Blue gourami fin rot / really messed up

[Forkdude]

My Blue gourami recently got really messed up by my blue acara. He has some MAJOR fin rot and I currently have him quarantined. I'm treating him with API Fin and Body cure and the brownish spots he had when I first got him out of the tank went away.

I'm also noticing flashing and I don't know if that's the fin rot or if there is something else I should be worried about.

I'm all ears to any suggestions about treatment and/or what I should do

Edit: he's not on his side the pictures just came out weird

 

[Andy Sager]

The injury looks like a bad one so it's going to take quite some time to heal. If you are seeing progress, continue with the current medication you are using. You may want to run a second full course of the medication to ensure there is no bacterial or fungal infections taking hold.
As for the flashing, It's going to depend on where the fish is scratching. If it's the gills, it could be parasites, possibly ick because ick usually starts in the gills and is a direct reaction to stress. If it's on the body, look closely for white spots that look like salt crystals. That would be ick and you'd need to treat with a different med. Aquarium Solutions Ich-X and Seachem ParaGuard rate higher among all the different ick meds on the market. Fritz FixIck by fritz aquatics is another med that has had some really good results on more gentler fish because it doesn't use Formaldehyde or Malachite green.

Other than that, the fish should remain in the quarantine tank alone and fed a good varied diet to help it heal.
Hope this helps.

 

[Forkdude]

If it's flashing is targeted towards the effected area could it be trying to scratch the fin rot or is that not the reason?

 

[Andy Sager]

If it's flashing is targeted towards the effected area could it be trying to scratch the fin rot or is that not the reason?

It could if there is hanging skin or something irritating the area but then the fish would only be hitting the tail area based on your pictures and not anywhere else on the body. Fish don't usually scratch an injury like that tho.