Gourami is sick...please help!

[Zenz]

Hiya,

We recently moved from city water to artisian well water. When we moved the tank I brought along a lot of the water from the old house and only added about 10% of the new water. All of the fish did fine. Then I did a water change of about 25% and I lost one of my red arc pencilfish, but everyone else seemed fine. I noticed that my gourami seemed really stressed. He was flitting around the tank and always seemed to be breathing harder than usual. Everybody else was fine and water all tested fine with test kits (not dip sticks). After the last water change, I noticed a white "sore" on his back. We left for vacation for 6 days and a friend came to feed the fish. I did a water change before I left. When I came back, the sore on his back is bigger and there is a lump on his underside/side area. He is eating fine, and all of the other fish are fine. I don't know what to do to help him.

I have some medicines that I can put in the water but I'm worried about hurting my other fish/snails/frogs by using it.

What should I do?

 

[snoopy65]

We will need some more specifics before really being able to help. What size is the tank, tankmates, exact water parameter readings, what type of filter. Did you keep the filter media wet for the move? Have you replaced any filter media? Anything new added besides new water source? Plants, substrate, livestock?

 

[Zenz]

It's a 29 gallon tank, tankmates are 2 dwarf frogs, 2 otto, 5 neon cardinals, 2 red arc pencilfish, 3 snails, and some dwarf cory cats. Filter is rena filstar xp. The filter was kept wet for the entire move and everything has seemed just fine with that. There are a couple amazon swords with a little bit of black puffs developing on a few of the leaves.

I would think that perhaps the wound came from bumping a new piece of driftwood (which I boiled for about 6 hours before putting it in the tank), but the weird thing is the lump on the underside above the fin.

I am including a photo. His top fin had a bite out of it when he came months ago and that has not been an issue. The fraying of the back fin is new. Also you can see the lump toward the back right above the bottom fin...as well as the wound on the back.

Fresh water test results coming right up but I know it's clean.

 

[Zenz]

I tested the water and amonia is 0, nitrites are 0, and the weird one...nitrates are 0. It was not even verging on orange. This is a drop test, not sticks. The last water change was a week ago before we left on vacation (we just got home late last night). I guess with the plants and such the nitrates could be 0?

 

[Linda S]

1. did you shake the 2nd bottle really well according to the directions?
2. there are several very detailed threads on treating gouramis in the illness and disease forum that might be of help.