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Honey Gourami illness

NorthernDan

Member
Joined
2 Aug 2016
Messages
101
Location
Newcastle
Hey guys, yesterday one of my honey gourami wouldn't eat and today a large red mass has appeared on one side. It's come on quite quick and I've never seen this before.
Any ideas on what it might be?
IMG_20210125_144442_0.jpg
thanks
 
Has the inflamatin broken the skin? Can you say if it originated on the surface, or from inside the fish?
 
No it seems to be under the skin, slight bloating of the stomach. Im not expecting a good outcome from something that looks so angry.

Just concerned as to whether its better to get it out the tank, either to euthanize or to treat. Not sure if it looks like something that would spread to other fish.
 
If you have any IAL or Alder cones. Put that female in a jug and add them to it. and leave it alone. They do wonders for all types of ailments. And as it is a honey gourami. it can stay at room temp in a few inches of water with no ill affect.
 
Not sure if it looks like something that would spread to other fish.
This is always a concern, and not the easiest decision

Usually removing the fish from its home, IS stressful (as is netting and removal, if possible, guide fish into a submerged/partially submerged container) so have a prepared bin (any food safe plastic) with a few plants and sponge filter and heater etc - as fish has adapted to tank temperature etc, I’d not suddenly shift fish to room temperature life
Use aquarium water to fill hospital tank initially, though you can just use tap etc for water changes
If water volume is small, pickup one of those plastic 5-10watt heaters (eg aqueon), these heaters are preset and will usually just heat water to 5-10 degrees above room temperature (depending on water volume, flow etc)

While it’s possible to pick up containers that hang in tank (eg, Lee’s Specimen Container) these are relatively small and can be more stressful than a separate hospital tank

If when you attempt to net the fish, it shows little response, and continues to be very quiet in the hospital tank, this indicates that fish is very unwell (and recovery is less likely)

Whatever the original cause, at this point fish likely has internal bacterial infections, so best chances are treating for such (which means a vet intervention due to unavailability of effective antibiotics for ornamental fish treatments) - and a secondary infections are a main reason why I’d isolate fish
If you leave fish in tank/fish dies suddenly, just do large daily water changes for several days, and this will usually help limit spread of whatever to tankmates
I wouldn’t add any OTC available fish treatments as “preventative aids”

As Gill mentions, adding IAL (Indian Almond Leaf) can be helpful (but I suspect more so in very soft water where there is also a significant pH drop as the leaf breaks down ... you could do hospital tank water changes with rainwater or RO)
 
Thanks guys, I have a hospital tank in the garage so I'll set that up asap with a few floating plants in.
My options are limited as to treatment. The only thing I have to hand is esha whitespot treatment. I do however have a pets at home on my doorstep. Is something like Melafix likely to help? Or could anyone suggest a mail order treatment? Even if it didn't make it for this fish, if it passes onto others it would be worth getting prepared.
 
Just after typing that went down to sort out the hospital out and unfortunately the Gourami has died overnight. Gutting as I had a little pair going on.
Question still stands regarding treatment. Anything worth buying to have kicking around in case of future flair ups?
Thanks guys
 
Sorry to hear your gourami has died (though I think it’s very unlikely that any intervention at this stage would’ve made much difference - including taking the fish to an experienced fish vet ... you certainly could contact local vets/vet colleges to find someone that might intervene with suitable medications etc going forwards)

As I mentioned above, at this stage I’d just do daily 50% (minimum) water changes for 10-14 days, if you can only do alternate day water changes, then do that - very “clean” water is one of the most effective fish medications we all have access to
(While planted tanks often have excellent “water quality”, active plant growth won’t effectively reduce (potential) pathogen levels in the water, only dilution/removal by water changes will accomplish this)

If your local shops don’t have much in the way of medications, I suggest having a fish “first aid kit” on hand - you can find various opinions on this online
My suggestions
- reference text such as the Manual of Fish Health https://www.fireflybooks.com/catalo...fish-their-environment-and-disease-prevention (l like this link as you can see author bios)
This book is very important and not very expensive
I’ve never understood why local shops don’t sell this rather than test kits, and elixirs such as Melatix, Pimafix etc

As you already have an eSHa product, I’d invest in more of their range Welcome to eSHa Aquarium Products
  • eSHa 2000
  • eSHa EXIT
  • eSHa ndx
These three will allow you to treat most common ailments that CAN be treated by OTC remedies

- for internal bacterial infections, you might track down some Sera Baktopur (both products)
Internal bacterial infections respond best to medicated food (which can be prepared using a Sera product, note at one time, medicated flakes were available from various companies but palatability was a significant issue - and when trade regulations looked to increase costs, they just disappeared from the market)
You also need to begin treating early on while fish are still actively eating (fish will usually exhibit fairly minor symptoms that are easily overlooked/rationalized away) and fish are predominantly ill from some primary pathogen and not already suffering considerable secondary infections

Seachem also has some very helpful directions, FAQ, discussion board posts on treating fish and preparing medicated foods (at the hobbyist level, it’s pretty much get as much product as possible bound to the food (cause it won’t be much) and try to get your fish to eat sufficient amounts (you’ll need to feed only medicated food, and with limited frequency to get fish to eat any)

Seachem’s Focus product is also well worth obtaining IF you think you might create a medicated food (eSHa ndx is also a good candidate for a medicated food, depending upon what sort of internal parasites are involved) as this facilitates binding of medication to the food, and prevents the food~medication complex from beginning to fall apart as soon as it hits the water
 
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Thank you for the detailed response @alto . The esha products are on order so hopefully I'm a little more prepared should anything else pop up.
Water change day today anyways so I'll do a bit extra.
Thanks for the help 👍
 
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