Gold Gourami red spots, white feces

[Tahl]

My 55 gallon tank just had a bala shark and a pictus catfish die and now I've noticed that the gold gourami in the tank has red spots on the side of the body and something that looks like a bruise towards the tail. The gourami has been acting a lot more lifeless than normal (as opposed to being the alpha gourami) and hanging around the top of the tank or in a cave.

My tank seems to be plagued with problems right now, I'm treating for ich right now with a heater and my nitrites are spiking very high (was 1.6 mg/l earlier today, down to about 0.3 mg/l now), ammonia in the tank is non-existant, and nitrates were around 12.5 mg/l before a water change.

What could my tank have? Is it wide spread? Should I remove the gourami or treat them all with something?

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

ok to start what kind of test kit are you using? normally...i know on my test kit and ones ive seen you cant get a 12 reading for nitrates, its normally like 5, 10, 20 etc...
if you are using strip tests they can be very inaccurate . the liquid test kits are much more accurate and cheaper in the long run.

for treating ich what is your temp sitting at?

 

[Tahl]

I'm using Tetra brand liquid test kits, which I'm not a big fan of. I'm planning on taking a trip to the local pet store to pick up an API Freshwater Master Test Kit and hopefully something to clear up the gourami too.

As far as the ich treatment goes, I'm leaving the heater set to 86 for about a week or two more and the fish seem to have cleared up, I no longer see spots on any of the fish.

edit: Tetra readings were as follows for NO3: 0 mg/l, 12.5 mg/l, 25 mg/l, 50 mg/l, and 100 mg/l.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

thats weird ive never seen a test kit like that. but the red spots could be an infection from the ich. say the ich on the fish was gone, it will leave a little wound which get infected.

 

[Tahl]

Does it need to be treated with anything other than Stress Coat+? Also should I be treating the white feces with anything as well?

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

im not sure about the red wounds....if you can get a picture it would be more helpfull to diagnose it. as for white poop its normally a sign of IP (internal parasites) which you can get meds for. i'm not sure what kind is best ive never had to use it

 

[Tahl]

It's hard getting him out of the structure he's in right now, so I'll try and get some better pictures for you a little later. PetSmart being the closest pet store I can find within a 30 minute drive, suggested I do an API General Cure medication and a Jungle Anti-Bacteria medicated fish food. The gourami isn't eating the food however, from what I can see.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

i dont know much about treating diseases...the only medication ive ever had to use is melafix. but ive read here that many people have used Jungle products so give it a shot.
if your gourami comes out, try to get a glose up pic. i can see the red spot and what not but im no expert when it comes to stuff like that...i'm still a newbie myself
good luck

maybe someone else will be kind enough to help

 

[Tahl]

I'm pretty sure the gourami isn't going to make it. It seems pretty lifeless at this point, it hasn't been eating and only comes to the surface for air from time to time. The positive to this though is that I believe I caught the bad conditions in the tank early enough to save the rest of the fish.