Sick honey gourami

[Caliban07]

Since I set up this newish 47 gallon tank I've had a problem with fungus.

This maybe because I didnt clean things as I should have that the previous owner had.

These include heater, filter to preserve bacteria and rocks that he used.

I also added new plants, bog wood and fish from various LFS's

I've lost a female ram so far and spotted very small fungus on one of my honeys which I think is a male.

I did a water change and the next morning it was gone and he's been find ever since.

Now my female honey. I think it's female because of the colour difference has got tiny fungus starting as not been herself for a couple if days.

I can't quarantine her as I have no other tank yet and I can't add the fungus treatment (blue dye) as it is harmful to my inverts.

Are there any treatments that don't harm inverts?

Also why do my gouramis circle each other closely touching each other with their feelers? There has been no sign of aggression whatsoever between these 2.

All my parameters are ok

Ph 7.5
Temp 27•c
Ammo 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm

I'm about to do another water change now.

Here is a pic of my tank and a pic if both gouramis the first being the ill one. Female?

Slight tannin leach from bog wood may have altered ph slightly so I'll recheck ph.

 

[pip walters]

Are you sure that is fungus? Hard to tell from the photo. True fungus (eg Saprolegnia) has a spikey appearance. The cotton wool 'fungus' many people recognise is a bacterial infection. The little white mass I think I can see in the photo, looks like it could be excessive mucus and may be caused by a parasite such as flukes, or trichodina.

I would be inclined to try dipping the fish in a salt solution of 25 grams per litre for around a minute. Skin flukes and Chilodonella usually die quite quickly and other parasites may drop off. If the fish shows signs of distress, remove it immediately. If it looks fine, you can leave it for longer (some fish for up to 15 mins), but probably no more than 5 mins for a gourami. It may be worth trying this daily until you see an improvement, but I would also treat the tank with an antibacterial product too. Fish that are affected by parasites often also get bacterial problems as their immunity is compromised, so you will be covering all bases.

The fish looks very thin, so is obviously out of condition due to whatever is causing the problem.

I also think that is an orange variety of the thick lip gourami Colisa labiosa

 

[Caliban07]

Sorry I should have explained. The second pic is what I think is the male and is fine as far as I can tell.

The first one you can't see the spot I can see as it's so small only noticed it because of a change in behaviour. But it's raised a tad and looks furry.

She just stays at the bottom of the tank on the gravel. I did a water change. If I'm going to dose for something it'll have to be non harmful to my shrimp and snail.

I could try the salt solution but should I just use a bucket?

 

[pip walters]

Sorry I should have explained. The second pic is what I think is the male and is fine as far as I can tell.

The first one you can't see the spot I can see as it's so small only noticed it because of a change in behaviour. But it's raised a tad and looks furry.

She just stays at the bottom of the tank on the gravel. I did a water change. If I'm going to dose for something it'll have to be non harmful to my shrimp and snail.

I could try the salt solution but should I just use a bucket?

Yes, use a bucket or a jug. Just mix a litre for such a small fish.

 

[Caliban07]

Quick update: gourami had really stringy poop solid at the bottom but almost like sausages tied together the rest was really string almost like goo.

Does this help?

 

[pip walters]

Quick update: gourami had really stringy poop solid at the bottom but almost like sausages tied together the rest was really string almost like goo.

Does this help?

Possibly (probably) constipated pal.
Feed some live or frozen daphnia = protein AND roughage in one. If the fish has digestive problems, that may explain its thin look... not getting enough nutrients from the little food it may be eating.