yet another sick dwarf gourami :(

[emotionless04]

hi, i recently stocked my tropical tank (40L - i dunno about gallons). i got a flame dwarf gourami for it and while all the other fish (gourami, angelfish, goby, loach) are just dandy my Red (my dwarf gourami) has sudden become very sick. this morning she was just fine, however, this arvo wen i returned home one side of her face, back to her fins, and down to her pelvic fins is white and almost damaged. do u think this could b an aggression thing??

when i put the fish in the tank, Red had pretty much established herself as the dominate 'boss' so to speak. however, i did have an older angelfish who i moved from a tank with tetra, who had been fin nipping him, that i have seen chasing my gouramis. is it possible that is was caused by him? the damage doesn't seem to b fungal and is only on a limited section.

i have since put the angelfish into another tank, but any ideas on a) what is worng with Red and b) how i can aid her recovery???????

NB: i am aware that bumblebee gobies have an agressive reputation, but, i only have two which tend to keep to themselves and only really appear at feeding time.


ANY IDEAS?????

 

[severum mama]

It is possible that it was aggression from your angel. Did you see any nipping, or just chasing? Are any of the white areas fuzzy looking, as might indicate a fungal infection? What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Can you get a pic of your gourami?

Until you can pinpoint what is going on with your sick fish, the best you can do is just to keep the water really clean. Extra water changes should help your fish until we can figure it out. A pic would really help.

 

[HN1]

Welcome to AA!

Dwarf Gouramies are usually weak stock nowadays due to the processes used in farming them. A more important issue IMO is that you tank is overstocked and will be too small for a single angel or gourami. If my math is right, you have roughly a 10G tank....

 

[severum mama]

Just wanted to add- your bumblebee gobies aren't really on my list of suspects. I've kept them before too and I think their reputation for being nippy applies more to conspecifics than other species. I kept mine with many other small fish and like yours, they kept to themselves mostly, and occasionally chased each other.

I did not notice your tank size in the original post, and would agree with HN1 that it is too small to comfortably house a DG and an angel. Overstocking could result in aggression, or water quality issues, either of which could lead to injury/illness in your DG. Or, like HN1 mentioned, you could have one of the unfortunate weak specimens that turn up so often in the hobby. Whatever the case is, some water testing can point us in the right direction.

 

[emotionless04]

so, sry for not replying sooner. my DG since died, she really did not seem to be making a recovery. however, since then my powder blue gourami has started exhibiting sores. originally, she had a wound that which became fungal and some fungus aid fixed it jsut nicely, but now some new ones have developed. i thought it may have been from the angel fish, as i have seen them chasing the gourami.

i have since removed the angel fish, and they're now in another tank. but the gourami doesnt seem to b improving. the sores look worse today then they did yesterday, verging on bloody really. any ideas????

oh i have also been doing regular water changes to try and keep the water clean. currently the ammonia level is 0 and nitrite is 0.25

 

[krap101]

A picture would be really helpful in identifying the disease, as we can only speculate right now..

I'm not really good with diseases, but maybe it is some kind of parasite?

Also, is the dg in a quarantine tank?

 

[emotionless04]

i hadn't bothered cause it came on so quickly with the first one and im pretty sure this is a separate issue. i hadn't even considered a parasite - nice idea, TY

im currently cahrging the camera in order to obtain photos

 

[krap101]

Take a gander

Fish Disease and Treatment