Help my sick gourami!!!

**MsaoeX** · 29th Apr 2012, 16:19

Hi all

I need some urgent help with my opaline gourami. It is very very thin and i have found out today that my gourami started to float at the surface. It still eats though. It looks like it is going to die and i have quarantined it. Please advice me on the appropriate treatment to nurse it back to health.

Thanks!

**Emokidz** · 29th Apr 2012, 17:14

Oh looks bad... This probably didn't happen overnight. You'll probably need to continue feeding it for a couple of weeks till it gets better. I don't think there's a need for medicine if the problem is just malnutrition though.

**stormhawk** · 30th Apr 2012, 05:34

Given the look of the second pic, I'm inclined to think that this fish is suffering not just from malnutrition, but a probable disease as well. I have no idea what is afflicting your gourami.

It looks like a combination of possible fin rot and internal infections. If anything I'd dose some anti-bacterial medication for this fish. Should it stop eating and not put on some weight, then I fear it might be a goner. What's the brownish stuff on the bottom and why does the water look greenish-yellowish in some pics?

**MsaoeX** · 1st May 2012, 06:31

Thanks to both of you.

Personally i find it hard to understand how it can suffer from malnutrition when the rest of my fishes, which are fed the same type of food, are not. The gourami has never stop eating even when hit by this weird disease, but it somehow just keeps getting thinner.

Stormhawx: The water is green due to the medicine. I guess the colour appears differently due to the lighting. The brown stuff are just stains. I had this tank for a very long time and can't really remember what caused it.

Thanks again for your kind assistance!

**stormhawk** · 1st May 2012, 07:40

I did some digging and I suspect your gourami has fish tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium marinum:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...6086#post86086

To cure this problem, you might have to resort to antibiotics or anti-bacterial medications.

A user posted this question on Yahoo! Answers, with his fish, in this case a guppy, suffering from the same symptoms as your gourami:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...8031029AA7OBBt

**MsaoeX** · 1st May 2012, 22:35

Haiz.... I've read some sources. Apparently there is no cure for it.

Thanks a million. You've been very helpful.

**morning breakfast eat** · 2nd May 2012, 07:57

I hope your fish gets better! pls keep us posted on its progress

**MsaoeX** · 2nd May 2012, 22:22

It passed away this afternoon.

**stormhawk** · 5th May 2012, 10:52

That's a pity. Since the gourami lived in that plastic tank, I'd suggest you use a weak bleach solution and wipe it down clean then rinse it dry. It might be less troublesome to just buy a brand new plastic tank because eradicating the mycobacteria can be very difficult, if you intend to re-use the tank.