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FAQs on the Blue, Three-Spot, Gold/en, Opaline, Even Albino! Gouramis, Yes, The Same Species, Trichogaster trichopterus,  Disease/Health: Parasitic

FAQs on Trichogaster Disease: T. trichopterus Disease 1, T. trichopterus Disease 2, T. trichopterus Disease 3, T. trichopterus Disease 4,
FAQs on Trichogaster Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Social, Infectious, Trauma, Treatments

Related Articles: Anabantoids/Gouramis & Relatives, Genera Ctenopoma & Microctenopoma, Betta splendens/Siamese Fighting Fish

Related FAQs:  Trichogaster trichopterus 1, Trichogaster trichopterus 2, T. trichopterus ID, T. trichopterus Behavior, T. trichopterus Compatibility, T. trichopterus Selection, T. trichopterus Systems, T. trichopterus Feeding, T. trichopterus Reproduction, Gouramis 1, Gouramis 2, Gourami Identification, Gourami Behavior, Gourami Compatibility, Gourami Selection, Gourami Systems, Gourami Feeding, Gourami Disease, Gourami Reproduction, Betta splendens/Siamese Fighting Fish,

Oh yes; Ich, Hexamita, Trichodina, Costia, Flukes... and more

Parasites on three spot Gourami. 6/27/11
Hello Crew,
I've been reading and learning a lot from your website, thank you so much for helping us and our fishes.
<Welcome>
I really need your help in identifying the parasites my fish might have. I have 4-4.5 year old three spot Gourami that has been healthy and hardy fish for all these years until recently. I made some bad choices and introduced a fish to his tank that he was extremely afraid off. He will not come to surface to eat and got very stressed.
I set up a new 20 gallon tank just for him and transferred the fish in it once it cycled (water quality is good with 0 for ammonia and nitrites and under 10 for nitrates), ph 7.5 hard water with moderate alkalinity.
After the transfer the fish showed signs of irritation, scratched himself over objects in the tank and soon after develop small raised white-grayish spots very similar to Ick but not Ick. I tried to raise the temperature to 88F and adding salt to 0.7% but it did not help. Under these conditions it looked like he is getting more spots and they also grow larger. They do fall of the fish leaving scars with a little bleeding. The new spots will appear mostly on the old wounds or close to gill covers. I have three black tetras with no signs of disease, so it either something specific to gouramis or the parasites are not leaving the fish?
<Likely so>
As far as the treatments I've tried so far: 2 weeks of raised temperature plus salt-did not work; 4 treatments with parasite clear tank buddies by Jungle lab (Metronidazole, Praziquantel, Diflubenzuron, Acriflavine) 48 hours apart with 25% water change - did not do anything; Seachem Paraguard bath for 1 hour - took most of external spots down. At that point I collected all that stuff that come from the fish and looked at it under the microscope. What I found was a few Trichodina like parasites,
<Can you describe these? Size?>
a tiny microscopic worm (likely nematode) that was still alive in the Paraguard water and tried to wiggle himself back into the piece of dead skin-Ouch! Another creature was a tiny insect-like thing (six legged one), but may be crustaceans of some sort.
<?!>
What a zoo and I'm still not sure what is going on.
I had to repeat Paraguard bath for two more times to take care of the few leftover spots that would keep reappearing on the fish skin and now his skin is clean and keeps healing well.
I also added the recommended amount of Paraguard to the tank water every 24 hours for 3 days until The ammonia level raised to .25. Damn, I trusted the Seachem for being filter safe and here I'm. Did 50% water change, ran carbon with Nitrazorb and added Prime and good squeeze off my established tank sponge. By the end of the day the ammonia level was 0, and the rest of parameters were all fine. That same day Gourami felt itchy at his gills, he would go to the surface, inhale some air and blow the bubbles through his gills. After doing this a few times I found a worm dislodged from his gills. That worm is about 1 cm long, and ~ 0.5-1mm thick, white-transparent looking. Has a ventral sucker and may be dorsal sucker, half filled with blood and other thicker half filled with some yellowish stuff (organs or eggs). Could it be fluke?
<Yes>
Could they be so big?
<Rarely, but yes>
After that worm fall of the fish's gills the Gourami is not eating, just takes the food and spits it out. Also not as active as he used to be.
I'm sorry for such long email, just wanted to include all the details.
I'm extremely desperate to save my fish, but feel that these past 3 months were really stressful and I'm at my personal water change limit.
Please, if you could help me to find the proper treatments for my fish I would so much appreciate this.
<I'd go back w/ an Anthelminthic... the Praziquantel by itself. Please read
here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/AnthelminthicsFWF.htm
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Oxana
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Re: Parasites on three spot Gourami. 6/29/2011
Hi Bob,
<Oxana>
Thank you very much for your reply and all the info.
What I thought to be a Trichodina-like parasites, were round single cell organisms of ~ 20-40 micrometer in diameter, some were quite transparent with identifiable edge and some sort of fluff around it, which made me think It could be cilia. Since they've been seating in Paraguard treated water o/n, they were dead and not moving. Other type were also round, but more brownish in color (no horseshoe-shaped nucleus), but similar in size.
This morning one more worm came off the Gourami's gills and it looks nearly identical to the one I found before.
I looked at both of them under the microscope and the closest look-alike organism I can find was Schistosoma sp. (I have attached the image I found on the Web as well the photo I've taken). Sorry, for the poor quality, It was taken with phone camera.
<These look like flukes to me, with their prominent hooks... definitely worms of some sort>
I also included few pics of my fish with those raised spots. Could it be some sort of Trematode lifecycle form (cercariae?).
<Possibly, yes>
I don't have any snails in the tank, so if indeed these things are flukes, could they have fish as the only host?
<Yes>
I guess my hopes are that those worms may be do have some intermediate host and the whole thing will just die off eventually, if they can not complete the cycle.
<You are correct, if they have a complex life history>
I have ordered some Hikari liquid PraziPro, thank you very much for your suggestions.
Sincerely,
Oxana
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Blue Gourami Question Hello. Recently bought a 55 gallon tank, and got a variety of fish. <Greetings> 4 silver dollars 4 glass tetras 4 high finned tetras and 2 blue Gouramis I also have a Plecostomus <OK> Everything was working fine, until I noticed Ich on some of the fish (silver dollar and tetra). I treated the water following the instructions, and still notice a white spot on one of the glass tetras. I hope this resolves itself, but I worry about one of my Gouramis. He lives around the plants, which is near the filter. He has been fine there, but now he seems to be caught up in the current. He tries to swim, but just lurches forward and back. The other Gourami chases him sometimes, and then he can move just fine... I'm worried if that is a problem with the Ich, or something else. <You may need to re-medicate for the Ich again. I really don't think the Gourami has a problem, most likely he just likes that spot and the feel of the current there.> Ph is set at 7 and I've been pretty regular on changing the water, although I haven't tested the ammonia. Any advice you have for a new fish hobbyist. Adam Sutherland <You probably should test the ammonia and nitrites but other than that, keep up the good work! Ronni>

Yellow or Gold Gourami  has spots   4/21/07 I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a fairly new 46 gallon freshwater tank that has an assortment of silver dollars, <Mmm, some of these species get quite large... please see fishbase.org, WWM for the genera Metynnis, Myleus, Mylossoma...> 3 kinds of Gouramis, tetras, head and tail lights, black barbs, pictus cats and a plecostomus. I have had the tank for over a month and was adding some new fish to the tank, as I was about to put a new yellow (or gold) Gourami in the tank I saw he had spots on his top fin and one side of his body (right behind his gill). Instead of putting him in the tank I put him in a ten gallon quarantine tank. <Good idea for all such newcomers...> Originally I thought it was Ich so I treated it for that but no change other than the spots have gotten larger, more like little clumps. it hasn't spread anywhere else on the body but those spots seem to be more noticeable. He's active and no other problems, but I don't know what to treat him for. I've looked at so many pictures of diseases and it doesn't really look like anything I've seen. I want to say that the spots almost have a light bluish tint to them but that could be from the treatment for Ich I was putting in the tank. Any help is greatly appreciated. Heather <Mmmm, might be encysted worms, Microsporideans... other such organisms... You could try an Anthelminthic like Prazi... perhaps followed by an anti-protozoal like Metronidazole... Both materia medica are discussed on WWM. Bob Fenner>

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