Red Spot On My Male Dwarf Gourami.

[fm1978]

Hi guys

Noticed a wee red spot with a very small white, almost string-like head!

Any ideas what it could be and to treat, please? He's 1 of 2 DGs in a 63litre tank. The other, slightly larger DG is not showing any signs of a similar ailment.

Any ideas?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Where abouts is the red spot so I know where to look?

 

[fm1978]

Oh sorry, it's below and underneath his mouth and eye.

 

[fm1978]

Do I need a better pic?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I can see it now lol. I was on my phone so was hard to spot.
It looks like it may be a burn? Does you gourami normally hang around by the heater at all?

 

[fm1978]

He does hang out at the side of the tank where the heater is but the heater is enclosed inside a black plastic column - standard small Juwel tank fittings.
 
I think it might be a bite from my other DG... There are no other discernible marks and it doesn't seem to match any Gourami ailment that I can see...so far. I'll just have to keep an eye on him and make sure it heals properly. 
 
I gave Stumpy, the culprit, a stern talking to this morning! 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Is the other DG a male or female?

 

[fm1978]

It's a male! And he's definitely the dominant one.
 
I know, it's not ideal... The plan is to get a bigger tank quite soon to give them more room!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If its possible, I would recommend returning the other male DG. Male will fight and it is not recommended to have two together in anything less than a 250L tank. 
Lots of clean water (dechlorinated and temperature matched) should clear it up and it'll hopefully heal without infection.

 

[fm1978]

I know this is terribly "beginner" of me, but, I would love to find a way to keep him. I had a 200L tank in mind and thought that might have been enough!
 
In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on him and watch the water as closely as possible.
 
Thank you for your time and help Blondie.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

no problem. It could work if it was densely planted and there were lots of things to "break his sight". As long as there's lots of hiding places then they should be fine I suppose.
Otherwise, you could keep one in this tank and put one in the 200L.

 

[fm1978]

Thanks again for the reply Blondie,
 
The red spot seems to have calmed down now. He's still left with a hair-width white protrusion in the same area. I can only guess that it (fingers crossed) isn't DGD as I've read it's very unlikely to lead to anything other than a fatality.
 
Could it be parasitic?
 
I've pretty much talked my partner into a larger tank so the idea about splitting them up seems ideal as I would like to keep them both...they're lovely wee guys and very friendly!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Dwarf Gourami's are lovely fish. The only thing that puts most people off them is the DGD which is a shame
Score for getting bigger tank
 
It is possible that it is a parasite, but, unless it doesn't heal or it gets worse, don't treat it as it may not be a parasite and treatment causes stress on the fish so its better to avoid it where possible.

 

[fm1978]

Ok, that sounds sensible. The best I can do is keep my aye on him and keep the water as best I can. I've been doing 50% water changes almost every day so hopefully that'll be sufficient.
 
If it's any consolation, he's still brightly coloured, active, eating very well and otherwise unphased by his wee problem.
 
(p.s. who does the spell check for this forum?? Unphased is definitely a word!) 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If he doesn't even notice its there then chances are its perfectly fine and just needs to heal. 
 
With all the water changes it should hopefully heal without infection and hopefully rather quickly.
 
LOL, yeah, spell check isn't always the best.