Dwarf Powder Blue Gourami -- time to put him down?

[TeutonJon78]

My dwarf gourami had been doing fine (isn't that always the case). Anyway, a few weeks ago, I noticed a small lump in his bottom fin. Wasn't too concerned as he was doing well, but then he started to flash on some of the plants and was hiding a lot and the cardinal tetras were bullying him around and out-eating him. Plus, his tail fin started to show some signs of tearing (whether from nipping by the tetras, I don't know).
Anyway, it was time to do something, so I yanked him from the tank and raised the temp in the tankto 78 (should I make it higher for awhile?). They are fine (so they seem).

Now to the gourami. He has been on a regime of 20 minutes in a PrazilPro bath (which had previously helped one of the tetras), followed by staying in a separate "tank" (which is actually a 1-gallon milk jug since I don't have anything else available). The water in there has about .5-.9 teaspoons of salt in it (depending on the how much I talk myself into putting in). After the first day of this (he stayed in the main tank for a day before I came up with this rig), he got a bunch of red marks up and down his flank and bunch of more pimply looking things (I'm guessing parasites being very unhappy).

anyway, he's been getting this treatment for like the last 5 days and while he has seemed much more energetic and very hungry, the wounds don't really seem to be healing. So, is it time to euthanize him? or more perhaps, how long does it take for wounds like that to heal? I had a cory in another tank get stuck in a decoration and had two little chunks torn out, and I couldn't believe how fast he healed (almost literally in front of my eyes). I don't want to kill him unless I REALLY have to, but I don't want to hurt the rest of my fish. He's probably heal better back in the tank, but don't really want to put him back in there if he's still infected.

I've attached some current pictures of Powder in the treatment bowl. Notice the tears/holes in the fins and red marks all over. On his left side, the large mark at the top of his gills might be visible. Sorry for the bluriness, hard to get a get picture in a small bowl with curved sides, a stressed fish and no flash.

Opinions? (knowledge would be better)

 

[minzabella]

just curious, how are you regulating the temperature in the milk jug? how long have you had your fish?

 

[TeutonJon78]

unfortunately, it's going unregulated, so it's probably colder than it should be. I've had the fish for 2 months. He was fine till this started (even build a bubble nest for the female I got before she died).

I'm thinking the lower temperature could be preventing him from healing, but I also don't want a sick fish in with the healthy ones.

 

[minzabella]

I'm not an expert, but a few things off the top of my head...
I dont know how big your tank is, but you could get a tank splitter. I've seen them at all the fish stores I've been in. water in a container that small is going to cool really fast, not at all good for the fish. ammonia and other bad things will build up in there quickly, too.
have you tested your water recently? worrisome that the female died. understandably you dont want your other fish to get sick, but there might already be something wrong with the tank and the gourami just happened to be more susceptable than the tetra. I'd also worry a bit about the salt. I was adding some to my own tank and was mixing the aquarium salt into a bowl of water first, there were some little rocks in the bowl so I reached in to take them out and when I touched the salt it actually felt like it was burning my skin. personally, I'd put him back in the tank with a splitter or in one of those little plastic breeder containers that attach to the side of the tank for a few days. I'd just worry the shock of getting too cold and living in a milk jug would be enough to kill the fish even without whatever else is ailing him.
have you asked anyone at the place where you bought him what might be wrong? any good pet store will be happy to answer your questions. I dont think you should euthanize him, better to find out what the bigger problem is.
I hope he gets better, good luck

 

[smallfry]

Hi...sorry about your gourami.... I hope he heals soon! This may be a good time to invest in a 5g QT tank.....(with small filter/heater, etc.)

 

[FawnN]

He has no chance of survival without being in a real Q-Tank with adequate filtration and a heater. The drastic temp changes in the jug is only causing more stress on him.

The only time I've seen such red marks on a fish is when parasites have fallen off the fish after feeding on them.

What meds, if any are you trying on him?

 

[TeutonJon78]

He's been on PrazilPro in a bath regime. I gave him the last two days off.

And regrding the other question, the water is at zero for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte. The tank had just finished cycling when he started to get sick. Plus, a divider won't work, because you need to keep the sick fish more than just separated, as the parasites could just get back in the water/substrate and then when you let everyone back over, whammy.

I'd have no problem putting him back in the main tank if I knew he was done with the infection. A QT would be a solution, but I literally don't have the room, so I just have to do what I can.

 

[minzabella]

awww. poor fish, keep us posted on how he's doing!

 

[jacktheknife]

never say never- don't pull the plug!

 

[TeutonJon78]

oops...it's actually PraziPro by Hikari (Aquarium Solutions).

Not real change with him after a couple of days of treatment, so I think tomorrow, I'll treat him once more and then stick him back in the tank and see what happens.

 

[TeutonJon78]

Well, I decided to put him back in the main tank today after a last treatment. He seemed to be doing fine, but when I came home a few hours later, he was curled up dead on the bottom. So, problem solved. But not in the way I'd like.