No question, just a thank you... and Colisa lalia sel.  – 10/28/07
Dear Crew,
I am very new to the hobby, starting a 30 gal FW tank about 2 months ago. In doing research before putting the tank together, I stumbled upon your web site and have found it to be extremely informative and helpful. I believe that the reason my fish are happy and healthy can be directly attributed to finding the answers to any questions I had by searching for them and reading your site. I find myself coming here everyday and reading the Daily FAQ's, even if the question doesn't pertain to my particular situation. I have also found many of the articles you have posted very interesting. I can't begin to tell you how much I have learned about keeping fish since I've started visiting your web site.
<Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying the site.>
So, while I have no question for you today, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all you do for us that love our "wet pets". I have complete confidence that if I ever have a question that can't be answered by a search , I can ask and know that you will offer your knowledge and expert opinion, which I trust emphatically.
<We appreciate you taking the time to pass on these thoughts.>
My little community tank:
7 Red Eye Tetras
2 Dwarf Gouramis
3 Zebra Danios
3 Julii Corys
1 Banjo Catfish
ammonia-0 ppm
nitrite-0 ppm
nitrate-20 ppm
Respectfully yours,
Jennifer
<A nice collection of fish. The only possible problems are the Dwarf Gouramis and the Banjo cat. The Dwarf Gouramis are a fine species if healthy, but the quality of stock is very poor, and a high proportion of specimens from Southeast Asian fish farms are infected with an incurable viral disease. Keep an eye out for this. Optimising water quality and providing a healthy, balanced diet will go some way to ensuring success, but if things do go wrong, don't blame yourself. I personally recommend against Dwarf Gouramis *unless* sourced from a local breeder. Banded Gouramis and Thick-lipped Gouramis are, in my opinion, better bets. Banjo cats are lovely animals, but resolutely nocturnal and often starve to death in home aquaria. So do feed at night time, and do provide a mixed diet not just catfish pellets. Frozen bloodworms and frozen Tubifex are probably the ideal, but small bits of chopped seafood would be useful too. Good luck, Neale>

Dwarf gouramis?  hlth.  – 08/26/07
Hi! i was will be getting a pair of flame dwarf gouramis fo my 10 gallon. I have done alot of research and know that gouramis catch disease very quickly. i was just wondering what medication would be good to use when i first get them. I know they can have internal diseases and want to get rid/prevent it.)
<Greetings. Dwarf gouramis -- Colisa lalia -- are indeed extremely prone to bacterial and viral diseases collectively known as "Dwarf Gourami Disease" (DGD). These are a problem because of how the fish are farmed. The odds on a standard, store-bought dwarf gourami getting DGD is better than 50% unless the fish is kept in soft, acidic water at slightly higher than average temperature (~5 degrees GH, pH 6.0-6.5, 25-28 degrees C). Even under these optimal conditions, there's no guarantees your fish won't come down with DGD. It's really as simple as this. Now, as for treatment -- there isn't any. None. Zilch. Nada. When a dwarf gourami is infected, particularly with the viral form, well, that's it. The best you can do is destroy the fish painlessly. There's no recovery, and antibiotics (naturally, this being a viral disease) have no effect whatsoever. Nor does adding salt to the tank, prayer, or sacrificing a cock at the altar of Asklepios. Commercially-bred dwarf gouramis are, in my opinion, a total waste of time and money. Far, FAR better to buy one of the similar but infinitely more robust species like Colisa labiosus or Colisa fasciata. These have the same basic colour but are about a third to a half as big as the Dwarf gourami. Obviously they are not really suitable for a 10 gallon tank, though a mated pair might be OK if the tank was a "long" design with plenty of floating plants. If you really want to use a 10 gallon tank for some labyrinth fish, consider one of the smaller Betta species (perhaps the delightful "peaceful betta" Betta imbellis) or one of the droll little "talking" gouramis, Trichopsis spp. Hope this helps, Neale>

Re: dwarf gouramis? Now Trichogaster leeri...  – 08/26/07
thanks so much! i might try though... what about pearl gourami?
<"Trying" Dwarf gouramis is how the Southeast Asian fish farmers get away with mass producing disease-ridden livestock. Inexperienced aquarists think their next attempt will be successful, so retailers keep buying them from their wholesalers, and their wholesalers keep ordering them from the fish farmers. If the newbie aquarists stopped buying dwarf gouramis (except from local breeders) then the demand would vanish and the Southeast Asian fish farmers would have no choice but to change their farming methods. At the moment, one recent scientific study (J Go and R Whittington, 2006) found the incidence of Dwarf gourami iridovirus in dwarf gouramis exported from Singapore to be a staggering 22%! Since the disease is EXTREMELY contagious, once an infected fish is in a wholesaler's, retailer's, or hobbyist's aquarium, that infected gourami will infect all the other dwarf gouramis. Just imagine if 22% of the people around you were infected with TB or Smallpox... how long do you think you'd be healthy? That's why I am so adamant that the demand for Dwarf gouramis dry up, so that this rotten aspect of the ornamental fish trade can be eliminated. Anyway, as for the Pearl gourami -- Trichogaster leeri -- this is an excellent gourami. It is peaceful, attractive, and very hardy. Because it is a medium-sized fish (around 12-14 cm when mature) its minimum space requirement is for a "long" 20 gallon tank (i.e., a tank at least 60 cm long). Obviously more is better. While it naturally comes from soft/acid water environments, in the aquarium it does not seem to be at all fussy, and here in Southern England it does very well in hard/alkaline water. Long lived, i.e., 5-10 years. Doesn't get "dwarf gourami disease" and basically hardy. Hope this helps, Neale>

Re: dwarf gouramis? Now Honeys... Gourami sel.... what's next?  – 08/26/07
wow. feel bad for those poor little dwarfs! what about honey gouramis? (i would like to stick with my 10 gallon) and also, what if the dwarf gouramis don't come from Asia? If i ask my LFS (awesome store, very friendly, fish look great!) if they come from Asia, they say no, the fish look good....? (i love dwarf gouramis!!!=)so funny!)
sorry for all my questions! I want to be a good fish ''mommy''!
<Greetings. If the Dwarf gouramis don't come from Southeast Asia, then there's less change that they suffer from Dwarf gourami disease. The ideal is if they're locally bred (they aren't difficult to breed, so your local fish club might be able to help you there). Tropical fish shops may be able to tell you where their stock comes from. Many order directly from exporters in Southeast Asia, South America, or wherever. But a lot of stores get stuff through "middlemen", importers, and so the store might not know precisely where their livestock comes from. If you *do* want to try dwarf gouramis, then you need to know the signs of Dwarf gourami disease. Fish suffering from this begin by being lethargic, off their food, and shy. As things get worse they develop ulcers and patches of white dead skin, often looking a lot like they have finrot. Then they die. If even one single fish shows these symptoms, then assume they're all infected. I personally wouldn't buy dwarf gouramis EVER except from a local breeder... but it's your money. Honey gouramis are resistant to the disease (as are most other gouramis) BUT they are intrinsically more delicate fish. They need soft/acid water, period. If you don't have that, they're likely to be short-lived. I honestly cannot recommend the alternatives too highly: Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata. These are easy fish that look like Dwarf gouramis but can be practically guaranteed to last for years. Being a bit bigger they're also less shy, and easier to tame. They're quite commonly traded, and not difficult to find. Please look them up in your aquarium book. Hope this helps, Neale>

Re: dwarf gouramis? Sel.   8/28/07
thank you so much! I'll ask and if the dwarfs are from Asia, I'll get a different gourami. You guys rock!
<Sounds like you have a plan. Good luck, and thanks for the kind words. Cheers, Neale>