Gourami infected wound - Help please!

[fabiobruno]

I think Lucy is affected by the same problem mentioned by Lime_Smash... and I guess this is what they call Dwarf Gourami Disease (Or maybe it was a fungus but I started the treatment to late and it is now a systemic infection).

Today she is stuck at the top of the tank, her eyes are popping out and she is bloated, and in the afternoon she is worst than she was in the morning. As soon as I checked her in the afternoon I thought about dropsy.

According to the good "Fishlopaedia" book the so called pop-eye disease can be due by either:
1. Eye fluke
2. Systemic bacterial infection
3. Virus infection
4. Systemic fungal infection
5. Vitamin deficiency
6. Any dysfunction of the physiological processes of the fish (e.g. osmoregulation).

Do you think it could be due to poisoning from the protozin instead? Should I go for an immediate water change (all OK according to API tests)?

This is a picture from this morning (but she is a bit worst now).

 

[fabiobruno]

Just read about osmotic stress due to large wounds and I'm going to add some cooking salt... you have 5 minutes to stop me if you think I'm doing something silly....

 

[mel_20_20]

Oh, Fabio.... I'm afraid she may have GD disease after all. If not, then certainly some kind of infection, whether fungal or bacterial or both, may have gone internal.

I don't think you've poisoned her at all. The procuct you used had ingredients that are safely used by fishkeepers all the time.

Can you post a pic of her from the top, looking down on her? This way we can see if she looks like she is pineconing. When a fish develops dropsy, the scales begin to stand away from the body of the fish, like a pinecone. If she is pineconing then that would indicate her organs have been damaged and fluid is accumulating in her body.

Somtimes a fish may have bloat, which can be caused by constipation and is more of a swelling of the abdominal area, rather than a generalized over-all swelling of the body which describes dropsy.

I'm sorry she's not doing well. When did you do the last water change? I know your readings are good... just wondering. Do you have an airstone or bubbler in the tank with her, to help oxygenate the water? What temperature are you keeping the water?

How does her companion look? Any signs of problems with him?

 

[mel_20_20]

Did you do the salt? Hold up a moment if you haven't.

 

[mel_20_20]

Fabio... are you there? I'm sorry I didn't see your post... I went to let the dogs back into the house.

 

[fabiobruno]

Not added salt yet, I'm ready to go...
Do you want to be sure is not dropsy first?

 

[mel_20_20]

Don't use the salt. If you did already then do a huge water change asap. Sodium chloride won't help.

If it's dropsy she's already having a difficult time getting rid of salts due to kidney dysfunction. This causes the blown up appearance with scales standing away from the body. The osmotic imbalance caused by addition of sodium to your tank water will make this condition far worse.

You can use Epsom salt if you have that. Epsom salt does not pass through the walls of the gut or gills and will extract water out of the surrounding tissues into the gut where it may be excreted.

 

[fabiobruno]

I don't have an air pump but I have the venturi system ON in my filter.
I have the temperature set at 24.5 Celsius (76 F).
I'm going to try taking a picture from above and I'll post it soon (but I guess constipation doesn't give popping eyes...).

 

[fabiobruno]

What's Epsom salt, aquarium salt? I don't have it at home anyway.
I can't see the scales protruding yet, not sure about the one below, close to her belly, those look extremely shining at the moment.

 

[mel_20_20]

If it looks like dropsy use Epsom salt. The dose is 1/8 tsp per 5 gallons of water. This could be helpful if it is dropsy. May help in general even if not dropsy and it won't hurt anything.

However, Epsom salt is made up of Magnesium Sulfate. This does contain one part Sulfa in its make up. If the medication you are using states that it is not compatible with medications containing Sulfa, don't use Epsom salts. Careful on the dose. More is not necessarily better.