[MrodNanos]

Hi all, my sparkling gourami lost her pectoral fin to what I suspected was fin rot, as I saw some dark areas on the ends of her tail fins as well. The fin will crumble off and try to regrow, but grows deformed and with extra fleshy stuff and it's been like this for at least 2 months! She eats very well still, her colors are vibrant, behavior seemingly normal, it's just this major fin issue. Shes been in QT for almost 2 months. I've tried full treatments of melafix, no improvements, then tried neoplex, no improvements, aquarium salt, no improvements. I'm thinking some meds to treat this as an internal bacterial infection may be the way to go, any suggestions??

FYI- I initially thought fish was male, but through a backlight saw the extra yellow organ and think it is female now.

Pics attached.

 

[AVN]

You need a gram-negative bacterial medication that contains Malachite green or Methlyene blue. More often then not, these types of rot/swelling are caused by bacterial infections. Common ich and parasite medications often contain these active ingredients.

If you suspect an internal parasite, there are two or three I think that cause swelling and inflammation around the gills/head area. They do not cause fin rot though. Dark areas of swelling could be an aeromonas infection.

While I think it's most likely an external bacterial infection, you can treat for internal parasites by soaking some fish food in a diluted solution of parasite medication

 

[MrodNanos]

You need a gram-negative bacterial medication that contains Malachite green or Methlyene blue. More often then not, these types of rot/swelling are caused by bacterial infections. Common ich and parasite medications often contain these active ingredients.

If you suspect an internal parasite, there are two or three I think that cause swelling and inflammation around the gills/head area. They do not cause fin rot though. Dark areas of swelling could be an aeromonas infection.

While I think it's most likely an external bacterial infection, you can treat for internal parasites by soaking some fish food in a diluted solution of parasite medication

Thanks for the advice! I think you are right, I no longer suspect it's an internal parasite. I started treating with ich-X a week ago, still no significant improvements. I'm thinking it's an ulcer now, and not sure if that's related to the bacterial issue. My water parameters have always been controlled and I do regular water changes so I'm not sure how this happened and why it's been taking so long to treat. Do you have any specific meds I should try? Would penicillin help?

 

[AVN]

Ich-X is good, Melafix is what I use, penicillin will definitely work.

Keep treating but don't overdose, keep up on water changes. Usually takes a few weeks to notice significant changes. If your fish hasn't died quickly that's a good sign.

 

[Plinkploop]

If you use penicillin understand that it will kill beneficial bacteria as well and be prepared to be the biological filter for your qt tank while using it (possible multiple water changes per day).

 

[MrodNanos]

Just want to update everyone that this little fish is super resilient! Although the fin issue never resolved and now it’s just like a empty pink wound, the fish is still very much alive, eating well and displays normal behavior (despite missing a pectoral fin and some minor deterioration on bottom fins). Because of this, I transferred him over to a planted community tank (not display). It’s super happy and can’t believe it’s living despite what it has gone through. (I did at one point use a mix solution of tank water and a bit of hydrogen peroxide and treated the wound area directly with that.) On the other hand, I have another sparkling gourami in my large nano display tank, that is on the fringe will be writing a new post with photos for advice and support on that one.