this be something to worry about? It's about 4mm long and white going to a point. Not sure if you'll be able to make it out on the picture or not. I'm only questioning this because I bought him from a different LFS to the one I usually use and have not been able to quarantine him because my quarantine tank is currently full of platy fry.

The LFS listed him as a dwarf green gourami but there is no green on him. He's a definite cobolt blue and red stripe. Any suggestions at identification gratefully received! Thanks.

 

[donna123]

hi,
hes the same colour as mine, just had a look and mine has no whisker around his mouth, maybe its lose skin, donna

 

[sylvia]

I see what you're reffering to and I'd guess it's a parasite of some description though I can't tell what. As you may know, dwarfs are prone to disease - but large external parasites are not something I've come across with them before

Does your fish have any red streaks or inflamed-looking gills? Any signs of overproduction of mucus (eg: grey film on body) or any flashing against objects as if irritated?

It could be anchor worms but they are usualy a little narrower than that and less visible. If you don't have cories or laoches or any particularly sensitive fish in the tank, perhaps try a light dosage (ie underdose) of AQUARIUM salt. You could also take the fish out and physicaly pull it off if it's a parasite but this is stressful for the fish and we don't know what it is yet anyway

BTW, the names for different color strains in dwarf gouramies aren't standardised. Different people call them different things and LFSs often make up names just to make them sound better. Your fish is a similar color to wild dwarfs (though yours looks a little pale and has more blue).
Common names for various color morphs are neon blue, powder blue, red, flame, turqoise etc You'll probably find your variant off the wild-type is mostly reffered to as a 'neon blue'. Here's what a wild-type dwarf looks like: http/jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/colisa_lalia_x.jpg

In reality, the color realy doesn't matter - it's the same species as all the others

 

[sussexgirl]

Does your fish have any red streaks or inflamed-looking gills? Any signs of overproduction of mucus (eg: grey film on body) or any flashing against objects as if irritated?

It could be anchor worms but they are usualy a little narrower than that and less visible. If you don't have cories or laoches or any particularly sensitive fish in the tank, perhaps try a light dosage (ie underdose) of AQUARIUM salt. You could also take the fish out and physicaly pull it off if it's a parasite but this is stressful for the fish and we don't know what it is yet anyway

Your fish is a similar color to wild dwarfs (though yours looks a little pale and has more blue).

Thanks for getting back to me. No, there are no streaks, mucus, inflamed gills on the fish, I'm really hoping that as Donna suggested it may just be a flap of skin round the mouth and nothing more. He looks a very healthy fish generally, it's just that this little 'whisker' type this is perplexing me.

I have got two cories in the tank so I can't use the aquarium salt I'm afraid. I'd rather not pull at the parasite just incase it isn't one.

My fish looks alot paler in the picture than in reality, he's a very bold blue and red colour. He certainly looks like the picture that you linked me to so thanks for solving that one.

Many thanks for your reply, I'm off to check up on him now and I'll let you know if anything changes - Julie

(half an hour later...................) I've just looked at him and the white 'whisker' has disappeared! He's now looking completely normal on both sides. Very strange, maybe it was just loose skin and he's rubbed it off.

http/i75.photobucket.com/albums/i311/for...mmingedited.jpg

 

[sussexgirl]

Many thanks for your reply, I'm off to check up on him now and I'll let you know if anything changes - Julie

(half an hour later...................) I've just looked at him and the white 'whisker' has disappeared! He's now looking completely normal on both sides. Very strange, maybe it was just loose skin and he's rubbed it off.

[

This is getting stranger. Tonight the male dwarf gourami has the whisker thing back again about 2mm long and I noticed the same thing on my female in exactly the same place though slightly smaller. I'm thinking 'this is great, if they've both got one then maybe it's just a species trait and not parasites'. Then I go and check him out an hour later and the whisker has gone again and once again there is just a raised bump to the left of his mouth and a semi raised one the other side! To top it off, I've seen someone else has posted in the emergency section this evening with the same type of dwarf gourami as me and with exactly the same position mystery bump. What do you think is going on? Are we missing something? and if it is a parasite are gouramis known specifically for carry their parasites in their cheeks? Dumb question I know but figured it's worth asking just in case.

http/i75.photobucket.com/albums/i311/for...malegourami.jpg
This is a picture of my 'female' gourami and hopefully you'll see the raised lump to the left of her mouth. As I said, it's exactly in the same place as her mates. She has a tiny whisker coming out of it but the picture doesn't pick it up, just the lump.

 

[sylvia]

Well, unfortunately, if it's appearing and dissapearing and leaving lumps behind - and especialy since it's on more than one fish - it's a parasite. What parasite it is is a totaly different matter

This is what an anchor worm looks like: http/www.sera.cz/07/0738a.jpg
I think that's what it is and you'll need to isolate all infected fish for treatment. Salt wouldn't help if this is what it is anyway.

Here's some info: http/groups.msn.com/FishHealth/lernaea.msnw
and: http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/treatments/dimilin.htm

 

[sussexgirl]

Well, unfortunately, if it's appearing and dissapearing and leaving lumps behind - and especialy since it's on more than one fish - it's a parasite. What parasite it is is a totaly different matter

This is what an anchor worm looks like: http/www.sera.cz/07/0738a.jpg
I think that's what it is and you'll need to isolate all infected fish for treatment. Salt wouldn't help if this is what it is anyway.

Here's some info: http/groups.msn.com/FishHealth/lernaea.msnw
and: http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/treatments/dimilin.htm

I've looked at your pictures and it definitely doesn't look like anchorworm. I know this is going to sound really gross but the lump looked like a spot with an elongaged white head on the top that's just about to burst. There wasn't a definite worm like shape, it looked more like a pimple going up to pointed head if that makes sense. Since I last posted the gouramis face looks normal again, the bump just matches the one on the other side and the same with my female gourami. I am loathe to isolate the fish and treat it before I know for sure what is wrong, indeed if there is anything wrong. It's been strange but for now I'm going to observe them daily and see what develops. Thanks for all your help though

 

[sussexgirl]

I've been away for 4 days and I've got home to find that 3/4 of my tanks population are displaying symtpoms of ich

I'm presuming that this is what was wrong with the gourami originally. The spot on his face was fairly large and has disappeared completely now. All the other newly infected fish have the characteristic tiny white 'grain like' spots on their finnage and bodies.

I've treated with Protozin today and will continue dosing. I've raised the temperature to 28 degrees. Anything else I need to do?