please help identify illness!

[applepip]

I went away for just over a week over the holidays and got back home yesterday. I left my brother with instructions on how to care for the fish while I was away. When I rang home a few days in he told me one of my fish had "something wierd" on it, I asked him what and he said it was something with its scales, "like a bit of white stuff on the scales". As Ive had problems with white spot in the past I suspected this again and directed him on how much medication to administer and how. However, when I get home yesterday immediately I noticed the problem and it certainly isnt white spot, Ive never seen anything like it except when reading about pineconing(?) in the past. Though Im not sure this is it. Apparently it just started appearing and within 2-3 days got to the stage it is now. There are identical patches on both sides of the body, totally symmetrical, and apparently the patch hasnt spread, it started off that big and just got "whiter" /more raised. I havent changed the food and all the other fish are absolutely fine. The fish (a balloon kissing gourami) itself seems otherwise okay, eating fine, doesnt seem to have trouble breathing or swimming, though isnt moving about too much, just seeming to favour staying at the top of the tank. I got given the fish about 9 months ago by a friend of my mums who was moving away and couldnt take her fish with her, so I have no clue of its age or medical history, though it has been healthy all the time Ive had it. 3 of my other fish also came from her, all are fine. Can anyone help me at all?? It would be much appreciated! Ive tried googling but cant seem to find anything with symptoms that fit enough :/ Thankyou to anyone who can at all! )
(more pictures in link below)
Poorly Fish - Imgur

 

[Matt68005]

wow, ive never seen anything like that before.

 

[libimagana]

Is some time of disease but can't remember the name is really bad tough sorry

 

[Fishfur]

It's certainly not pineconing in the typical sense. Pineconing is a name given to the effect of a fish having its scales raised up so they appear like the scales on a pine cone. Can affect just the head or eyes, pop eye, or the entire body, in which case it is often dropsy, which is incurable. I have never seen anything like what this fish has, and the fact it shows up on both sides is really weird.

Maybe write to Neale Monk and send him a picture.. he knows so much, he may be able to tell you what this is.

I would isolate this fish if all possible, in case this may be contagious.. it looks as though the skin around the lesion is reddish which may indicate infection or inflammation or both. Don't want that spreading to other fishes.

 

[mikem691]

Do you have a pleco in the tank?

 

[applepip]

Yes I do have a pleco, I got him from the same person I got this fish from

 

[applepip]

No one seems to know what it is Ive searched around and seems nobody has seen it before! and I cant isolate it at the moment, I lent my "hospital" tank to my friend who needed it urgently and theyre using it at the moment :/ Although, the fish has had this for nearly 2 weeks now and it doesnt seems to be getting any worse and none of the other fish are showing any signs so I hope Ill be okay for now.
But thankyou, how would I get in touch with him?

 

[mikem691]

Some plecos will attach to sleeping fish at night and suck the slime coat off. This causes damage to the scales and flesh. I'm not saying that is what it is but a possibility.

 

[Tieberion]

If he's still alive and you want to spend the money, here ya go:
Cure koi body sores, ulcers, fin rot, gill bacterial infections | aquameds.com
Theres injectable meds that will work faster, along with taking gentle scrapings and treating the area with betadine. It's a lot for a fish, but it is savable if you have already started a TX+RX

 

[applepip]

Thankyou for all your advice everyone, I asked around on other sites and also facebook and nobody seemed to know for sure, lits of people suggesting fungal infection or also pleco bites, so today I finally managed to get out and went to my local (trusted) fish store and showed the guys there the pictures and explained it all to them and asked what treatment they would recommend I get. They also said they had no clue as to what it was, never seen anything quite like it before and agreed with the comments I got, but then surprised me by saying they had a spare quarantine tank and would be prepared to take the fish in and treat it with different things until (hopefully!) something works Safe to say my respect for the store and people working there went up 100-fold and I feel hopeful for his/her recovery

 

[Roz]

Wow - you are so very fortunate to have such a good lfs!

Am following this thread in the hope your little guy has a speedy recovery.

 

[mikem691]

Thats awesome of them