dwarf gourami sick help!

[awilson133]

know I see a white looking fuzz thing on one of the sores

 

[jlk]

Thats not good. Its either signs of a spreading bacterial infection or he may be developing a secondary fungal infection (they both look similar). Continue with the salt & maracyn2 & lets see how he is at the end of the course of treatment. If your up to the task, you can remove him & dab some hydrogen peroxide on the fuzzy spot 1x a day. Keep us posted!

 

[awilson133]

wouldnt that hurt him?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

wouldnt that hurt him?

No it won't. It will help kill whatever is growing in the wound.

 

[awilson133]

does it need to be any special hydrogen peroxide?
how do I go about this?

 

[jlk]

The stuff you buy in the drugstore in brown bottle to disinfect cuts & scrapes- nothing special & about $1 a bottle. Set out a little bit in cup & use either q-tips or cotton balls. Remove the fish quickly & carefully & hold him either in your bare hands or with a damp towel (wet with tank water). Dab a bit on the spots (avoid eyes & gills) & return him to the tank. It should take under 10secs to do (1x a day). Good luck!

 

[hippy guy]

Jik thats smart, does it work on other things, or justt fish herpies
(I know its not fish herpies, but it looks bad)
I hope your gourami is doing better, keep us posted, im curious about this peroxide mess

 

[awilson133]

success) fast and easy. lil stressed but thats cause it was hard to get him..hes breathing heavy now?

 

[jlk]

Jik thats smart, does it work on other things, or justt fish herpies
(I know its not fish herpies, but it looks bad)
I hope your gourami is doing better, keep us posted, im curious about this peroxide mess

Easy & simple way to disinfect wounds, sores, etc. Not everyone has access to fish meds & its a something pretty much everyone has in their med cabinet. A breeder i know actually uses peroxide baths for his new fish to remove parasites, etc but I have no experience with this & dont know what would be a safe level for dips. Peroxide has a bunch of uses aquarium-wise beyond just fish- its used as an algae-remover & plant dip too.

 

[hippy guy]

Could just be stress from the events

 

[awilson133]

most likely but im concerned :/

 

[awilson133]

should I up my watch changes?

 

[jlk]

He will be ok. Being caught & out of the water is stressful for any fish even if its only for a few seconds. How often are you doing water changes right now?

 

[awilson133]

once a week

 

[jlk]

I would increase to atleast 2x week just to make sure the water is very healthy. If you want to do them even more frequently, go right ahead.

 

[awilson133]

how big? my last one was 80% cause I had super high nitrates

 

[jlk]

How are your nitrates looking? Do atleast 50%, more if your nitrates are higher than your tap level. Keep his water as healthy as you can reasonably manage.

 

[awilson133]

got em down to 5.0ppm. that was on wednesday they were.about 80ppm or higher before that.

 

[awilson133]

so should I keep dosing salt 11tablespoons everyday?

 

[jlk]

No, only add salt back thats removed with a water change. For example, if you do a 50% wc, you need to add back 1/2 the original dose of salt or 5.5tbsp.