is my blue gourami ill

hi i'm new to this forum so plz forgive me if i mess up .
i'd be very greatful if anyone could help i have got a blue gourami he is about 3 -4 years old and he has been setting at the top of the tank for 2 days now and i have noticed he has blood in his fins and he's got miniscule pin holes around his head does anyone no wot's up with him .
and if he's ill do i need to take him out of the tank so none of my other fish get ill ?
thank you

 

hi sorry me again make that 2 of my blue gouramis now . wot is this and any help asap would be great thank you .

 

First, I need you to answer some questions so I can get a better idea of what's going on.

How big is the tank?
What fish are in it and how big are they?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte (actual numbers, please)?
How long has the tank been set up?

Sounds like septicemia which is generaly caused by poor water quality. Medicated food (Medigold is the best, but Jungle also makes some that's okay) generally works pretty well for speticemia, but only if the water quality is really good so it's important to know what those readings are.

-Chelle

 

hi thank you for getting back to me
i have a 20gal tank
i have got 2x clown loachs, around 6cm
2x sliver sharks , one is around 4cm and the other is about 6 cm
4x angel fish all around 4cm
3x blue gouramis 2 are around 8cm the other is about 10cm
2x gold gouramis both around 7cm
1x upside down catfish around 5cm
1x unkown plain black catfish around 8cm
2x sliver catfish both about 7cm
2x dwarf gouramis male is around 5cm female is about 4cm
2x plecos one is about 5cm and the other is about 7cm
2x black ghostkife fish one is about 7cm and the other is about 9 cm

the ammonia is 0.1
the nitrIte is 0.1
the nitrAte is 0.1

i did go to a fishstore today and the guy said that it sounds like my gouramis have Ulcers
he has given me some treatment called melafix .

my tank has been set up for about 3mths i had a 5gal tank to start with and when i got my new tank i added all my old stones with the new ones and my old filter inside bit . into my new filter also added my old water so it wasn't all new and clean i test my water every week .

wot do u think it is ? and is this ulcer thing bad ?
heres a pic of my set up .

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Okay, your tank has some serious issues.

Firstly, it is severely overstocked and you possibly have some compatability issues. You have several hundred gallons worth of fish in your 20 gallon tank (granted not all of them are full grown yet, but even at their current sizes, that's WAY too many fish).

2 silver sharks (assuming these are bala sharks) = 15" = 30 gallons each x 2 = 60 gallons - but shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 6' x 2' tank (which is a 180 gallon)
2 clown loaches = 9" = 20 gallons each x 2 = 40 gallons (but they do take a long, long time to grow that large so they don't need that big of a tank yet)
4 angel fish = 6" = 10 gallons each x 4 = 40 gallons (and should be kept in a fairly tall tank - at least 18" - 20" tall)
5 blue/gold gouramis = 6" = 5 gallons each x 5 = 30 gallons
1 upside down cat = 5" = 15 gallons
1 unknown black catfish (does it look like either of these? cat1, cat2)
2 unknown silver catfish (Do they look like either of these? cat 1, cat 2, cat 3, cat 4)
2 dwarf gouramis = 2" = 2 gallons x 2 = 4 gallons
2 plecos (assuming they're commons or sailfins - the most readily available) = 18" - 24" = 40 - 60 gallons x 2 = 80 - 120 gallons
1 ghost knife = 20" = 60 - 80 gallons

So not including the unknown cats, that's well over 300 gallons worth of fish. You really need to get rid of almost all of your fish, otherwise they will all likely die. Pretty much the only fish you can keep in the 20 gallon are the dwarf gouramis, or a single blue or gold gourami (with either of those choices, you could add a couple other small fish. You could keep the clown loaches for a while, but you will eventually have to get them a bigger tank. The bala sharks, plecos, ghost knife, angel fish (they need a taller tank), upside down cat, and most likely the 2 unidentified cats (especially if they are what I think they are) cannot survive very long in a 20 gallon tank.

Now, onto the current problem.

I think you need to re-check those test results (I recomend buying your own test kits if you don't have them already - get the liquid kind with the test tubes, not the dip sticks). A .1 reading for nitrAte is very suspect. I don't know of any test kit that reads that low (pretty much all of them go from 0, 5, 10, 20, etc). Plus, with your tank as severely overstocked as it is, your nitrAtes should be through the roof unless you're doing daily 100% water changes. Also, having ammonia & nitrIte readings above 0 is not good.

Can you post a picture of the sick gouramis?
Does the red in the fins look like this (red streaks)?


Or like this (with erroded edges)?


Or like this (big sore in the fleshy part of the fin)?


You can try the Melafix, but if it's the septicemia, it won't really do much (might help a little if it's fin rot or an ulcer).

In the mean time, start doing daily water changes at least until you can get the water re-tested. And I am dead serious about you needing to get rid of most of your fish. Your tank simply is not large enough for them and if you keep them in there, you run a high risk of losing every fish in the tank.

-Chelle

 

Hi pixiegirlsse, First, welcome to Auspet. Every thing t_chelle16 told you is absolutely correct. There are a couple of things that I would like to add. If the picture you posted of your tank is a current one the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings could not possibly be correct. With those readings there would be some cloudiness to the tank. The tank in the picture appears to be perfectly clear. Also, if they have ulcers, it would look more like the images in the second or third picture that t_chelle16 posted. What you described as miniscule pin holes in the head sounds more like HITH (hole in the head) disease, which is common with overcrowded conditions. Accurate test numbers are important. Test kit reagents go bad over time. Try running your tests again and see what numbers you come up with. Then take a fresh sample of your tank water to your local fish shop and see if they come up with the same numbers that you did for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Please understand that we are not trying to be critical. We are just trying to get you good information so that keeping tropical fish is a pleasurable experience and not a headache.

 

hi i did take some of my water to the fishstore yesterday . and thats the numbers they gave me .
they use the NUTRAFIN test kits . i've got the nitrAte and the phosphat test kits at home . sorry i did get the phosphat wrong that was a little high and i have got something to over come that . i was looking at the time of u'r reply's and i take it u'r from usa . i'm from uk so i don't no if our test kits are the same . but the nitrate one goes like this 0.1- 0.3- 0.8- 1.6- 3.3
and the phosphat goes like 0 - 0.25- 0.5- 1.0- 2.5- 5.0 mine came in at 2.5 but i have got something to over come this . and i will be testing later today .
i no i have got to many fish in my tank but i'm sure i'm not the onlyone out there that has done this . most of them are still babys and i am in the next 2-3 mths i am getting a bigger tank . i really dont want to loss any of my fish . plus they all seem to get on really well they do have there full outs like anything but other then my big gourami they seem to be happy . but as i said i no i need a bigger tank and i will be getting one .

as for the black catfish . none of the ones here but hes got a body like cat 1 but a head like the 2nd sliver cat . i'll try and get him out of he's cave . and get a pic . he stays in a cave all the time .

the sliver catfish is the 2nd one .

as for the pics of my blue gourmai
thay don't really look like anyof the pics other then the top one but it's not as bad as that i'd say only a very small bits of him are like that . i'll do my best to get a pic in for u .
thank you for u'r help i'm very greatful .