Unknown disease... HELP!

[DixonHill]

I've been all over the internet trying to figure this one out and even my local Petco fish expert has lead me wrong.

I have a Cinnamon Gourami that has a bizzare condition. We recently went on a multi-part vacation (honeymoon) and when we returned from the first leg of the trip, the Gourami had a white growth on it's upper-right side, just behind where the head/body division is. It was about the size of a grapenut, no stringy tail or anything, just a large mass.

At first we thought the fish had been injured somehow while we were gone. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule and unable to start any sort of treatment, so we dosed the take with Melafix and took off again, hoping the fish would be ok until we got back.

Upon return, the growth was still about the same diameter on the fish's body, but was not protruding as much, so we thought this was an improvement. I'm beginning to think we were wrong.

It's been about another week and now the white mass can no longer be seen on the outside of the gourami, but now there is a gaping hole in the fish where the mass once was. Almost like when you see a fresh worm hole on an apple. There is no irritation or sign of infection and the fish is not behaving erratically in any way.

This morning, I shined a flashlight on the fish to get a better look and it looks like the mass has "burrowed" into the fish. I was hoping the hole was simply where the mass used to be and that now it was gone, but I think I'm horribly mistaken. My thoughts at this point are "parasite".

A call to the pet store resulted in a diagnosis of Anchor Worm, but I've been looking at pictures online and there are huge differences that make me pretty confident it's not anchor worm.

Making matters worse, I've spotted a smaller white growth on one of our other Gouramis.

Does anyone have any ideas of what this could be? I didn't have time to take a pic this morning, but I'll do so tonight so you can see what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, I don't have any pic of what the mass looked like externally and the mass on the second gourami is too small to get a decent picture of.

Help!

Thanks,
Carl

[William]

hmmm have you looked into hole in the head disease: Can sometimes develop as you described.

Pictures would help.

[DixonHill]

hmmm have you looked into hole in the head disease: Can sometimes develop as you described.
That was my initial thought once I saw the gaping hole, but the fact that the white mass seems to have burrowed makes me skeptical. I've found a few pictures of HITH, but they don't look anything like what I'm seeing. Maybe they're just at a different stage?

What's the recommended treatment for HITH?


Pictures would help.
I'll get some online tonight.

Thanks for your help. :thumb:

[DixonHill]

Here are the pics of my fish:

Distance shot. Nothing really wrong other than the gaping hole in its side:
http://www.gomberg.com/Cinnamon1.JPG

Closeup of the hole. You can see the white mass at the top of the hole:
http://www.gomberg.com/Wound1.JPG

Another closeup and also another new development... it now looks like there's some cottony tissue extending from the wound. This pic shows it off pretty well at the bottom right of the hole:
http://www.gomberg.com/Wound2.JPG

Any ideas what this is?

Thanks,
Carl

[rollie]

it not holes in a head.
my best guess would be a type of fungus.
there are hundreds of different types of it.
could be a bug of some kind.
or some of your fish is beating each other up.
if it was mine fish, i would give it a salt treatment.
and i would put all they could take.
but some peoples do not agreed with that.

[DixonHill]

could be a bug of some kind.
Where would something like that come from?


if it was mine fish, i would give it a salt treatment.
and i would put all they could take.
I add 1 Tablespoon with every 5 gallons whenever I change the water. How much more is safe?

Thanks,
Carl

[William]

rollie is right. that doesn't look like Hole in the head and a fungi seems likely. Can't really tell you how much salt that would be safe since I rarely use salt. have you tried adding a anti fungal med since the salt isn't your using now isn't working.

( and nice pictures the topic aside)

[Lady Hobbs]

I've heard of others who have used 1 T per gallon and turned the heat to 84 for several days. This seems like a lot to me, tho. It does look like a fungus tho but looks as it's growing inward. Like some flesh eating fungus.

Great pics BTW.

Body Fungus Body Fungus is just that, fungus. It will attack your fish's skin and cause ulcers or death in extreme cases. Large amounts of organic materials such as decaying food or fish waste can cause a breakout of fungus in your aquarium. Open wounds can develop fungus. The fungi feeds by excreting digestive enzymes which if it’s on the fish, slowly digests parts of the fish. Though cured easily, if the fish doesn't get prompt treatment it will surely die. Secondary infections are also common.
Symptoms: White or grayish patches appear on the skin or gills that look like cotton or wool.
Treatment: Either purchase a treatment from your local fish/pet store specifically for fungus or buy an all round antibacterial treatment such as Melafix.

[DixonHill]

Well, on a hunch it might be a fungus (because nothing else seemed to fit) I started Melafixing the tank last night, so hopefully we'll see some improvement. I'm glad to see that there's some agreement out there that this is indeed a fungus. Chalk this one up as another learning experience. I'm just hoping it isn't too far progressed to save the fish.

My guess is that it's from being away for that first week with 2 dead fish in the tank (always a nice "welcome home" greeting) Not sure what killed them or when, but there wasn't much left by the time we got home. We did a water change and used the gravel vac, but I guess the damage was already done since the white mass was already there on the gourami. Unfortunately, we had to leave again and so we couldn't treat the tank properly. I'm really bummed that I wasn't able to do anything.

Thanks for the compliments on the photos, these were the best 3 of about 20-ish that I took while trying to get a good in-focus shot using a cheap autofocus digital that kept focusing on the reflection rather than the fish. PITA, let me tell you. I finally just gently netted him and moved him toward the surface and snapped a few pics from above when he was positioned well enough to get a good view. Hopefully this papparazzi treatment didn't stress the fish out too much.

Thanks,
Carl

[Lady Hobbs]

Well, it won't hurt him any and should heal that area.

Hey. Congrats on getting married!

[DixonHill]

Just an update to close this thread.

The Melafix worked great and the wound has closed. There's been no ill effect to the fish at this point and I'm hoping we've seen the last of this. The only lasting reminder is that some of the scales are a bit darker in the area where the hole used to be, presumably due to scarring.

Thanks again for all your help.

Carl