help with dwarf gourami with spot-posting here too

[gemini69]

I posted this under fish diseases also but thought I would try here also.

Attached are some pictures of my dwarf gourami. He has had a brown spot on his side for at least a week--I was hoping it would go away. His colors also do not seem as bright as when I first got him. It also appears that he has an area of swelling under the brown spot although much larger than the spot itself--I tried to take a picture of him from above to show the swelling. He swims okay and eats okay. He does hide in the plants a lot but I don't think that is too unusual. I have Melafix, Pimafix and salt I can treat him with but I don't know what he has or which med is appropriate. I did the best I could with the pictures but they aren't the greatest. Any help is appreciated.

Tank parameters:
ammonio: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrates: 10, pH: 7.2

Tank is a 30g with an AC70 HOB filter. I turned on my air pump today although I generally do not run it, just use it occasionally.

[GreenTerrorNYC]

Your fish may have Dropsy (malawi bloat), maybe this can point you in the right direction. I have never seen nor have i treated (knowck wood) this disease.

here is more info.

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Good luck

More info

TREATMENT: Most cases of dropsy in tropical fish are diagnosed when it is too far advanced for any treatment to be effective, so euthanasia should be performed. If dropsy is caught very early, then it may respond to the following treatment. Goldfish tend to respond more than any other type of fish.

1. Test your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates) and correct any abnormalities.

2. Romet B or Medi-Gold (antibiotic foods)* for two weeks (one that covers gram negative bacteria).

3. Maintaining the water at 84-86ºF (29-30ºC) for two weeks. Be sure to provide extra aeration/oxygenation when treating at these high temperatures because warmer water holds less oxygen. This can be done by adding an airstone.

4. Abdominal swelling might be lessened by adding Epsom salt at the rate of 1/8 teaspoon per every 5 gallons of water, as it will draw fluid out of your fish. Never use aquarium or other types of salt, as these may pull even more fluid inside of your fish, worsening the dropsy.

5. Always remove your fish with dropsy from the main tank and treat in a hospital tank.

6. Consider treating with RidIch+ or Maracide for external parasites, especially with goldfish.

*Use kanamycin (KanaPlex) or minocycline (Maracyn-Two) as a bath, if unable to find medicated food, for 10-14 days.

*The best antibiotic to use for prolonged immersion, which can only be obtained from your Vet, is tauted to be Augmentin (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid) 500 mg tablet crushed per every 10 gallons water after a 25% water change has been performed, daily for 10-14 days, though I have been disappointed with its’ results in tropical fish.

Feeding antibiotic food is the best course to follow. Once a tropical fish with dropsy has stopped eating, in my experience, it uniformly dies. The goldfish community has had a different and much more encouraging experience with successfully treating dropsy than the those with tropical fish.