Pearl Gourami Sick

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Bub20

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 27, 2020
Messages
2
Hi guys, this is my first post. Really hoping someone can help me out.

So I've had this pearl gourami for about a year now. At first I had him with a female and they got on great initially. But eventually he started to pick on her a bit. One day I came home to find that he had nearly killed her, and she ended up dying. I believe she inflicted some wounds on him too, as a few days after I noticed some white patches on him. This was more than 6 months ago.

I posted on another forum and they suspected a bacterial infection, or maybe chemical burns. Under their advise I began to treat with anti-bacterial meds. For a few days it seemed to be working, but it ended up coming right back to the way it was. Initially he acted very subdued and was not longer personal. Hid a lot. He's not so bad now, but still nowhere near as personable as he was.

He has been like this for 6 months or so now. I've tried treating him on and off, but I'm starting to lose hope. He doesn't act overly sick. Still eats and such. The only symptom other than the white patches and a bit of shyness is that he lost his trailers on his anal fin a while back. No other fish is sick. But I'm worried that it may transfer to them if he dies and they begin to pick at him. As he's been like this for months, I'm wondering if its something benign, or if there is a treatment. Or even if euthanasia is required.

Weekly water changes of 50%.
pH: 6.8-7
Temp: 78
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10

The pics came in sideways for some reason......

The pics in the middle shows how this disease shifts. One day he will be patchy and very white. The next they will be nearly non-existant. Then back to patchy. Always shifting, moving to new spots and fading from others.

These pics are from months ago.
 

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