My Tank Has The Plague!

[JoeGuzzo]

So I looked into my tank this morning and I couldn't find my dwarf gourami anywhere. I moved the decorations around and he wasn't in any of them (or so I thought)

I thought ,maybe he just didn't want to come out he will come out later. Later comes, no appearance from atlas (my dwarf gourami). So I was shaking up the decorations again but this time I turned them on there sides and looked inside them, he was stuck all the way at the top of this tor I have dead.

I quickly filled a container up with some of the tank water and dumped him out of the decoration into the container and I saw he had that black blotchy spot on his side. Other than its a disease I know gouramis get a lot I don't know what disease it is nor what causes it.

Also a few days ago my iridescent shark Sal died. I don't know what happened to him, he kept getting ich and I kept treatipng the tank and it would go away for a few days then it would come back again. The day he died he looked fine, no signs of ich or strange behavior, he was actually out and active usually he hides all day. Then my sister came over she wanted to see him I thought he was hiding so I shook the decoration he usually hides in, and he came out, only he didn't swim out he just fell out and was dead.

To add on top of all that I have a dwarf red gourami who I just bought close to the beginning of this week and now be has something going on. He has this strange spot right on the very top of his head. It looks almost like dead skin (like people get) obviously that's not possible though but every time I look at him it's worse.

I was planning on moving my fish into a new (to me) 55 gallon tank I just bought from my aunt it's been set up and cycling for almost a week but now I'm scared to put them in it because I don't know if they are contaminated with anything and don't want them to contaminate the new tank!!

Please somebody help me I don't know what's going on!

Also when I saw atlas was dead I sort of had a mini panic attack and did a quick large water change (about 50%)

 

[onidrase]

the iridescent shark would have eventually reached about 4 feet in length, a definite tank buster which tends to always die young due to being kept in tanks which aren't the size of swimming pools.

dwarf gouramis are very prone to getting infections and bacterial diseases, and account for more deaths at work than any other fishes, usually dying due to rot, open wounds, or no apparent reason. If you want to get small gourami species again, I'd suggest either honey gouramis or licorice gouramis as opposed to dwarf gouramis.

It doesn't sound like there's some sort of crazy disease going on in the tank, it just seems like the tank was stocked rather poorly, no offense. Try to find some fish that tend to be hardier for the new stocking list.

Best regards.

 

[JoeGuzzo]

i know the iridescent shark was going to get to big for my tank eventually thats why im kind of relieved he died as bad as that sounds so i dont have to worry about getting rid of him.

but no i like the dwarf gouramis they are all really pretty fish . no offense taken but i dont think my tank is poorly stocked at all i love all my fish i think theyre all great picks

but about my dwarf red gourami and that thing on his head any idea what it is?

 

[tkdjr1186]

i know the iridescent shark was going to get to big for my tank eventually thats why im kind of relieved he died as bad as that sounds so i dont have to worry about getting rid of him.

but no i like the dwarf gouramis they are all really pretty fish . no offense taken but i dont think my tank is poorly stocked at all i love all my fish i think theyre all great picks

but about my dwarf red gourami and that thing on his head any idea what it is?

We need water Stats and all current stocking and tank size in order to help you.
Fact is you had a shark that was going to get too big for your tank so that is the definition of poorly stocked. You can love all your fish you want but if they are not the right types for the right tank it can lead to disaster. Please don't ask for advice and then just disregard it.

 

[JoeGuzzo]

i know he was going to get to big for my tank and have to get rid of him eventually but no matter what tank i have hes going to get to big they are not really home aquarium fish... unfortunately i did not know this when i purchased him and maybe having him would be considered being poorly stocked but not the rest of my fish also telling me my tank is poorly stocked is not advice on what i had asked, im not disregarding anything im disagreeing with his statement which to me is more of an opnion.

all my fish are in a 10 gallon tank and i had 4 dwarf gouramis including the one that just died now i only have 3 yes i know this tank is small but it was only meant to be temporary until i got my aunts 55 gallon which i now have but i am scared to transfer the fish because now im scared they are sick and may contaminate that tank.

 

[onidrase]

i know he was going to get to big for my tank and have to get rid of him eventually but no matter what tank i have hes going to get to big they are not really home aquarium fish... unfortunately i did not know this when i purchased him and maybe having him would be considered being poorly stocked but not the rest of my fish also telling me my tank is poorly stocked is not advice on what i had asked, im not disregarding anything im disagreeing with his statement which to me is more of an opnion.

all my fish are in a 10 gallon tank and i had 4 dwarf gouramis including the one that just died now i only have 3 yes i know this tank is small but it was only meant to be temporary until i got my aunts 55 gallon which i now have but i am scared to transfer the fish because now im scared they are sick and may contaminate that tank.

4 dwarf gouramis in a 10 gallon tank is poorly stocked. DG's IME have the fragile equivalent of a german blue ram, and as I said before, at work they die more than any other fishes we stock.

I'm sticking with the fact that there is no rampant disease going on, just too much fish and too little space and likely too little filtration for the gouramis you keep, they need water to be pristine and steady on all levels, which is ridiculously hard to do with a 10 gallon tank.

The mark on the head of your gourami may very well be a sort of columnaris, a bacteria that eats away at the skin, and dwarf gouramis are incredibly prone to getting it. They're prone to getting open wounds, lesions, and prone to having those open wounds get infected because of their lack of immune system due to over breeding and inbreeding. If anything, this is the rampant disease, but IME it's not ridiculously contagious, though it may be amongst DG's.

once again, I urge you to go for a similar gourami such as the honey gourami, they're equally as beautiful, stay smaller, have the same peaceful nature, and are much hardier.

 

[JoeGuzzo]

well then should i stop procrastinating and throw them into the much much larger 55 gallon i have asap??

and is there anyway to treat my poor little red gourami?

 

[onidrase]

well then should i stop procrastinating and throw them into the much much larger 55 gallon i have asap??

and is there anyway to treat my poor little red gourami?

Plenty of treatments for columnaris, but I don't know if a dwarf gourami can live through a lot of them. Not many natural remedies for it, people tend to use some pretty nasty chemicals to get rid of it, all of which are anti bacterial and will kill all the bacteria in your filter and make you have to go through a fish in cycle which is a death trap for dwarf gouramis.

 

[JoeGuzzo]

well then should i stop procrastinating and throw them into the much much larger 55 gallon i have asap??

and is there anyway to treat my poor little red gourami?

Plenty of treatments for columnaris, but I don't know if a dwarf gourami can live through a lot of them. Not many natural remedies for it, people tend to use some pretty nasty chemicals to get rid of it, all of which are anti bacterial and will kill all the bacteria in your filter and make you have to go through a fish in cycle which is a death trap for dwarf gouramis.

alright so should i put them in my larger tank or wait for them to get more sick and die and start a new stock i man its not like i can bring my pet store back sick fish

 

[DJH584]

well then should i stop procrastinating and throw them into the much much larger 55 gallon i have asap??

and is there anyway to treat my poor little red gourami?

If you can transfer your fish to the larger tank with a cycled filter then that would probably be better.
There are ways and means of doing this.
You would need to keep a good eye on your water parameters thereafter.
In respect of your red gourami, I would suggest using your ten gallon tank as a hospital tank for it.

I would hope that someone better experienced than I would be able to guide you through it step by step.
It will no doubt need you to utilise something like a foodsafe box to put the fish - along with filter, airstone and heater - in whilst you drain the old tank and setup the new tank.

BUT as I said, those better than myself in this knowledge will hope fully come along and advise you better.

What will help is if you list exactly you have in the way of fish.

Regards

David

 

[JoeGuzzo]

the new tank is set up already with water and sand its been cycling for about a week now. i put in the stress coat and the cycle and i even did a small water change to it.

my 10 gallon i have 2 decorations one being an airstone and i have 4 live plants 2 banana plants and 2 red flame swords.

also 1 of my powder blue gouramis i think may also be ill this morning she was acting funny just lying on the gravel unless another fish swam up to her than she would swim away and stay by herself. also i think i maybe noticing a lump you could say on her side? im not sure i cant recall if it was there before

 

[JoeGuzzo]

i justtested my water all i can tell you is the ph and the ammonia i dont have nitrite and nitrate testers but the ph is kind of high but not to high i dont think at about 7.2 7.4 and my ammonia is low i think its at 0 but my mother said 0.25 im not sure though im color blind

but as far as ph and ammonia goes i dont think its too bad?