# Dwarf Gourami with Pimple-like Feature



## KnownSyntax (Mar 15, 2014)

Hello everyone! I recently bought two Powdered Blue Dwarf Gouramis from a LFS. I just noticed tonight while one of them was close to the glass that he has some red lashes (not very long, looks like he got into a fight elsewhere) by eye/mouth, and then below his mouth on one side he has a white-ish pimple. It's hard to describe, but it is raised slightly (enough to see when he swims away directly in my eye-sight). I'm not sure if this is just some damage from before I got him, or if he has a bacterial infection going on. It doesn't look like ich at all, and the the surrounding near the pimple is not red what-so-ever (just appears to be the head if you will of a pimple on your skin).

He is eating perfectly fine, hungry and scavenging for food like the pig he is, and he is also swimming and socializing well with the other gourami and tetras I have in my tank. I've tested my water quality and everything is within good levels (ammonia and nitrite show as 0 PPM).

I've attached a photo to show, the photo quality is crap but it's the dot below his mouth (the lines on the side of his body are just the red strips he has). I'll try getting another picture soon if he just wouldn't stop running away whenever I'm about to take a photo) and my phone wouldn't decide to make the photo quality crap by using flash.

As a sidenote, my two dwarf gouramis do not fight. They don't even fin nip each other and are pretty friendly (they sleep next to each other whenever I check on them in the middle of the night or get home while it's dark in my room).


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Well, sometimes fish get pimples if you will ,but I would not worry unless redness or fungus appeared at the site where pimple began.
This species is susceptible to Iridovirus and is why I quit keeping them.(google iridovirus among dwarf gourami).
Pearl gourami or honey gourami are said not to be affected by the virus which by most account's is not treatable and can be spread to other species.
Pearl gourami are much hardier in my view and can live 10+ year's.
Bout all you can do is maintain good water quality and remove any sharp object's that may pose a hazard.
Would also keep close eye out for fighting, for male gourami of nearly all species are not always keen to share same tank unless tank is larger than say 30 gal.
I had two pearl gourami that would not share 75 gal and one kept the other confined to small corner.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

My dwarfs both started with pimple looking bumps and they died within 2 days. I believe it was the dwarf gourami disease myself. Hopefully yours is not the same.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Google pics of Lymphocystis.(Probably have the spelling wrong)


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## KnownSyntax (Mar 15, 2014)

roadmaster said:


> Well, sometimes fish get pimples if you will ,but I would not worry unless redness or fungus appeared at the site where pimple began.
> This species is susceptible to Iridovirus and is why I quit keeping them.(google iridovirus among dwarf gourami).
> Pearl gourami or honey gourami are said not to be affected by the virus which by most account's is not treatable and can be spread to other species.
> Pearl gourami are much hardier in my view and can live 10+ year's.
> ...


They came from the same tank when I bought them, and so far they seem to not fight. Here and there around feeding time they will chase each other but that is as serious as it gets. My tank is a 29 gallon bowfront (planted of course).


Diana said:


> Google pics of Lymphocystis.(Probably have the spelling wrong)


It doesn't appear to be that since it is only one pimple in a sense.


bsantucci said:


> My dwarfs both started with pimple looking bumps and they died within 2 days. I believe it was the dwarf gourami disease myself. Hopefully yours is not the same.


I've had this guy for about 5-6 days now and he seems fine, he seems fine besides for whatever this is (and I believe it is causing him to breath a tad harder than the rest of the fish for some odd reason). Any signs of this diease, and wouldn't both of my dwarf gouramis show the same symptoms then? 


Today with better lighting it seems that it is a clear/see through thing attached and extending about 1cm, and the spot where it is coming from is slightly red. I've attached some more photos with a better quality to them, although it's hard to see the see-through/clear thing that is extending from the red spot. He appears to be fine still, although he is breathing slightly hard (through his mouth) and has been for a few days now. The other one doesn't breath through his mouth underwater nor are my neon tetras breathing through their mouths.


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## KnownSyntax (Mar 15, 2014)

_I know this may be late/a double post/digging up my own thread but...._

As an update for those who may be looking online (I know I was and I only found a few forums where the last update/fix etc. was not given) my gourami has pretty much fully recovered. I'm assuming the place where I got him didn't take good (or really any) care of him at all, as his colors are now more vibrant, and the red strips are completely throughout his whole body and are a more dark red then showed above where they barely go up half of his body. I gave him more of a varied diet per feeding, instead of just one type of food. The other gourami that didn't have this pimple, is more vibrant now as well and seems more active as well.

The pimple like feature is slowing going away, and is not red at all anymore. It is a small white bump, but after slowly treating with Pimafix (75% of recommend dosage) has made this go away and heal even faster. He seems to be more active than before, including swimming around with the other dwarf gourami (same type; powdered blue). I did not move him into a QT tank as I felt that his condition would of gotten worse honestly since he would be freaking out and stressed more.

I still have no clue on what caused this pimple to form, maybe bad water quality from where I picked one of them up (yet the other was perfectly fine and didn't have this), and from the looks it was not the bad gourami iridovirus. I'm not sure if he got this from scraping himself against something sharp, but then again it wouldn't look like a pimple and have a clear piece of something attached that was rather long to it. Whatever it was, it healed with a great diet, pimafix, and having good water. I think even him having his buddy around helped too as whenever they would get scared or he wouldn't wanna eat the other would try to make him get active by making him move around.


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## Thumper828 (Feb 13, 2014)

I got the same type of gourami. Some how..I have no clue.. he tore most his upper lip off.. I assume he was chasing a shrimp and maybe bashed a rock..needless to say ole Lipless is doin fine ...although....funny lookin...


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