Help Please!

[siiobann.x]

Please someone help! My golden gouramis has a red spot on him. It’s been there for a couple days. He is coming out in very short intervals but is going back in hiding between the plants most of the time. He is eating but seems a lot less than normal is this serious I have attached photos! I am so worried. It’s my papas fish and he is unwell so it’s making me worry more! We have had the fish since it was a little fish - it’s about 2 1/2 years old!

I have tested the levels with a dip stick and all seems ok! I have added a photo!


The filter am not sure what it is but it a big one to match the 110L tank - I haven’t had a problem with it.

In the tank is another gouramis - 4 bottom feeders and 4 mollys and a rainbow shark - there is plenty of plants and everything else in the tank seems ok!

I do not know an awful lot about fish but there is soil and sand on the bottom and the last water change was done about 1 week ago - I test the levels in the tank once a week - I also test if I am worried with the test tube kit with is more specific for levels!

If you need anything else let me know! I don’t have a second tank but I could go get one - I’m also worried that it could spread but all other fish at the moment are fine!

 

[Andy Sager]

Can you get a more close up picture of the red area and the gill area of the same side? There are a few possibilities as to what it is so a better picture can help rule out some of them.

 

[siiobann.x]

This is the best I could do! Hope this is better - What are you thinking it could be?

 

[Andy Sager]

This is the best I could do! Hope this is better - What are you thinking it could be?

Great. Thanks.
Because you have a rainbow shark in there, the red area in the center, the abrasion near the tail and dorsal fin can be wounds caused by the shark but in combination with the red gill area, 2 strong possibilities are Dwarf Gourami iridovirus and Fish TB. Neither one of these is curable and euthanasia is recommended. HOWEVER, if this just a bacterial infection, that can be cured with antibiotics if you can place the fish in a separate " Hospital " tank. ( You can read about what is and isn't necessary in a hospital tank in my thread here: Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different? )
Because 1 of these 3 possibilities is transferrable to humans, you need to be very careful not to handle the fish with your bare hands or get your arms wet from tank water if they have cuts on them. Any equipment you use to capture and hold the fish needs to be sterilized after being used and should not be used in your main tank again before doing so. ( Using separate equipment is better recommended to prevent any issues transferring back and forth between tanks. )

As for medications to use, that depends on your water chemistry. Please post your pH, GH and Nitrate levels if you have access to antibiotics. If you do not have access to antibiotics like Kanaplex , Ampicillin, Tetracycline or Nitrofuracin, the best you can do is use aquarium or non iodized salt in a hospital tank and do a lot of praying. The good news is that salt will not hurt the fish but when it comes to the gill issues, it's not the best treatment.