Pearl gourami has white dot on eyes, not ich or cloudy eye disease.

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Pima fix could unleash more problems phillip, did you add an airstone? That stuff creates an oil slick on the surface and inhibits the gas exchange. I'd really suggest doing nothing before using that stuff. I tried it once and it did more harm than good.

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I have been using it since Saturday and the week is just about done. I haven't noticed any fish with difficulties breathing. I am not sure if its worth finishing up the week or not. I have read a lot of pimafix and read mixed things. I just don't really know what was going on so I thought it was a good idea to dose a little something.

So with tomorrow being the last day of the week and I just did a wc yesterday and will be doing one tomorrow I am not too worried. Every fish that I suspected having something a little off has showed improvements in the last week. Maybe its the pimafix or maybe the very freq water changes. or both.
 
Fresh water is one of the best remedies for minor ailments. Especially in a heavily stocked tank. It's like a breath of fresh air.

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Could you find anything much on this for cause or treatment? The threads I looked through were not helpful - nobody really knew.

Nope... nothing much at all. I have found this thread to be the most helpful so far :)

I am only new to large fish tanks (250ltr) and not really sure about anything. The only other fish tank I have had was a fighting fish in a goldfish bowl. I am going to take it slow and steady and try not to throw the balance of the tank. I will up the frequency of water changes, but not the size, as I have noticed this pearl gourami gets a little stressed when I have done larger water changes. I have 10 neon tetras, the pearl gourami, a blue gourami and a fighting fish. I have been told this is a strange combination, but it has been working so far with not too much aggression, except at feeding time, when the fighting fish rules the surface and tries to scare everyone away (he never succeeds though).
The other fish seem fine and apart from her eyes, the pearl Gourami appears okay as well. I have no idea what the problem is, but because the water is their lifeblood, I am going to try working on that :)
 
Its not eye pecking...

Its likely cataracts or a fungus. I am still trying to determine if the spots are reducing in size since I started with the aggressive WC schedule. Taking pics when lights come on and will compare. I am hoping for an improvement.



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Nope... nothing much at all. I have found this thread to be the most helpful so far :)

I am only new to large fish tanks (250ltr) and not really sure about anything. The only other fish tank I have had was a fighting fish in a goldfish bowl. I am going to take it slow and steady and try not to throw the balance of the tank. I will up the frequency of water changes, but not the size, as I have noticed this pearl gourami gets a little stressed when I have done larger water changes. I have 10 neon tetras, the pearl gourami, a blue gourami and a fighting fish. I have been told this is a strange combination, but it has been working so far with not too much aggression, except at feeding time, when the fighting fish rules the surface and tries to scare everyone away (he never succeeds though).
The other fish seem fine and apart from her eyes, the pearl Gourami appears okay as well. I have no idea what the problem is, but because the water is their lifeblood, I am going to try working on that :)


Does it cause a problem for the fish to see? Like, do they seem to bump into stuff, etc?
 
If they go blind they could. The size of my girls dots are small so I know she can still see just fine. But I would imagine it could cover the whole eye. In which case blindness is likely.

I was thinking we should use this thread to come pare and document our fish progress. Take pics if you can and upload them here. We can compare size and what meds we are using etc. See what's working and what's not.



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Here is a photo on the one eye from just a moment ago. This is the bigger spot, the other eye is just a speck in comparison. Figured this would be easier to compare. Tank has been getting pimafix for 5-6 days now and been doing 50% water changes every other day.

Here is today's pic



Here is the pic from when I first noticed it.


My plan is to stop dosing pimafix as of tomorrow and just continue doing frequent water changes.

I have been raising tank temp very slowly as well. About 85-86 now. Will continue this temp for about a week. After pimafix is done. Hoping the higher temps encourages better immune system function.

In terms of her behavior, she is still very active and is the alpha female of the group. She eats very well and color hasn't been any different then before.

Hope this helps. Would love to see your pearl and get as much info as possible. I sure this thread will be a great resource for those who will have or do currently have similar issues.

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Doesn't seem like the dot has changed at all. At least its not growing, that's gotta be good.

Oh and as you probably would guess from all the water changes, the nitrates are barely on the charts. Maybe 1ppm. I can confirm this to be accurate because my plants are showing nitrates deficiencies. I am not too worried about since they will bounce back. Fish are more important.

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I was thinking we should use this thread to come pare and document our fish progress. Take pics if you can and upload them here. We can compare size and what meds we are using etc. See what's working and what's not.

I will try and get some pics. I think my ones eyes have not got any worse and may have improved some. My tanks temperature is not real stable and it is around 77 at the moment. I did try the temperature raising before when this exact same fish had fungus on her tail, but I chickened out when the temperature fluctuated and was afraid to leave it up. Yesterday we had a bit of a heat wave here in Melbourne Australia and without me even adjusting, it was up to 82/ 84 degrees. There is no aeration except for the pump and it is an "all in one" tank i.e the filter is built into the back of the tank.

I did a water change straight away. I can only do a 30lt change at a time as that is the buckets I have (and all I can lift and carry). I then broke the thermometer that I use to test the water temp when changing the water, so I have been doing multiple small changes (a couple of litres, several times a day), guessing the water temp and pouring the water into the filter at the back so it has to go through filter, past water heater and up through the pump. This gives it a chance to mingle and not a shock to the fish.
 
Does it cause a problem for the fish to see? Like, do they seem to bump into stuff, etc?

No, she seems to be able to see fine. She comes straight up to me if I approach the side of the tank and is often the first one to greet me in the morning.

Like Phil said, I imagine it would affect eyesight if it gets any bigger.
 
I'm wondering if lower light could have affected her? perhaps the change stressed her? She is the one fish in the tank who is prone to being stressed. I had the lights on quite a bit during the day and just before this happened I started to leave them off for most of the day and turn them on in the evening. The tank is against an internal wall and doesn't get a lot of light without the artificial light. My reason for doing this was that it was starting to get a lot of algae... the long, green hair like ones... long strands that get tangled on the plants and also some green spot on the back glass.
 
I can't get a picture that shows her eyes. On the bright side, the spots appear to be disappearing. They are no where near what they were. I am guessing it's another "stressed fish" thing in my case. Whatever it was, she was stressed and I think I am going to have to keep a close eye on her and continue with the more frequent water changes for a while. I have put the lights back on for longer the last two days, which may have made a difference.

I hope your girl improves soon to philipraposo198. I will keep updating if anything changes (gets better or worse)
 
Sounds great. Glad to hear things are improving :)

I am laying off water changes for this week. Going back to a weekly cycle of 50-60%. This week I am medicating the tank with PraziPro as just a precaution. Still some random flashing happening and no idea why. So hopefully this helps.

I will post up picks in a week

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Careful with the high temps and Pima fix, lack of oxygenation may be causing the flashing??

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I am done with the pimafix now. Temps are coming down to about 83

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So its been a while since this problem first showed up. I am pleased to say that it hasent claimed any lives. I am also happy to report that 3-4 pearls have all cleared up and eyes are back to normal.

What it was / is seemed to spread from one female to the next. The male gourami never got it and neither did my blue gourami. Just the three females.

The smallest female is the one with the spots still remaining. She was the last to get it, but it is improving. I have been doing two water changes a week (50-60% each time) and feeding more often to fatten them up. I noticed my fish seemed a little to lean when I compared them to other gourami pictures from google.

Not sure if it was a diet thing or what but it seems that providing good care is the only thing needed to get rid of it.


For anyone who has the same problem with their own gouramis I suggest up your water changes and increase feeding. Provides high quality foods and incorporate veggies and frozen foods too.
 
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