That reminds me a lot of my irridescent shark (my wife wanted it. I wanted no part of it) when he got hurt. For anyone who doesn't know, irridescent sharks are a major headache for the home aquarist. I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy them. Pierre (that's the shark's name) had a habit of running into the sides of the tank and the decoration in the tank. His face was covered in open wounds that looked just like this guy's pics. I treated him with melafix in a hospital tank. It cleared up in a little over two weeks of treatment. Now he's doing quite well in my 55 gallon, and I plan to move him to a small pond in the very near future.
HELP! Gourami w/ ulcer (pics)
- Thread starter hamstamasta
- Start date
Amen to never buying iridescent sharks. :bowing: I already went down that road, and I'd prefer never to set sight on any iri shark for the rest of my fishkeeping days! But I don't think this was an injury on any tank decor: there's nothing sharp, and it started as a lump under his scales rather than a wound.
I got the gourami to nibble some of the nasty medicated food after smashing it up with food flakes and blood worms, so that good... still thinking about quarantining though, I just set up a 5 gal with fresh (dechlorinated) water and a carbon-less filter in case he needs to be quarantined
I got the gourami to nibble some of the nasty medicated food after smashing it up with food flakes and blood worms, so that good... still thinking about quarantining though, I just set up a 5 gal with fresh (dechlorinated) water and a carbon-less filter in case he needs to be quarantined
Wow, you got him to eat that food...sneaky! You can quarantine him if you want, but you should still treat your main tank for the sake of your other fish. Quarantine can be tricky, for some fish it either stresses them out or helps them relax. If the other fish aren’t bothering him, I would'nt do anything to cause more stress. But if the fish start to harass him, then the quarantine would be a good move.hamstamasta said:
Ok then, no quarantine, the barbs leave him alone and are more interested in chasing each other than anything else 
One last question though, how long should I leave the carbon out? I know it's needed in the filtering process... or maybe I should just do more water changes instead? Last question, I promise
One last question though, how long should I leave the carbon out? I know it's needed in the filtering process... or maybe I should just do more water changes instead? Last question, I promise
heh, ask as many questions as you need to.
You can leave the carbon out for as long as it takes for the treatment to work. The carbon does chemical filtration and is useful in a tank to maintain healthy water, but the tank and bacteria can survive without it. Some people who have planted tanks don't use carbon at all because it can take out useful chemicals. What are most important are the bacteria in the filter that keeps your Ammonia and Nitrite levels at 0. While some bacteria will be removed when the carbon comes out, you should still have plenty in your filter sponge and on everything else. I hope you fish recovers quickly!
You can leave the carbon out for as long as it takes for the treatment to work. The carbon does chemical filtration and is useful in a tank to maintain healthy water, but the tank and bacteria can survive without it. Some people who have planted tanks don't use carbon at all because it can take out useful chemicals. What are most important are the bacteria in the filter that keeps your Ammonia and Nitrite levels at 0. While some bacteria will be removed when the carbon comes out, you should still have plenty in your filter sponge and on everything else. I hope you fish recovers quickly!
Ok, picked up the testing kit (which costed an insane amount of money...to me at least!) So here are the results:
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
pH - 6.0
Nitrate - 40 ppm
So I guess I could lower the nitrate a little, but everything seems fine to me... I guess the gourami was sick before I introduced it... Well, now I know better I guess.
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
pH - 6.0
Nitrate - 40 ppm
So I guess I could lower the nitrate a little, but everything seems fine to me... I guess the gourami was sick before I introduced it... Well, now I know better I guess.
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The ulcers aren't caused by poor water quality.
I had 2 Gouramis that went through the same thing, I put them down. I change 50% of my water each week and have to dose KNO3 to get them to 20, planted tank.
A 3rd Gourami has started to show signs but the mouth area as yours has. After some research I decided to dose the tank with Jungle Fungus Eliminator. If this doesn't work I was told to hit it with Maracyn 2.
I thought it was internal parasites but I found a site that showed better symptoms and descriptions.
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Common-Freshwater-Fish-Diseases/13/
Open sores on Gouramis or other anabantids. Bacterial Infection (Furunculosis) Aeromonas salmonicida bacteria.
Flesh eaten away around mouth. Mouth Rot Saprolegnia fungus with Pseudomonas or Aeromonas bacteria.
Flesh decays at the mouth or tail. Rot, Fungus Saprolegnia fungus with Pseudomonas or Aeromonas bacteria.
The fungus elimator covers all of these, both the fungus and bacteria.
I had 2 Gouramis that went through the same thing, I put them down. I change 50% of my water each week and have to dose KNO3 to get them to 20, planted tank.
A 3rd Gourami has started to show signs but the mouth area as yours has. After some research I decided to dose the tank with Jungle Fungus Eliminator. If this doesn't work I was told to hit it with Maracyn 2.
I thought it was internal parasites but I found a site that showed better symptoms and descriptions.
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Common-Freshwater-Fish-Diseases/13/
Open sores on Gouramis or other anabantids. Bacterial Infection (Furunculosis) Aeromonas salmonicida bacteria.
Flesh eaten away around mouth. Mouth Rot Saprolegnia fungus with Pseudomonas or Aeromonas bacteria.
Flesh decays at the mouth or tail. Rot, Fungus Saprolegnia fungus with Pseudomonas or Aeromonas bacteria.
The fungus elimator covers all of these, both the fungus and bacteria.
Sounds like the "open sores" one to me, it's the most specific. So the melafix won't work? Seems like the ulcer/sore has spread a little since last night
I'd like to get the Fungus Eliminator but the Petsmart in my area doesn't have any in stock... I guess I'll have to continue on just the mela/anti-bacteria food, for now... because of your experience with this IceH20, woudl you say that I should euthanize or did any of your fish recover successfully?
I'd like to get the Fungus Eliminator but the Petsmart in my area doesn't have any in stock... I guess I'll have to continue on just the mela/anti-bacteria food, for now... because of your experience with this IceH20, woudl you say that I should euthanize or did any of your fish recover successfully?
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Can I ask, why do you keep on asking about euthanizing? Try to cure the fish. If you can't there is nothing wrong with letting it die a natural death. I just don't get it.hamstamasta said:
And don't assume that your nitrates being 40ppm was not enough to bring on the illness, it very well could have. Get your nitrates down through water changes.
You have only been treating the fish since Friday. If you don't want to give Melafix more time, quarantine the fish and get some Kanamyacin, I have used KanaPlex in the past. I don't think you need to treat the entire tank with something so strong if no one else is showing signs of illness.
Just my 2 cents.
Mary.
