There's a black spot on my fish!!!

[Daniele]

My poor paradise gourami is sick. i think. actually i know he's sick because he's been hovering at the bottom of the tank and he has this black spot on the side of his face close to -but not on top of- his left gill. i treated the tank with some TC Capsules (Aquarium pharmaceuticals, the ones for gill disease, cotton mouth disease and bacterial tail rot), am i doing the right thing? (i hope so, the pills were the pet store clerk's advice) has anyone seen this type of mark on their fish before, if so, what is it? how do i treat it?

thanks!

 

[Leopardess]

Black huh....How big is it? What size tank is he in and what are your water parameters? The more info the better. How long have you had him, etc.

Sorry it took so long to get an answer...hope he's still okay.

 

[Daniele]

more info

the blue-black spot is about twice the size of his eye, he's in a 10 gallon tank, he's actually had the spot for over a month now and he's about a year and a half old.... i've started to clean the tank more regularly-once every 3 weeks. my boyfriend cleaned it about 1 a month but i've been changing the 1/4 of the water every day for four days now to clear out the medicine, the medicine didn't do anything...

thanks for getting back to me!

 

[Leopardess]

Ah, there is your problem - or at least part of it! That tank should be cleaned out every week Anywhere from 25-50% of the water should be replaced each week. If you don't have one already, get a gravel vaccum (from any petstore) and use that to clean the gravel and remove 25-50% of the water.

Is there anyway you can get a picture of the spot for us? And, is it possible that it is a natural marking?

I lean towards a bacterial infection of some sort. I suggest getting something Called Marycin Plus - or marycyn I and marycin II if you can't find Plus. It is a broad spectrum antibiotic that should clear up the spot.

It isn't fuzzy at all, is it? If it is, it might be a fungal infection. Again, its hard to say for sure.

Does the tank have a filter on it? Do you know what your PH is? Or your nitrate levels? Are there any other fish in with him?

 

[Daniele]

Good to know

Hi again,

A HA! thanks, i will continue with that routine. unfortunately i don't have a digital camera so i'm unable to take a picture. The tank does have a filter but i'm unsure what the PH is, nor am i aware of what the nitrate levels are. There are other fish with him who are perfectly healthy- one small gold fish and another gourami.

Thanks!

 

[victimizati0n]

I'm pretty sure as Leopardess suggested, it might be a natural mark.

Go to google, and click on pictures and look up gourami, and you will see alot of them have spots.

The wierd thing is is that it didnt show up untill a month ago, maby he is maturing more?

Also, you should go to the store and get a pH test kit. It's really easy to do, you just dip the glass tube in the water, fill to the fill like, then drop about 3 drops of Bartholmu(I know the sp is off) blue, and shake it up a little. If it turns yellow, it is too acidy, if it is blue, it is too alkiline, but if it is a greenish color, your fine!