Dwarf Gourami - Disease?

**Calyman** · 06-25-2012, 01:22 AM

I have a male and female Dwarf Gourami. The female is doing fine. The male, however, started out with a small red bump on his dorsal fin. I didn't think anything of it, and when I left for a camping trip two days ago, he was fine and the bump didn't look bad. Now that I'm back, and had time after unpacking to check on my fish and care for them, I noticed that three more red bumps have appeared: two on his right side, one on the left. He's swimming, eating, and playing with his tankmates perfectly well (playing, not biting/nipping/attacking). He keeps scraping against the rougher inserts in my tank. I don't know if it's an effort to scrape whatever is on him off, or if it itches, or if he just has some weird hobby.

Tank specs:
10 gallon tank
One tablespoon of aquarium salt water
Temp is 78 degrees (heater installed)
2 mollies, and 2 platies, and a female gourami.
pH levels, I couldn't tell you. I don't know how to find that out.
I also have a filter, which works well.

I feed them Tetramin tropical flakes, and just changed 25% of the water three days ago. There's plenty of hiding room for my fish as I have one large plant insert, a log, and a castle insert.

**escamosa** · 06-25-2012, 02:13 AM

Can you see if there's a really fine thread looking thing hanging from the red bumps? It's definitely some kind of parasite I would think. Either that or the salt maybe irritating him. Why do you have salt in the tank?

**Cermet** · 06-28-2012, 12:30 PM

A picture (close up) would help.

**steveperry42** · 06-30-2012, 01:12 AM

I need help I have a Dwarf Gourami for about 6 months and he has grown twice his size. Eating great and acting fine, but about three days ago I noticed that he stopped eating. When i got off work tonight and went to feed I sow him swimming up with his body straight up and down. Now he is just laying on the bottom still breathing but not doing anything else. What do I do?????

**stephclark620** · 07-01-2012, 03:36 AM

I also have a Dwarf Gourami that I just quarantine. He is behaving the same was but also has white cottony film on his mouth, only. I'm treating for ich but not really sure what I'm doing. Should I also treat the display tank?

**escamosa** · 07-01-2012, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by steveperry42

I need help I have a Dwarf Gourami for about 6 months and he has grown twice his size. Eating great and acting fine, but about three days ago I noticed that he stopped eating. When i got off work tonight and went to feed I sow him swimming up with his body straight up and down. Now he is just laying on the bottom still breathing but not doing anything else. What do I do?????

This is pretty common in Dwarf Gouramis, and to date, I really haven't found a reason for this, or a cure. The first two dwarfs I owned both did this. At first I treated them for bloat, I did huge water changes, water tests, everything. Unfortunately there was nothing I could do but euthanize them. There's been quite a few people writing in, with this problem.

Originally Posted by stephclark620

I also have a Dwarf Gourami that I just quarantine. He is behaving the same was but also has white cottony film on his mouth, only. I'm treating for ich but not really sure what I'm doing. Should I also treat the display tank?

If the fish has a white cottony fungus on his mouth, then you should be treating it with an anti-fungus treatment. Ich is a parasite, and will show up on your fishes like small white dots. It will almost look like the fish has been sprinkled with salt. The ich treatment will probably be doing nothing to cure your fishes problem, unless it actually has ich.