help for dwarf gourami with tumors!

Question
Hello-
i bought a turquoise dwarf gourami a month ago and the poor thing has been through so much and is STILL alive (though i've been thinking about euthanasia for more than a week) that i'm just desperate to get him some help.  

bought him- seemed fine.  brought him home to a 3-week old tank (still cycling) where he was a little bullied by a betta and then (best as I can tell) attacked by a chinese algae eater who damaged scales on both sides.  somewhere right along in the middle of this, the gourami developed a 'pimple' on its lower jaw that would grow and then seem to erupt and shrink and then grow again, so on and so on.  several days later, he got another pimple-like thing above his opposite eye.  this one looked more like a tumor (sort of like a piece of raw hamburger pushing out from between the scales).  amazingly, despite a scary coating of fungus on his damaged scales, he recovered from the algae eater attacks and turned the table on the betta whom he began to bully.  i tried treating with Life Bearer (recommended by  Ocean Aquarium in SF) and then with Maracyn 2 (recommended by Albany Aquarium).  no progress other than what i described and the tumors have grown and grown.  they are now popping out on other places on his sides and the above-the-eye one has grown so much as to distort his head.  he's been isolated for the past week. he still tries, occasionally, to eat but has difficulty because he can't hardly open his mouth.  his abdomen and sides seem very firm and full with what i believe is more tumor rather than food.  

as i said- i've thought long and hard (and researched) about euthanasia and have half a bottle of vodka at the ready BUT i'm so impressed with his will to live and ability to survive that i'm not sure what would be best for him, ya know?

ANY advice, recommendations, resources you can suggest would be VERY much appreciated.


thanks!
elizabeth and gourami  

Answer
Hi Elizabeth & Gourami,
Thank you for your letter. The root of your problem might be polluted water from over feeding. Cut back food to one flake or pellet per square inch of fish per day. Also, use Cycle to promote friendly bacteria in the tank. Follow the instructions on the lable and store in the refrigerator between use.
Do not use other aquarium store chemicals because they don't work. The main thing is to clean up the fish's environment and make it healthy.
Here is my page for wholistic aquarium care. You can follow the emergency care instructions and the Stress Coat instructions. Stress Coat is an aloe vera formula that will soothe the fish's skin.
Please read & print out for future reference:
http://steamboats.com/aquarium.html
and write back if you want to discuss further. If things do not improve, write back to me for euthenasia instructions. I hate to see it come to that, but there is a humane way to do it.
Nori