Help with the Sickness, please!

C

ChadNelson

AC Members
Dec 28, 2005
12
0
0
Iowa City
I recently purchased three rainbow gouramis for my 55 gallon tank and one of them has taken an immediate turn for the worst. The symptoms are as follows:
1., Frayed tail fins are shorter than those of the other gouramis.
2., "Sleeping" on its side like my clown loach (other gouramis don't)
3., Has white, irregularly shaped bowel movements, not normal brown or reddish brown.
4., Grayish scales near its belly on the right hand side
5., Swimming (which it is doing little of) vertically (nose up, tail down) and struggling at it.

So, I'm ready to let this one go if I have to to save the others but any ideas on what this is/how to prevent this in the future? Fin Rot?

55 gallon tank:
2 3" Clown Loach
1 3" Bala Shark
1 4" Angelfish
3 Guppies
1 dwarf clawed frog
5 neon tetras
3 scavenger algea eaters (names long forgotten)
and, of course, the 3 gouramis recently purchased

50% water change every week along with close monitor of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (all of which are safe levels - nitrate pushing it at 35ppm)

:help:
 
This is the 3rd thread in under 24 hours concerning Dwarf Gouramis and this same type of sickness. From what other people have been describing it sounds like fin rot or bacterial ulcers. Either way you should treat the tank with Melafix, keep a close eye on your ammonia/nit/nat levels, and make sure the sick guy is eating. Maybe give him some blood worms if he is avoiding flake food.

I had this same type of thing happen to one of my Flame Dwarf Gouramis. His feces was very long and white, and he spent a lot of his time near the surface tilted one way or another. Soon after this he developed a red sore near his right eye. I tried treating my tank with Melafix, his female counterpart got better, but he died within a week.

Just something to keep in mind; we people of the internet boards are just giving you our best guess with the information we are provided and what we know from past experience. If you really want a definative answer, take the sick guy down to your LFS and ask an employee.
 
Thanks redstar. I saw your response to the eel with the ulcer(?) and was hoping you'd respond to mine, as well. I don't have a QT tank (all efforts have been thwarted by my girlfriend, because we have "too many fishtanks in the house" - bah). Will this Melafix harm any of the other fish in the tank? Thanks again for the advice. This was the probe, I'll delve into it deeper soon.
 
I'm at work right now, so I'm not 100% sure, but I think Melafix is all natural and doesnt really contain any harsh cemicals.

Also, keep in mind that QT's are not always a good idea, lets say this turns out to be something that could spread to your other community fish, but instead of just treating your tank where the illness first arose, you place him in a QT and start treating only him. Who's to say if your other fish havent been infected as well.

Granted, this is not always the case.

A buddy of mine "always swears by the salt!" He's sure that salt can cure almost anything wrong with fish of any sort, I have always been sceptical, but maybe someone has some info on salt treatments.
 
It could also be a swim bladder infection. The sores could be caused by malnutrition, and the fin damage from running into objects in the tank. This would also explain why he is swimming vertically. If this turns out to be the case, try feeding him some peeled peas and see if he likes that, it might help clear out his system.

BTW, Do you have any pics?
 
ChadNelson said:
So, I'm ready to let this one go if I have to to save the others but any ideas on what this is/how to prevent this in the future? Fin Rot?
Click to expand...
QT your fish for at least 2 weeks before putting them in with the others.

What exactly are your ammonia and nitrite levels? "Safe" can mean a lot of things and anything other than 0 can be a problem for a new fish.

Fin rot and fungus are usually secondary indications of some other problem, generally having to do with water quality. Since your nitrates are at 35ppm, which is rather high, what is your water change schedule?

It is entirely possible that the higher nitrates could affect a fish who is not entirely healthy to begin with and cause him to quickly go downhill.

As for your current fish, QT him add about 1 teaspoon salt per gallon -- this will help him breath a little better. I would stay away from hard meds at this point, because it's possible he's too far gone for them to do anything but stress him out.

Roan
 
"Safe" levels for me are: Nitrate 35 ppm, Ammonia no more than 0 ppm, Nitrate no more than 0 ppm (color of test water closest to 0 ppm color on cards. As I said above water change 50% every week - I feel anything less than 40 ppm of nitrate is fine.

How do I take quality pictures? I've tried several times, but my digital camera's shutter speed must not be fast enough because the fish are always blurry from moving through the shot. I'd love to post a picture of my fish (sick and well) but can't get the shots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom