Color loss on my pearl gourami

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Giggletons
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Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:36 am

Color loss on my pearl gourami

Post by Giggletons »

I recently isolated my smallest pearl due to discoloration on her head area. This happened after a 30% water change and filter maintenance. She also had minor tail rot, which cleared up quickly with the water change.

Anyone familiar with treating discoloration like this? No unusual behavior from her so far.
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coltin
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Re: Color loss on my pearl gourami

Post by coltin »

I'd like to know a bit more about the situation - how long has the discoloration been visible on your pearl? Is she eating normally despite this issue? And do you think she was being bullied in the main tank - could that have triggered this?

It's possible that this is the start of a bacterial or external protozoan infection, but if she's had these symptoms for over a week, the bacterial route seems less likely. Similarly, if she's not rubbing against anything, it's probably not an external protozoan infection.

On the other hand, it could be stress colouration or a minor injury from being picked on in the main tank. I think it's a good idea to keep a close eye on her in quarantine and see how things develop - if the situation worsens, posting more pictures would be helpful for further assessment.
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Giggletons
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Re: Color loss on my pearl gourami

Post by Giggletons »

coltin wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2024 10:24 pm I'd like to know a bit more about the situation - how long has the discoloration been visible on your pearl? Is she eating normally despite this issue? And do you think she was being bullied in the main tank - could that have triggered this?

It's possible that this is the start of a bacterial or external protozoan infection, but if she's had these symptoms for over a week, the bacterial route seems less likely. Similarly, if she's not rubbing against anything, it's probably not an external protozoan infection.

On the other hand, it could be stress colouration or a minor injury from being picked on in the main tank. I think it's a good idea to keep a close eye on her in quarantine and see how things develop - if the situation worsens, posting more pictures would be helpful for further assessment.
Thanks for the advice. I think being the smallest fish, it's definitely possible she's getting picked on - I mean, the sex ratio in the main tank is way off after an accident.

I wasn't really keeping an eye on the main tank this week, but I'm pretty sure it's been less than a week since I noticed the discoloration. Would salt help with these types of infections, or is just keeping the water clean the way to go?
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coltin
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Re: Color loss on my pearl gourami

Post by coltin »

I'm not convinced it's an external protozoan infection just yet, but salt might do the trick if that's the case. For now, I'd just keep a close eye on it for a few days, see how it progresses. If things take a turn for the worse, adding salt could be an option - but I'd love to see some updated pictures before taking that step.
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