Darned Gouramis!! :(

[Glasstapper]

I have to treat my tank now with Pimafix and Melafix because I can't tell if Scar's lip is caused from a bacteria infection or a fungul infection. I also think I may be seeing some beginning signs of ich. :(

I have had nothing but trouble with those two Dwarf Flames.

The whole story is in my blog if you care to know what's going on.
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[Lady Hobbs]

Dwarf gourami's can't do the damage to each other I saw in your photos. They have no teeth! The biggest thing they do is chase each other a bit and that's it. Now that I have looked at your pictures again, I do also believe it's fungus. Stressed out fish are likely to get fungus, ick, fin rot and the whole smear. And your gourami's have gone thru quite a lot here.

[Glasstapper]

I was thinking they were getting stressed from the fighting, too. As for my poor Scar....:( Poor little guy. Half of his bottom lip is gone. It was there this morning, so hopefully I started my medication soon enough. I hope I can save him in time. It's not looking red or swollen right now, but I almost cried when I saw him accidentally dropping food out of his mouth. I hope it can grow back. He is still getting some food (flakes is all he can put in his mouth as it seems the bloodworms hurt) and is trying to eat, so that's a good sign.

*has a heavy heart*

On a lighter note, their fighting has subsided a lot, but I don't know if it's because they're not feeling well or what.

[Glasstapper]

Here's some pictures on day 1 of treatment. I'm glad I started today because it certainly didn't look this bad yesterday. Actually, it didn't look this bad this morning.

:( cross your fingers for me.

[Lady Hobbs]

One of my balas had that once. I used Jungle Labs fungual meds and it was gone in 3 days. I'm surprised he's eating.

Why don't you take these groumai's over to Goomers and give them to his Oscar?

[kimmers318]

Awww Glasstapper, these gourami are really giving you a run for your money aren't they? If possible, once you get them healthy again you may want to consider separating them so they can't harass each other anymore :). It might save you some aggravation in the end.

[Glasstapper]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on Scar. It seems that his lip is looking a little better. It doesn't look quite so 'fuzzy' anymore, and now you can clearly see how much of his mouth he lost. It certainly never stopped him from eating, though. ;)

As for the scratching and rubbing everyone was doing, it seems that has edged off quite a bit, as well. I had raised the temperature to about 85F, so hopefully I won't even have to throw another medication in there after this one.

My other gourami seems to be getting fatter, though. His belly is rounder now. I don't know if maybe he is just really greedy or what. His scales aren't poking out, he's behaving normally, and their diet is varied, so I guess I'll just watch him close and see. He was certainly enjoying his frozen brine shrimp last night.

[Glasstapper]

Update:

Well, I'm down to one gourami, Scar. (My other thread tells about the death of the other one)

Scar is not looking to hot, guys. I'm on day 5 of the Pimafix and Melafix, and it doesn't seem to be doing anything. After the second day, he started looking a little better, but then it's getting bad again. His lip (or what's left of it) looks horrible. He's also developing these white-ish lumps on his body, and he's doing that seizure/shivering/twitching thing again. I just saw him do it for a good two seconds long. He has become more shy than ever, but would you believe he's still eating? I can hardly believe it, but everytime I give them their food, he's right up there with them getting his.

I've attached some photos and on a couple of them, I circled the white-ish lumps I'm seeing. A little hard to see in the pictures, but he's got them on both sides of his body. One of them (circled in red) even looks a little like a beginning sore. His fins are looking ragged, too.

Has anyone else ever had so much problem with a type of fish before? Or am I just a very unlucky beginner?

[Glasstapper]

Oh boy. I do believe this is what Scar has:

Disease Name: Columnaris or Cotton Wool disease or Saddleback disease

Disease Type : Bacterial Infection caused by a gram negative rod, Flexibacter columnaris.

Symptoms: Erosion of the mouth ( mouth fungus) Erosion of the fins ( tail fin normally). Eroded tissue turns white and infection may advance. More serious widespread infection shows up as one of more white patches on the skin and sometimes ulcers. The fish may shimmy.

Details:Bacterial Infection caused by flavobacterium columnare.

Treatment: Antibacterial medications, herbal treatments work in mild cases, antibiotics from the vet may work best in bad cases.

Fact: Despite seeming like a touch of mould this can be lethal if not caught early on as it spreads very quickly.

He has every single one of these symptoms. It looks like my medication is not strong enough, and I know for a fact that I probably didn't catch this early enough. :(

[f1oored]

Maybe you should isolate him before any other fish get sick. Also you might want to consider adding some salt to your aquarium for a while until you get things healthy again. Aquarium salt is good for fish an bad for bacteria which is what you are looking for.

As always do some research before doing anything.

[Glasstapper]

Thanks, f1oored. I tried salt already, but I have corys in my tank and they don't like the amount of salt I would need to use. I've been researching non-stop for days on what I can do, and I am definitely trying the suggestions offered.

I'm not able to isolate him. The only other tank I have is my 5 gallon, but the water conditions are not suitable for him (pH and temperature are too different from what is required for him).

It seems that his death will be inevitable sooner or later, and I don't want him to suffer a long death. As hard as it will be for me to do, I will have to put him down. It's going to break my heart as this little guy has won me over despite all of his trouble.

*heavy sigh*

[Lady Hobbs]

I was about to post that very thing. Time to give up the fight in trying to save him.

[f1oored]

Some people also recomend a salt bath at one tablespoon per gallon for five minutes. You could use a gallon of your tank water in a seperate container and just add the salt. For 5 minutes you wouldn't have to worry about water conditions.

If you are set on putting him down, I've heard that freezing fish is painless.

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

[Glasstapper]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, I just finished putting him down.

f1oored, I've heard the most humane way of euthanizing your fish is with clove oil to put him to sleep, and alcohol (vodka) to help him pass away. That's what I did.

Trying to catch him wasn't very hard. It seemed that he didn't have much energy. Maybe this was for the best.

[Abbeys_Mom]

Sorry you had to put him down. It's always hard losing a fish, especially if you have worked so hard to save them.

[f1oored]

Vodka seems like a good way to go. I'm sure he's in a better place now (he's probably wasted too). He's in a place where ammonia levels are always zero and the fish flakes rain from the heavens in an endless shower.

[Glasstapper]

lol, that's cute. A little fishy heaven.