injured gourami

[purple permelia]

help for injured gourami?

Hello. I'm new to AC. I have a question about my Cosby gourami, Bill. Bill isn't terribly smart and tried to squeeze through the tiny front door in our castle last night. He was stuck fast! My daughter happened to see him and alerted Daddy. Daddy pushed and pulled poor Bill (too bad we didn't have miniature jaws of life handy) and managed to free him.

Well, Bill has lost a large patch of scales on both sides of his body as well as the top part of his tail fin. He didn't eat last night or at all today.

Do any of you know of something I should do to help him?

We have 3 other female gouramis, and they are not bothering him. The other fish are zebra danios, neon tetras and one pleco which is aloof. Our tank is 29 gal. and 8 months old. It appears to be healthy, but we are novices.

TIA!

 

[patoloco]

Scales grow back. That's nothing to be worried. If he is not eating that probablt bacuase he is still scared.

However, the main concern is the possibilty of an bacterial or fungal infection in the swollen areas. The best thing you can do is keep the water as clean as possible by performing partial water changes. you could go 20% every 2other day just to be safe. Make sure the water you use has the same temperature than the one you are changing to avoid problems.

Keep a close eye on him for any sign of cotton like formations, that would indicate the presence of fungus. In my case, I'd add methylen blue to the tank (1 drop per gallon) to reduce even further the risk of infection.

Also, watch for agressiveness from other fish. If this happens, you'll need a tank divider or a hospital tank. If this is the case, you can get some more advice here.

Wait for some more replies to this post beofre you decide what to do.

 

[purple permelia]

Thanks, patoloco. Bill is the most skittish fish we have. I know he's been traumatized, poor guy. I did a water change today thinking that cleaner water would mean less chance of infection.

What about his tail fin? Will that grow back, too?

Bill seems to be hanging with Hoover (the pleco) at the moment, and the girls are all on the opposite side of the tank. Bill used to be #1 fish until we decided to add two more females. Bill was attacking the single female gourami and terrorizing her. He now appears to be #3 fish.

How do you warm the water for the water changes? Is there a good way to get the little heaters to hang on the side of the bucket?

 

[kyazh]

I used to have this same problem with my fish. They would go into the castle and never come out. End up dying in there and stuff. So, I solved the problem by patching all the holes in the castle with silicone and fish net material.

 

[purple permelia]

Hi, kyazh. Excellent idea for patching the holes. My castle has 2 large holes that can accomodate everyone and a bunch of tiny holes that only the little fish could attempt. The only odd hole was this front door. I jammed a shell into it for the moment. I didn't think duct tape would solve this problem.

 

[kyazh]

you're most welcome. If you do use this method. Make sure u let the castle dry for a day or two. then apply the silicone, and let that dry for another day or two, rinse off and pop it back in. Good luck!