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FAQs on Colisa lalia, C. chuna... "Dwarf" Gouramis of Many Names, Honey, Flames, Neon Blue, Sunset Fire... Disease/Health

Excerpted from: Five Almost Perfect Fishes; Great fish for the community aquarium, except for one little thing… by Neale Monks

2 Dwarf Gourami, Colisa lalia

The good: Friendly, colourful, and just the right size for the community tank

The bad: Peculiarly sensitive to bacterial infections

Few aquarists haven’t tried keeping these fish at some point, and they remain staples of the hobby thanks to their wide availability, bright colours, sweet dispositions, and willingness to take a range of foods including flake and pellets. Numerous artificial forms exist, such as the “red dwarf Gourami” that lacks the blue strips typical of the wild morph. However, being widely sold doesn’t mean that are easy to keep, and these fish all too frequently sicken and die within a few months of being purchased. Dwarf gouramis appear to be among the fish most likely to contract bacterial infections if water quality or water chemistry isn’t exactly right. The symptoms are bloody sores on the body and a loss of appetite, and short of veterinarian help (i.e., antibiotics), nothing much seems to help.

Even with antibiotics, the prognosis isn’t particularly good, and you should definitely never buy dwarf gouramis from a tank containing specimens showing any signs of this type of infection. But even starting off with healthy fish might not help, as some aquarists believe that virtually all commercially-bred dwarf gouramis (and probably other gouramis as well) carry the bacteria, so the issue isn’t keeping the bacteria out of the tank but making sure it doesn’t become a problem. The best approach is to quarantine dwarf gouramis for a few weeks before being adding them to a tank that already contains other, hardier, gouramis.

It is just as important to make sure that water conditions and filtration are optimal. For the dwarf Gourami that means soft, acidic water conditions, preferably filtered through peat and zero levels of nitrite and ammonium. Frequent water changes to keep the nitrates down is a good idea, and using a hood or cover glass at the top of the tank to keep the humidity of the air just above the water level high is also to be recommended. Feeding presents few problems, but what you don’t want to do is introduce anything that might make the fish sick, such as live Tubifex worms. In short, these are quite demanding fish that need a lot of care if they are to succeed in a community tank.

Fish inquiry... Tetra, small Characin sel., comp. 7/15/08
Dear Crew,
I'm pretty new to the fish keeping hobby but I have been researching online. Here is my dilemma. I have a tank with serpae tetras who keep to themselves (thank god), zebra danios, a rubber lip Pleco, and platys.
<A "courageous" combination to say the least. Serpae tetras aren't my recommendation for the community tank, as you seem to realise.>
I need a somewhat larger fish to be the so-called "attraction" fish but I don't know which kinds will live peacefully with my other fish.
<With Serpae tetras, not much! The obvious choices -- Angelfish, Gouramis, etc. -- will simply be pecked to death.>
I have a 26 gallon tank, its pretty tall and its a bowfront. I've been deciding between some kind(s) of gouramis, freshwater angels, or silver dollars.
<No, no and no respectively. The Gouramis and Angels will be nibbled to pieces, and the Silver Dollars get far too large for a tank this size.>
Which species is best suited for my tank and well get along with the tankmates; and if you have any other suggestions about other species please let me know.
<To be honest, I'd not bother. I'd either up the numbers of the species you already have, or perhaps add an interesting catfish of some sort that can keep out of trouble. Serpae tetras for example look their best in big swarms of dozens of specimens, when their feeding frenzy behaviour becomes quite something to watch. Of course any catfish that avoids trouble, like a Synodontis, isn't going to be showpiece fish you're after.>
Also, ever since I transferred a red wag platy over to the bigger tank, it has constantly been hiding even though none of the other fish harass it.
<Almost certainly it has been nipped by the Serpae tetras and is keeping a low profile. Serpae tetras don't just bite the fins from other fish but also the scales, and such damage can be difficult to see.>
Is there any way I can solve this problem?
<Not really, no.> Thank you, Pierre
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: fish inquiry 7/15/08
Thank you for that info. Do you think there are any tetras that I could replace the Serpaes with that would get along with angels or gouramis? I might decide to take them back to the pet store.
Pierre
<Angelfish will simply view very small tetras, such as Neons, as food, so you have to be careful. Certain other tetras, can be just as nippy as Serpae tetras and will nibble on the Angels and Gouramis. Black Widows (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) and some of the other Hyphessobrycon species fall into this category. My honest recommendation would be to replace the Serpae tetras with more Zebra Danios. Here's the thing: if you have one big school of a schooling fish, it looks so much better than two small schools of different schooling fish. You would then have one species at the top (the Danios), one in the middle (perhaps a pair of Angels or a pair of Lace Gouramis) and then your catfish at the bottom. Instead of a jumble, you'll have an nice ordered arrangement. Otherwise, consider X-Ray tetras (Pristella maxillaris), Diamond tetras (Moenkhausia pittieri), or Lemon tetras (Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis) are excellent community tank tetras and the right size for your aquarium. But as I say, better to have twelve schooling fish of one type than six of two different types.
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: fish inquiry (Dwarf Gouramis, Angelfish, selection) 7/15/08
I'm going to exchange my Serpaes this evening. I think I will most likely go with the large school or danios and either dwarf gouramis or angelfish. I'll let my little brother pick. Thanks so much for all your help! Pierre
<My advise to anyone is don't get Dwarf Gouramis (Colisa lalia, including fancy forms like "neon gouramis", "robin gouramis", and so on). Unless wild-caught or locally bred, which the ones in shops most certainly are not, these fish are extremely likely to carry an incurable viral disease known as Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus. One estimate by vets puts the incidence at 22% for Dwarf Gouramis exported from Singapore. Because the virus is extremely contagious, you only need one infected fish in a batch to ensure all the others get sick too. The number of Dwarf Gourami e-mails we get would astonish you, and they really are a complete waste of money. Almost every retailer I know dislikes stocking them because so many die in their tanks, but there is sufficient demand among newbie aquarists who don't know better that they remain profitable. It's a shame, because twenty years ago they were quite good little fish. Nowadays, you're better off with the hardier (if slightly bigger) Colisa fasciata and Colisa labiosus.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/dwfgdis.htm
If you buy Angelfish, do remember these are territorial cichlids. You cannot sex them. But if you have two males, in a small aquarium they are very likely to become aggressive towards one another. If you buy a singleton, then there's an increased chance that Angelfish will "go rogue" and attack other fish in the tank, so that approach is not without risks. The standard way to keep Angels is to buy six specimens, let them pair off as they mature, and remove the four surplus fish when the time comes. Because Angels are such popular fish, rehoming adults is not difficult and any half-decent aquarium shop will take them off your hands. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: fish inquiry (Dwarf Gouramis, Angelfish, selection) 7/17/2008
Can the dwarf Gourami virus spread to other species of fish or only the ones in the Gourami family?
<This is a complex question. The short answer is yes, the virus can spread to other species in other families. But so far as I know, the only scientifically documented example is where Dwarf Gouramis Iridovirus appears to have infected Maccullochella peelii, and Australian perch-like fish belonging to the Percichthyidae family. There are no reports that I am aware of where the virus has caused problems in other species of Gourami though. Hence my recommendation that Colisa fasciata and Colisa labiosus are safe, reliable alternatives. Yes, they aren't quite as colourful, but they are still lovely fish and much, much more likely to live long and happy lives. If you want a small, non-aggressive Gourami for the community tank, these are the ones to go for. Cheers, Neale.>

Sick dwarf Gourami 7/12/08
Hi
We have 2 dwarf Gouramis. The male died yesterday and the female is now in our quarantine tank. We have had them one month in a tank along with platys, neon tetras, silvertip tetras and zebra Danios. We noticed discolouration around the mouth a week ago. They both also had/have a white patch on the
side. It looks like a wound but there are no signs of aggression from the other fish. Water quality- NO2 25mg/l NO3 0mg/l ph 7.6 temp 25C.
Can you offer any suggestions before we lose the female too? Thanks. Grace
<Hello Grace. If the fish has patches of fluffy or slimy stuff around the mouth and on the body, the chances are you're dealing with Finrot, Fungus, or "Mouth Fungus" (actually a bacterial infection). These can only be treated using antibacterial or antibiotic medications. In the UK, I recommend a product called eSHa 2000; in the US the antibiotic Maracyn seems to be preferred. As with any medication, remember to remove carbon from the filter if you are using it (and I don't recommend freshwater aquarists bother with it, to be honest). Now, with this said, there is a major problem with a viral infection known as Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus. This is untreatable, 100% fatal, and highly contagious. Because it is so common, I do not recommend aquarists bother with Colisa lalia, and instead suggest they go with other, unaffected species like Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/dwfgdis.htm
The symptoms are very consistent: first the fish becomes shy and loses its appetite, then it loses its colour, then discoloured patches and sores develop, and finally the fish swells up with dropsy and dies. It's a shame aquarium shops still stock Colisa lalia, and I've talked to managers of many shops over the years. They all say the same thing -- as much as they'd like to stop trading these fish (which die just as quickly in their tanks!), less expert fishkeepers just keep buying them, so they keep stocking them! It's a vicious circle really, and until aquarists stop buying them, the mass producers in the Far East will keep cranking out low quality, widely infected, Dwarf Gouramis. Anyway, I do hope you have your "NO2" and "NO3" readings back to front, by the way -- 25 mg/l nitrite (NO2) would be deadly to any fish!
Hope this helps, Neale.>

Gourami with a bloated abdomen. - 7/2/08
Hello there. I have a dwarf Gourami with a bloated abdomen. It looks pregnant however, it also looks as though it is bruised. The area in front of the bulging abdomen is dark purple/blue like a skin bruise on a human. Half of the lower fin is this color too. The only tank mate is a giant golden snail. I clean the take regularly and change the filter as recommended. Please help. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Glenda
<Glenda, your Dwarf Gourami almost certainly has Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus; an untreatable, highly contagious to other Dwarf Gouramis, apparently 100% fatal viral disease. The symptoms are very consistent: loss of appetite and shyness; loss of colour; appearance of blisters on the body and fins; swelling of the abdomen; death. Your mistake was buying this species at all -- in my opinion the prevalence of the disease amongst mass-produced Dwarf Gouramis is so high that spending money on them is a waste. My recommendation is to painlessly destroy this fish and then switch to a reliable small Gourami species such as Colisa labiosus or Colisa fasciata.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/dwfgdis.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasiafaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Emerald Green Corys and Dwarf Gourami Disease 5/26/08
I have two Gouramis and two Emerald Green Catfish in a 10 gallon tank. If I suspect one Gourami has Gourami Disease swollen abdomen, long stringy elimination and discoloration), I have read in your posts that I should assume the other one, while healthy looking, has it too (correct?).
<It isn't a certainty, but you should certainly remove in infected fish immediately. I'd painlessly destroy it. Various methods, but Clove Oil is perhaps the easiest on you and the fish.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasiafaqs.htm>
I have done 10% and 50% water changes adding aquarium salt and conditioner. My question is, if my Gourami's are "doomed" and I let them live out their disease, or take them back to the store since they are only a week old, will my Corys stay healthy or be affected?
<The virus doesn't affect catfish, so your Corydoras will be fine. Most other fish are likely immune, though I'd perhaps avoid Honey and Dwarf Gouramis as well as their hybrids.>
Thank you for you time!
<Cheers, Neale.>

Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/26/08
Hi. I have recently started up a 10 gallon tank.
<Do understand that this tank is too small for Blue Gouramis, and indeed for virtually all tropical fish. There's no reason to buy a 10 gallon tank unless you're an expert fishkeeper with a view to a breeding project or some other specific usage. 20 gallon tanks are the minimum sized ones that work reliably for casual aquarists and standard community fish species. The price difference between 10 and 20 gallon tanks is negligible, especially when set against how much longer your fish will live in the one compared to the other.>
2 weeks ago, I bought a powder blue dwarf Gourami and a red dwarf Gourami.
<Both Colisa lalia varieties. Extremely prone to disease; I simply don't recommend them to fishkeepers. Scarily high prevalence of viral disease; inbreeding and casual use of antibiotics means their lifespan once purchased is not high. A lot of retailers I know would sooner not stock them at all. Best avoided, in favour of hardy species like Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata.>
All seemed fine, but the red Gourami hangs out at the bottom of the tank and sometimes pushes the blue one around.
<The tank is too small. These fish are territorial, and if they're both males, as is highly likely if they're brightly coloured (females are greyish green) the dominant one will eventually kill the weaker one.>
Two days ago, I purchased two emerald green Corys that are very active, racing around.
<Too many fish in a 10 gallon tank! Corydoras aeneus need to be kept in groups of six or more (they're schooling fish) and that means a 20 gallon tank, at least. I'm not saying this stuff to be awkward: if you try to cram fish into too-small a tank, you're going to have problems with water quality, and that means disease. Your fish aren't going to be happy either, and if you don't care about their happiness, then why bother keeping fish at all?>
I noticed a few days ago that the blue Gourami seems maybe swollen just under the gills. Today, I noticed he has some black dots on his face, like he's dirty. I have done a few partial water changes this past week. Also, last night, I noticed when he was eliminating it was not releasing and grew to a few inches long before it even dropped, or came off.
<Difficult to know precisely what this is, but instinctively I'd be guessing Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus. This is very very common among Colisa lalia, and currently impossible to treat. It's 100% fatal, and highly contagious. This is why I tell people not to waste their money on this species. A photo would help ID the disease more precisely.>
The red Gourami is a big eater, eating most of the food, including the catfish pellets. The water temperature is between 78 and 80 degrees. I think the red Gourami may like the bottom of the tank because I have the thickest planting there (all artificial). I bought some tall "grass" decor, but it is sparse. I have read it's recommended that I buy some floating plants.
<Yes, floating plants are appreciated by Gouramis.>
Thank you in advance for your time. These fish were purchased for my kids that just lost a Betta and I would hate to lose my younger son's Gourami.
<I fear you're going to lose the fish anyway.>
Thanks again.
<You're welcome.>
Beth
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/26/08
Thank you for your response. I am obviously a beginner and went into the store not knowing much at all.
<Fair enough.>
I went by the suggestion of the clerk in regard to size of tank and the fish to put in them.
<Do always remember the guys in the store are there to make sales. In a perfect world, they'd also hand out expert advice and would stop you from making unwise purchases. But we live in an imperfect world, and not every store clerk is an expert fishkeeper. Many are essentially salespeople with little to no personal experience of keeping fish.>
He informed me that the Dwarf Gouramis are hearty, obviously misinformed.
<Do see here, for example:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=428
Something like 22% of the Singaporean fish are infected with the Iridovirus, so right out the bag over one-fifth are doomed. Couple this with the fact the virus is extremely contagious, and you have a real problem. It goes without saying that intensive farming methods to keep the price down and serious inbreeding to create the all-red and all-blue varieties has done nothing to improve the hardiness of the species.>
I also went by his suggestion with the catfish that he told me to come back for after 7 days when purchasing the Dwarf Gouramis.
<In a bigger tank, not a bad idea. But in a 10 gallon tank, overkill.>
I may not know much, but I even mentioned that the two Gouramis and two Catfish were going to create too many inches per gallon, but he insisted this was fine and that two catfish were good enough for them socially.
<Ah, I see. So in this instance you should have trusted your instinct. I suspect that you have the makings of an expert fishkeeper even if you're only just starting out! Keep reading, keep being critical, and keep raising your game.>
Thank you for your help. I will go back to the store with this knowledge.
<Happy to help, Neale.>

Re: Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/27/2008
Neale,
Thank you so much answering all of my questions. I have attached photos for you. If you believe this is what it is, I will be bringing both of the Gouramis back tomorrow since I have had them such a short time. ("<Difficult to know precisely what this is, but instinctively I'd be guessing Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus. This is very very common among Colisa lalia, and currently impossible to treat. It's 100% fatal, and highly contagious. This is why I tell people not to waste their money on this species. A photo would help ID the disease more precisely.>")
<Photos aren't quite sharp enough to make a good diagnosis. When looking for Dwarf Gourami Disease, the order of symptoms is typically this: shyness; loss of appetite; stringy faeces; appearance of discoloured (usually pale) patches on the body; open bloody sores on the body; oedema; death. Obviously not every sick Gourami has Dwarf Gourami Disease, so it's as well to consider the options too, including things like Finrot and Constipation that can cause at least some of these symptoms. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdistrbshtart.htm
Dark patches can simply be signs of physical damage, specifically to the nerves that control the colour cells (effectively similar to "stuck" pixels on an LCD screen. So as I say, don't destroy the fish out of hand; review the possible alternatives and treat appropriately. In any case keeping two specimens in the one tank isn't a good idea, so you'll need to return or rehome one of them.>
Thank you, again. I hope you can see well enough with these pictures. They don't depict the signs as well as I wish:
<Indeed.>
Again, I appreciate your time with this. The information invaluable!
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/27/2008
Do you have advice if I wanted two more fish, after bringing the Gouramis back that might be smaller and okay in the tank?
<There's an art to stocking 10 gallon tanks. Essentially look for small (2.5 cm/1") fish that don't move about much and aren't territorial. This approach will maximise your chances of success. In the "Gourami" field, you might consider Sparkling Gouramis (Trichopsis pumila), tiny little fish that work well in groups provided there are lots of plants at the surface of the tank for them to hide among. They're wonderfully coloured and make strange little sounds from time to time. If you live in a hard water area, you might also consider a "shell dweller" from Lake Tanganyika such as Lamprologus ocellatus. These fish rarely stray far from their shells (ideally empty apple snail shells or "escargot" shells from a boutique food store) and aren't aggressive to mid- or upper-level fish. Livebearers offer some interesting options, like the darling Least Killifish (Heterandria formosa), one of the smallest vertebrates known and native to the Southern United States. Gobies offer lots of potential, but you do need to review issues like feeding and water chemistry because some species will not last long if not kept correctly. Bumblebee Gobies for example do best in hard water with a little salt added (though this isn't essential) and will only eat ((wet) frozen bloodworms and small live foods like brine shrimp. As for catfish, the smallest Callichthyidae are perhaps the ideal, including things like Aspidoras pauciradiatus and Corydoras habrosus. Small Whiptails like Hemiloricaria parva also work nicely and add a quirky look to the system. I'm also keeping Cherry Shrimps and snails such as Nerites and snail-eating snails (Clea helena) in my mini tanks, and they're thriving, the shrimps in particular breeding like rabbits. So there's lots of potential with small tanks, provided you research your options and make good choices. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/27/2008
Follow Up: Thank you for all of your help. I returned the fish today and they, indeed, said the Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami did not look well at all. I followed your advice and decided that the fish were all going to be too big to be happy in the tank and brought the other Gourami and 2 Cory's back.
<Very good.>
I will say that the pet stores do seem more into turn around than into the happiness of the fish as the Emerald Green Cory tank said that a 10 gallon tank is suitable and some fish that grow to be 3 inches were labeled for 5 gallon tanks!
<Unfortunately not an uncommon way to keep fish.>
I purchased 4 guppies, figuring that they will grow no more than 1.5-2 inches and should remain happy. I would like to add 1 or 2 catfish after the Guppies stabilize. I saw online that there are small species that only grow to be 1.5 to 2 inches. Would these fish all be okay in the tank as it would equal about 7.5 to 10 inches of fish in a 10 gallon tank?
<In theory, Guppies can work in a 10 gallon tank. But in practise, the males often become aggressive towards one another. They also pester the females. It's not much fun to watch your male Guppies chasing one another and harassing the females. So while a single male and two or more females might be viable, I don't personally recommend Guppies in very small tanks. That said, many people keep Endler Guppies in small tanks, and their smaller size perhaps makes them a better bet. I've also found Humpbacked Limia (Limia nigrofasciata) and Wrestling Halfbeaks (Dermogenys spp.) work well in 10 gallon tanks.>
Thank you, again.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Blue Gourami black spots and swollen 5/27/2008
Dear Neale,
I'm sorry for all of the emails. I just want to get this right.
<Understandable!>
As it is (background), under advice from a first pet store, we bought a tank, let it run for a week and then went to a second store (the one we ultimately bought from) and found out it was the wrong kind of tank, needed a heater and all the rest and had to start over again. Now, the problems we've discussed.
<Hence our usual advice to buy/borrow an aquarium book *before* you spend any money.>
The more I research, the more I'm concerned that the Emerald Green Corys are not right for the tank. I love them and how active they are. However, when we bring back the Gouramis, they may not only grow too big for the 10 gallon tank, but be too big for the fish we will get as replacements.
<Green Corydoras (Corydoras aeneus) is an excellent catfish; it is peaceful, completely harmless towards even livebearer fry, and long-lived when kept properly. I keep a related species, Corydoras paleatus in my 180 litre aquarium and watching them plough through sand, spewing it out of their gills, is a real treat. Both these catfish spawn readily, and if they're happy you will eventually find their eggs on the glass. Raising the babies isn't difficult, but that's a story for another day. But these catfish are potentially too large for a 10 gallon system, at least once mature. Female Corydoras aeneus will get to at least 5 cm/2" and potentially 7.5 cm/3". They are not just long but deep-bodied as well. You also need at least 4, and ideally 6, specimens to see them at their best. So I agree with your analysis.>
I know you are not big on 10 gallon tanks anyhow, but unfortunately it's what works best for our space.
<Often the case.>
I have found that there are smaller catfish.
<There are several Dwarf Corydoras species, all reasonably hardy and easy to keep. Corydoras hastatus swims in the midwater when kept in reasonable numbers and not scared. Watching the flutter about like silvery bugs is lots of fun.>
I was thinking that Platys might be a good choice for our tank?
<A bit on the large size. Some varieties of Platy stay quite small, but in good health most varieties can top 5 cm/2". Personally I'd not recommend them, though some people do keep them in 10 gallon systems.>
For my boys, we're looking for one fish each that will be characteristic enough to tell them apart, or maybe two each- space dependent.
<The Catfish/Livebearer combo will work well. Catfish look strange and usually scoot about the bottom in a very purposeful way; livebearers are friendly and quickly become tame, rising to the top at feeding time. I have an 10 gallon system with Aspidoras pauciradiatus (a miniature, black-and-white Corydoras) and juvenile Limia nigrofasciata. The tank is filled with live plants, snails and Cherry Shrimps. The result is an aquarium that's very rewarding and fun to watch.>
They really like the idea of catfish as well, and I have found online that there are catfish that stay smaller than the Emerald Green Corys.
<Provided you avoid "Otos" (Otocinclus spp.) many of the smaller catfish are quite hardy. There are also some lovely small loaches, most notably Kuhli Loaches. Kuhli Loaches are gregarious and rather shy, but they work well in small tanks.>
I am returning to the store to make an exchange for the Gouramis as the Powder Blue became sick right away. Would you suggest, while we are somewhat starting over, that we bring the catfish back as well as they may be too big to share the aquarium with fish much smaller than them?
<I would, but it's your call. You always have the choice of hanging on to them for the next year or two, because Corydoras don't grow particularly fast. By Christmas time say, you might decide to upgrade the tank to a 20 gallon one. The "footprint" between a 10- and a 20-gallon tank isn't that great, and you can re-use the heater and filter.>
I hate to do so, but like I said, I want to do this right this time before we get even more attached. Any advice on the new fish as to what would be best is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
<Do read these articles for ideas on choosing livestock:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestk.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlvstksel.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestocking.htm
Take the kids down to the library/bookstore and have look through the encyclopaedias of freshwater fish. There are literally hundreds of species on the market, and even if they aren't in stock in your local store, they can order them or you can go mail order.
Cheers, Neale.>

Gourami disease, eggs? -03/28/08
hi,
I have just got 4 dwarf Gouramis and 2 are the opalescent blue and the other 2 are orange with stripes. my one striped one has a dark brown appearance on its head and at the top to,? and appears to be dull and slimy. and the other one appears to have this too along with a dark blue almost navy stripe near the end of its belly. is this normal or a disease.
<Not normal, and yes, likely a disease. In particular check your symptoms against 'Dwarf Gourami Disease', an extremely common and contagious problem among Colisa lalia imports from Singapore especially.
http://208.112.95.51/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm
There is no cure. I would simply advise people NEVER to buy these fish unless from a local breeder.>
and finally the last question I have is my blue Gourami is larger than the rest of the tank mates and has been hanging out at the top of the tank. but I have noticed very small,? white circular things near my heater and every now and then the swollen fish will go up near that part of the tank. what is wrong with my fish and what are these things, are they eggs?
<Impossible to say. Quite possibly eggs, through whether from the Gouramis or something else, e.g., snails, is difficult to say. Gouramis are bubble-nest builders and don't normally stick their eggs to the glass. On the other hand Corydoras catfish and some snails do this all the time. If you think they're eggs, then by all means carefully remove them to a breeding trap and see what happens! Fish eggs tend to be about 1 mm across and small round spheres; snail eggs are usually laid in clumps, often in blobs of jelly about 5 mm or so across.>
thank you
<Next time, please send messages with proper capitalization of sentences! Makes e-mails easier to read, share. Cheers, Neale.>

Dwarf Gourami problem – 03/18/08
Hi.
I have 3 dwarf Gourami's, I took one of them out and put it in a small 1.5 gallon tank as it had a swollen upper body and seems to spend a lot of time at the bottom
<Dwarf Gourami Disease; caused by a virus. Incurable. See here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm
I cannot state this more clearly: People, stop buying these fish!>
The other tank is all out of whack chemically .75ppm No2, 20 ppm No3, 1.00 ammonia and 7.5 PH. I am really new at this and can't figure out what to do.
<Buy a book, read about fishkeeping. Obviously you've added a bunch of fish to an immature aquarium. Nitrite and ammonia at these levels will quickly kill your fish. Start here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestk.htm
>
The small tank I set up is 00ppm No2, 5 No3, .15 Ammonia and 7.6 PH. The temp in both is 78. I tried putting in Rid·Ich+ which is supposed to help with a variety of problems.
<Yes, but doesn't "cure" bad fishkeeping. Nor does it help deal with viral infections. The ammonia in here will kill this Gourami even before the virus. Go here to see how to painlessly destroy this fish:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasiafaqs.htm
>
I hope I'm not to late as he looks worse and is staying at the bottom. I noticed while in the other tank he did not eat anytime I was watching.
<Doomed.>
Sorry for the anxiety. I just hope to be able to be better at this whole thing.
<You can be, but you have to read. You also need to make sensible decisions. For beginners, buying tanks smaller than 20 gallons is stupid. They're too difficult to maintain and choose stock for. So I'm hoping you have a tank 20 gallons or larger. Next up, you choose hardy fish, not "pretty" fish you pick without research. Dwarf Gouramis for example are among the WORST choices for beginners because they are plagued with disease and weren't even all that hardy in the first place. Danios and peppered Corydoras for example would make much better choices.>
Please help.
<Have done so.>
Thanks. Tina
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Dwarf Gourami problem 03/19/2008
Thank you Neale
<You're welcome.>
I really was not properly informed when I was given the tank (70 gallon) I should never have taken it without doing more reading. The people who had it wanted it gone. I have however been reading instead of taking anymore advice from the tank donors.
<Very good!>
The fish that were in it were not my choice.
<I see.>
I am very thankful for the information that you have given. I am glad I came to you for help. I hope that no more fish die because of my lack of knowledge.
<So do I!>
Thanks again and I'm hoping the readings on the tank will clear up soon as I do more water changes.
Tina
<Good luck, and happy fishkeeping! Neale.>

Sick Flame Dwarf Gourami 2/28/08
Hey guys,
I found your site when I was researching how to care for my two new green spotted puffers, but I've found your help so invaluable with them that I was hoping you'd be able to help me with one of my other tanks.
I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank, and in it live 3 dwarf Gouramis (the normal, red with blue striped variety -- all male), 3 dwarf flame Gouramis (also all male), 3 balloon body mollies, and 3 Danios (2 leopard, 1 zebra).
I've had this tank for probably about two months, and it's completely cycled, but I'm going through a bit of an ammonia spike right now --
<?>
exact numbers to follow below. The Gouramis were the last fish I added, and they've been in there for several weeks now. Recently (within the last 2 days) I've noticed that one of my dwarf flame Gouramis looks rather ill. He's laying on the bottom of the tank, gulping air. He's more or less propped himself up against the side of the tank. He's not interested in food, though he is still responsive to stimuli (including the other fish coming over and checking him out. I've had no aggression problems at all, and my tank is filled with lots of plants (floating and rooted) in addition to various other forms of cover.
Something isn't right with him, but I don't know what. Water temperature is 78.2 degrees. There's a bit of salt in the water for the mollies (following the recommendations on the API Aquarium Salt box), though I wouldn't call it salty enough to be brackish...just enough salt to keep the mollies happy (which they certainly seem to be... piggy little buggers).
Readings are as follows:
0 ppm Nitrites.
20 ppm Nitrates (holy crap...I just did a 20% water change yesterday...how did that happen?)
<Accumulates easily...)
The ammonia levels are reading somewhere between 0 and .25 ppm, but it looks much closer to 0 (sorry, my ability to distinguish colors is
just not what I wish it was...)
<Mine neither...>
pH is around 7.6 (it's usually between 7.6 and 7.8).
What's going on with my tank???
<Something perhaps amiss with the test kit...>
No one else in there seems to be having problems, though with nitrate levels like that I fear they soon will be.
What do I do?
Thanks for any help!
Micah
<Add some biological filtration (an "auxiliary" filter...)... For the Colisa Gouramis... they're notorious for being imported with persistent Hexamita/Octomita et al. protozoan infestations... and a particularly nasty virus... Please read here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm
Bob Fenner>

Dwarf Gourami Disease 2/25/08
Hello again!
<Ave,>
Okay, I read up on the links, and now I am worried for the rest of my Gouramis (dwarf and regular).
<It's only Colisa lalia and Colisa hybrids you need to worry about; other Colisa and all Trichogaster seem resistant or immune to the Dwarf Gourami Disease pathogen.>
If I remove the sick fish, are the rest of them going to catch it?
<See above.>
I just did a water test: my nitrates are about 30ppm (I am due for a water change), nitrites are 0ppm, the water is testing at 150 (hard), 120
alkalinity and pH at 7.2 (neutral). Should I be adjusting anything?
<Nope.>
if Yes, how do you advise as the best way?
<Broad advice for water chemistry is this: if you don't know how/why to adjust the water chemistry, you probably shouldn't do it. It is easier to mess things up completely. In fact, your water chemistry is just about perfect for a broad range of community fish.>
Sorry to keep asking, I do appreciate the assistance!
Cheryl
<Happy to help, Neale.>

More of a comment, really....Dwarf Gourami disease 2/10/08
Having found a sore on the lip of my male dwarf Gourami early last month, I looked for info on the internet and found Neale Monks' material as posted on your webpage (below):
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm
(FAQs on Colisa lalia, C. chuna... "Dwarf" Gouramis of Many Names, Honey, Flames, Neon Blue, Sunset Fire... Disease/Health)
I was horrified to hear about Dwarf Gourami disease as described in these pages, as I - perhaps naively - believed the breeding of tropical fish for the pet market to be 'all right' (ecologically, in animal welfare terms, ethically) and having purchased the fish from a reputable supplier, I assumed he would be in good health. My despondency deepened the more I read of the webpage....after some time I was convinced that my Gourami was doomed to a painful, wasting death, and was considering euthanising him to prevent further suffering.
My husband suggested that I was perhaps being a bit too hasty about all this, and that we give the fish a chance since he seemed to be alert and happy (feeding well, obsessed with his bubble-nest). The sore lip slowly healed and now (touch wood) he is OK.
The information you provide on your site is an invaluable resource, and Dwarf Gourami disease certainly seems to be a terrible problem that needs to be eradicated at source. Neale Monks obviously - and rightly - feels very strongly about this disease, but my point is that perhaps his opinions on the Dwarf gouramis (the ones that have already been bred and exported by disreputable suppliers, and are pets currently living in peoples' homes) are at times a little too pessimistic - my very limited experience (this far at any rate) shows that gouramis can recover from slight abrasions and do not always succumb to bacterial infections immediately. Of course I don't know that my fish isn't affected and can only hope that he survives to a good age.
This is a minor comment on an excellent web-based resource, and I hope it hasn't caused offence.
With all best wishes, Katrina
<Hi Katrina. No offence at all taken. It's always good to get comments about things I write, even when people disagree. Yes, I do feel strongly about Dwarf Gourami Disease. And it isn't me saying these things are disease-ridden. Australian vets looked at Dwarf Gouramis closely because the virus they carry is very similar to one that's suddenly appeared among populations of a native fish, the Murray Cod. The vets found that 22% of the Dwarf Gouramis exported from Singapore carried the Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus, and they believe the virus at some point mutated and then started infecting the Murray Cod. Furthermore, the quality of Dwarf Gouramis has been declining for at least ten years. Wholesalers in the UK have been attempting to source Dwarf Gouramis from better suppliers.
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1139
As I hope my comments in those Dwarf Gourami articles implies -- Dwarf Gourami Disease (DGD) has a very specific pathology. Not all Dwarf Gouramis with scratches or sores are infected with DGD any more than not every human who coughs has Bubonic Plague. But if you have a Dwarf Gourami that loses colour, hides away, stops feeding, has stringy faeces, develops bloody sores on the body and ultimately keels over and dies, then there's a pretty good case to believe this fish has DGD. If all your Dwarf Gourami has is a small blister or something, then by all means isolate the fish (always a good call with any sick fish) and monitor for other symptoms. If the fish swims and feeds normally, then precisely as you've reported, the damage could be something as simple to treat as Finrot or plain mechanical damage that needs time to heal. But if the fish subsequently develops the full set of DGD symptoms, then isolating that fish is critical, because infected fish rarely (if ever) get better, and the viruses can spread very easily through the water. In other words, not all sick Dwarf Gouramis have DGD, but some do, and the aquarist should *aggressively* isolated suspected cases, particularly if the tank contains other Dwarf Gouramis (and potentially other Gouramis I suppose). Hope this helps, and thanks for writing! Neale.>

Dwarf Gourami, hlth. 1/29/08
Hi.
I have been going though your WWM website. Thank you very much for your support, help and lots of information.
I have a question about one of my dwarf Gouramis.
He has been attacked by the male Platy 2-3 weeks ago and since that doesn't look right to me.
He looks as if his scales are gone on one side and some of scales stick out like a pinecone, and color around that area getting darkish.
He hides in the corner of the tank, always head up position.
I noticed stringy white poop and bloat, slightly swollen around gills. Also his top fin has a crack ( you can see it on the photo)
Today he wasn't interesting in the food.
I checked the water parameters - they are good. My community tank is 55 gal. Not overstocked. I did 30% water changes, just in case. I usually do a weekly.
I started to add a MelaFix.
Could you help me to advise with the name of medication I can use to treat my guy?
Thanks
Larissa
<Hello Larissa. If you're lucky, this is mere Finrot. Treat with a proper Finrot medication of your choice, but not Melafix which doesn't really work reliably. Maracyn is popular in the US, but here in the UK I prefer to use eSHa 2000. Use whatever you want really. If you're unlucky, this is an early stage of Dwarf Gourami Disease. This causes swellings and blisters on the body, as well as lethargy, loss of colour, loss of appetite, and eventually death. It's incurable. It is caused by a virus, and is so common among Dwarf Gouramis that I simply WILL NOT recommend anyone keep them. It is highly contagious, and will affect all Dwarf Gouramis including the "fancy" sorts like Neon Gouramis and Robin Gouramis. If you have any of these in the tank, assume they are infected, and likely doomed to a premature death. The reason Dwarf Gourami Disease is so common is that people keep buying the things, and so the breeders out in Singapore make no effort to stop the virus. There are much better Gouramis out there, such as Colisa fasciata and Colisa labiosus. Cheers, Neale.>

Gouramis disease, Colisa lalia... 1/18/08
Hi,
I have a 130lt aquarium and it hosts 9 fish (6 gouramis, 2 goldfish, 1 angel and 1 neon tetra). 4 days ago all of a sudden my 2nd angel died (didn't show any symptoms before that) and ever since I have the one problem after the other in the aquarium. I did partial change of the water but the next day one of my gouramis (red in colour) stayed at the bottom of the tank swimming only to go up and grasp some oxygen and then come down to the bottom of the tank again. I decided to get my water tested, so I took a sample to the pet shop that showed a small rise of nitrates in the tank and he gave me a liquid to change the nitrate levels that I used in conjunction with sera Nitrivec, after another partial change of the water. The day before yesterday my sick Gourami got a swollen belly and I decided to look for a cure. It seemed like an internal infection and I found a treatment with sera BACTOPUR direct that I used today. Yesterday, after the med for the nitrates a few other gouramis started showing weird behavior. They swim like crazy up and down, and one of them seems like it's fainting for a while, then getting up and swimming normally. Today, nearly none of my gouramis ate, and the sick one cannot swim at all, it has the swollen belly, the colour of the Gourami becomes darker and it seems like he is peeling off at a small part of her body. I went to the pet shop and bought sera BACTOPUR direct today, and added 2 tablets to the tank. I took out the sick Gourami and put it in 2 litres of water 1 tablet of sera BACTOPUR direct for a more drastic treatment, left it for 30 minutes and put it back in the tank. I didn't see any change yet, and I really do not know what to do. I only have the aquarium for a month, I do not have any live plants, and they're the first fish I introduced in it. I also rose the temp to 28 Celsius degrees. Please help me, if I can save their life. Thank you
Elena
<Hello Elena. Are these Dwarf Gouramis (Colisa lalia) by any chance? If they are, then the problem is almost certainly "Dwarf Gourami Disease". This is not curable, at least, not at the point where the fish display symptoms. Typical symptoms are: first shyness and loss of appetite, then the colour fades, then ulcers and lesions appear on the body, then the abdomen swells, and then the fish dies. The best you can do is painlessly destroy sick fish, because they won't get better. (Or at lest, I've yet to hear of any Dwarf Gourami with Dwarf Gourami Disease get better.) Dwarf Gouramis are simply not worth keeping any more. Avoid, and never keep them again. If you must keep a small Gourami, then look to hardier species such as Colisa fasciata and Colisa labiosus. Do also understand that a "new" aquarium (which yours is) doesn't have a fully mature filter. Many fish will become sick when kept in such a tank. Use a nitrite (with an "I", as opposed to nitrate-with-an-"a") test kit to measure the nitrite level; if you detect nitrite, the tank is still immature and potentially deadly to your fish. Do lots of water changes! I'd suggest 10-25% per day for the next week or two. Stick with a few, very hardy fish to begin with. Corydoras paleatus for example, or Danio species. Only keep things like Gouramis and Angelfish after 2-3 months. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Gouramis disease 1/18/08
Hi Neale. Thanks for the quick response. Yes, I checked now on google, I have the dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia). Ok, so I will take back to the pet shop the gouramis that don't look sick and the angel. I will only keep goldfish in for a couple of months. Do you think that this disease will affect goldfish now it exists in the tank? I have to admit I am new in the aqua world and I hardly know anything about fish. I am constantly trying to read and learn now though. Ever since I set up the aquarium I change the water every week. I didn't know gouramis were so sensitive, but I got really upset not being able to help them. When I take gouramis out, do I have to change the water? Because the medication is still in the water. I am supposed to change it in 3 days. I live in Cyprus and in pet shops I couldn't find a huge variety of species but I will do exactly what you said if I am to avoid having them suffering again. Thanks again, you have a wonderful website.
<Hello Elena. Goldfish will be fine, provided you keep on top of water changes. No, Goldfish don't catch Dwarf Gourami Disease (as far as we know!). Not much is known about the virus that causes the disease, except that it is VERY widespread.
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1139
Yes, change some of the water after you remove the Gouramis, but not because of the disease, but because that's a good thing to do. Water changes are GOOD! They're the cheapest and easiest way to have healthy fish. 50% per week is what I recommend. But finish to coarse of medicine first. So if it says no water changes for 3 days, then don't do water changes for 3 days. Wow, Cyprus would be a GREAT place to keep fish. If I was there, I'd spend all my time at the beach, collecting cool gobies and blennies. The Mediterranean is just packed with excellent fish that do really well in aquaria. But if you want FRESHWATER fish, then you'll have to work with what's available! Dwarf Gouramis just aren't worth it in my experience. Lots of better gouramis. Avoid MALE blue or gold gouramis though (Trichogaster trichopterus), as they can be very aggressive. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Gouramis disease 1/18/08
Hello Neale. Thanks for that. I will do as you told me. Thanks again.
<Very good. Enjoy your fish! Neale.>

Colisa lalia/chuna (?) with sickness/discoloration. 1/17/08
I have a dwarf Gourami, Colisa lalia (I think), which I believe is sick.
<Yes, this is Colisa lalia, but an artificial morph.>
I say *believe* because behaviorally there don't appear to be any problems.
<Not yet, anyway. But the sore does look troubling.>
However, he’s developed the coloring/marking shown in these pictures in the last week, week-and-a-half, and it doesn’t appear to be going away. It also doesn’t seem to be growing/changing…it was just ‘there’ one morning. He’s been in quarantine since Dec. 26 (along with the other fish I got at the same time) and none of the other fish have developed this… problem.
<Good.>
The whole batch had Ich when we picked them up (I got them for pennies on the dollar) but that cleared up nicely and we only lost a clown loach (out of $120+ worth of fish and the one we wanted most kicks the bucket ;-().
<Hmm...>
Treatment was QuickCure (at half the dose--group includes tetras), salt (2 tbsp/ 10 gal), and Melafix (don’t knock it… it’s helped me many times) for 12 days. I’ve since put him into his own quarantine (3 gal Eclipse) and am at a loss.
<Not a fan of Melafix. Yes it works sometimes, but not always; the alternative medications may be more expensive, but at least they work consistently.>
My first thoughts were DGD or some kind of tumor, but the coloration doesn’t seem right to me and it doesn’t seem elevated so I haven’t considered it a growth.
<I'd go with Dwarf Gourami Disease as well. Only time will tell... Regardless, don't mix with any other Gouramis, and certainly don't place in a tank you intend to add Dwarf Gouramis to any time soon.>
Nitrates/Nitrites/Ammonia are all easily within allowable limits (15 ppm/ 0 ppm/ 0 ppm). Temps were on the high end to clear up the Ich (82 F).
<Fine.>
Hardness is 4 dH, pH is 7.4, and water changes are weekly with treated tap-water of the same hardness and pH. Do you have any thoughts? Thanks!
<None really. You're doing/thinking what I would. It's possibly physical trauma that's damaged some nerves, and so what you're seeing are the "colour cells" (chromatophores) stuck in an odd position (think: broken pixels on an LCD screen). There certainly seems to be a puncture at the centre, but whether that's a puncture inwards (i.e., a cut) or a puncture outwards (i.e., a burst cyst) I cannot say. If this is DGD, the fish'll be dead in a few weeks, so you may as well maintain in a quarantine tank (or at least a tank without labyrinth fish) and see how things go. If nothing happens after a month or six weeks, at the very least you should see the central wound heal up, in which case keep the fish in a community tank without labyrinth fish are accept it as just being odd. Please get back in touch as and when you see things change or improve; I'd like to know more. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Colisa lalia/chuna (?) with sickness/discoloration. - 1/17/08
Neale (and WWM Crew),
<Branon,>
Thank you for the quick response! It looks like we're on the same sheet of music on this one.
<Cool.>
I'm concerned when you say not to put him into a system with Anabantoids...I have a Betta (which is currently in a separate QT) I'm planning on including in the system (150 gal community tank) and I was thinking these two are far enough distant in relation to rule out susceptibility to DRD...?
<I'd guess that'd be a fair comment, but I'm just not 100% sure.>
I may also not be familiar enough with DRD... is this an infection which can/will remain in the tank for months/years even if there aren't viable hosts (i.e. non-resistant labyrinth fish)?
<Likely yes. It's caused by a virus -- Dwarf Gourami iridovirus -- and as far as I'm aware, no-one knows how to kill it, how long it can survive in an aquarium, if it can be carried by other fish without causing symptoms, or really much of anything at all!>
Is there an all-clear time-frame?
<Not aware of one, no.>
If it doesn't clear up and he isn't dead by the end of the additional 4-6 wk. QT, do I assume it isn't DRD?
<Sounds reasonable to me.>
Thanks for all your wonderful assistance!
<Happy to help!>
Branon
<Cheers, Neale.>

Sick Gourami 11/14/07
Help!!!
I need to see if you folks can help me figure out what could be my problem- before losing any fish?
I have a pair of Powder Blue Dwarf Gouramis and a pair of Paradise Gouramis.... One of my Powder Blues seems to be acting ill in many ways- Hangs to the top or bottom, labored swimming and breathing, swimming at an angle rather than vertical, also eats/acts normal for short periods of time hit and miss, also on both sides of the fish is a small bulge (equal on both sides) which none of the other 3 have.... This recently happened just before a water change and after the water change, 3 days past now, and nothing has changed- which my water checks out fine....
What could be wrong/ What can I do???
<Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this fish will die. And so will the other one, even if it is healthy now, because it is almost certainly infected by now. This is Dwarf Gourami Disease, a viral infection without a cure that infects a large proportion of commercially bred Colisa lalia (including all the varieties: powder blues, reds, Neons, etc.). The only "cure" is to get people to stop buying the damn things so the breeders stop producing them. But capitalism being what it is, there are always enough people out there who haven't heard about Dwarf Gourami Disease, so our friends on the fish farms crank out more of these disease-ridden animals. Your Paradise Gourami (presumably Macropodus opercularis, the Paradisefish) should be immune to this virus. But do not, under any circumstances, either transfer livestock from this tank to another with Dwarf Gouramis, or else add more Dwarf Gouramis hoping to "try again". They will die, as sure as God made little green apples. I really can't say this strongly enough: DO NOT BUY DWARF GOURAMIS!!!! Remove and humanely destroy the infected fish. Praying to the Fish Gods is about all you do to save the other one. Nothing else helps. The symptoms are consistent: first a loss of vitality and appetite, then shyness, then bumps, then sores, then obviously bleeding on the skin, then death. If you want a small Gourami species, my recommendations are Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata. Both are hardy and long-lived, and generally peaceful (though your Paradisefish, if males, will become incredibly aggressive as them mature and will certainly harass any Gouramis kept with them). Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Sick Gourami, Colisa lalia 11/16/07
One more question, I don't know that this affects the prognosis, or the future of my other dwarf- but this Gourami that is ill now, was fine until I let the tank go too long without cleaning or a water change- so the ammonia rose, as well as poor water quality came.
<Possibly a triggering factor, but the virus would make its presence known eventually, regardless.>
This was fixed after a 30% water change and some ammonia reducer/stress coat. I have numerous other fish in my tank as well that all tolerated this fine (zebras, algae eaters, and a guppy)... does it still seem as if this is really the case?
<Yes.> Trust me, I have seen so many sick Gouramis that I have no doubt in my mind about this.>
What are some Gouramis that I can still expect to be able to keep?
<Many, in fact most Gouramis on sale are excellent value and can be expected to live a long time. Pearl Gouramis and Moonlight Gouramis are among my favourites. Banded and Thick-lipped Gouramis are also excellent fish, and quite similar to Dwarfs in shape and colour. Three-spot Gouramis (including the blue and yellow varieties, among others) are also good, but the males tend to be aggressive. Honey Gouramis tend to be somewhat delicate unless kept in soft, acidic water, but that aside, they don't seem to be troubled by the Dwarf Gourami virus. Cheers, Neale.>

Dwarf Gourami couple, dis.... and a turtle? Incomp. 10/23/07
Hi, I just populated my 60l tank about a week ago, I have 10 neon tetras, 3 kuhli loaches and a male and female dwarf gourami. I also have a tiny turtle, roughly 4cm.
About a week ago, the female gourami had a white patch on her back, I assumed it was a bite from the male since he seemed to follow her around. It appeared to heal, and two days ago had turned somewhat dark.
But then yesterday morning, I found the fish dead, missing the entire tail.
I assumed it was the turtle, but I can't help wondering why he didn't eat more than the tailfin. Also the width of the tail is quite large, so I suppose it could have been gnawed off after the fish perished.
Throughout the day I watched the dead fish to see if someone tried to eat it, and while I didn't see any culprits, around dinner time it did have a hole in the abdomen roughly the size of the turtle beak. I then took the body out, but unfortunately didn't take pictures.
It's hard for me to tell if the fish have acted unusual since I only had them for a week, but the female did seem particularly shy, and the male chased her on occasion.
The male had a period of very energetic swimming in bursts yesterday evening.
Is it likely the turtle killed this fish? I was told in the petstore a turtle this size should pose no problems, and he does rest along with the small loaches and has not appeared to bother them.
-Magnus
<Magnus, whatever the fish store guys are saying, turtles will nip at fish. Red Ear Sliders for example are primarily omnivores that feed mostly on plant matter and invertebrates, but in the limited space of an aquarium, they will definitely go for fish. Move the turtle to its own enclosure ASAP. The other issue is "Dwarf Gourami Disease". This is an epidemic among Dwarf Gouramis from Southeast Asia especially. It is an untreatable viral disease and usually ends in death. The symptoms are consistent: shyness, loss of appetite, lethargy, loss of weight, red sores on the skin, dead patches of skin, and then death. Be on the lookout for these. Buying Dwarf Gouramis that have NOT been locally bred is, in my opinion, a very risky gamble. Hope this helps, Neale>

Dwarf Gourami, Spawning, and Disease - 10/06/2007
Hi,
I have a pair of dwarf gouramis in a 260L tank which has been set up for about 3 months with no problems. About 2 weeks ago the pair had a failed breeding attempt (all the eggs got eaten) and since then the male has not eaten, he hides in the top corner of the tank, hardly moving and his feelers have started to disintegrate, they are now only about a third of their original length. Advice would be greatly appreciated as I am going on holiday next week and wondering whether his illness could be treated before then or if it likely to spread to other tank inhabitants: pearl gouramis Columbian tetras, clown loaches, rainbow fish, algae eaters, silver sharks.
Thanks
Gayle
<Gayle, while it is possible that your gourami has Finrot (in which case treat for Finrot using some appropriate medication such as Mardel Maracyn or eSHa 2000), the odds are 9 to 10 that your fish has Dwarf Gourami Disease (DGD). This starts off with lethargy and shyness, then loss of appetite, then blisters or sores on the body, and then death. There is no cure, and the best you can do is isolate the fish, provide optimal water conditions, and hope for the best. If the fish doesn't improve, then painlessly destroy it. DGD is apparently caused by a virus, so antibiotics do not help. DGD is practically ubiquitous in shipments of Dwarf Gouramis from Southeast Asia. One scientific study found almost 1 in 4 Dwarf Gouramis were infected with it. It is also EXTREMELY contagious, and as soon as one fish dies, the disease WILL spread, so that the entire batch of fish will be infected. For this reason, I personally recommend people NEVER buy Dwarf Gouramis from anywhere other than a local breeder. Truly, it just isn't worth it. If you want to keep a small gourami, skip Dwarf Gouramis (and their hybrids and variants, such as neon, robin, and sunset gouramis). Instead go for Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata (Thick-lipped Gourami and Banded Gourami respectively). These fish are similar but not affected by the disease. Your female gourami is, more than likely, infected and so doomed unless you separate the fish immediately and are extremely lucky. But the other fishes (including the pearl gouramis) should be fine. There's no sign that DGD spreads to fishes other than Dwarf Gouramis. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Neale>

Dwarf Gourami/Colisa Lalia, dis... – 09/29/07
Hello. I have a problem that I hope you will help me with. One of my dwarf Gouramis has developed a swelling on his upper back, near the dorsal fin. I first noticed it Sunday. He is in good color, eating like a pig, swimming fine, clear eyed, fins erect, etc. My concern is the rate of growth and changes in the swelling. From the first sign of swelling, Sunday, through today, it has grown a little in size, but of more concern to me, is the 'pimple' like heads developing on the swelling. The swelling appears equal on both sides of the fish (size and shape). However, one side has a single 'pimple', the other side had one, and then yesterday a second one developed. It doesn't match anything in my fish books, and I couldn't find anything on your site (although I'm sure it's there somewhere). Can you please tell me what it is?
<Gone over and over here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dwfgdis.htm>
What can I do about it? Is it contagious? Etc.
<Read the link/citation and the linked files above>
I've attached a picture and I'm hoping the size, 386 kb, is suitably small enough. It's not a great picture, but it is the best of the ones we were able to take tonight. He's slightly twisting in it, because he was starting his dash for cover. He's afraid of my husband, especially with the camera in his hands. I hope it helps. The tank is a standard 20 long. Temp. is in the range of 78 to 81, depending on time of day, how long the lights on, etc. Filtration is an Aqua Clear 30 and a Whisper 10i. Until last month, I had a second 10i in the tank, but it stopped working, and I didn't think it needed to be replaced. The tank is separated into three sections. The two ends are each less than 1/3 of the whole tank, but over 1/4 of it. In other words, the center area is larger than each of the separate ends, but the two ends added together are larger than the center area. I have a standard dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia/pictured) on one end, which is the fish in question. I have a powder blue dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia) on the other end. In the center I have four adult female bronze Cory cats (Corydoras aeneus). I also had one large golden mystery snail (Pomacea bridgessii) in the tank, until yesterday. Ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0, and Ph is 8. My normal GH is 1 - 3, so I use vitamin/mineral supplements. I put in one of the 10 gallon dose/sized pyramids (standard LFS/lps type) every week or so, basically adding one when the old one is almost gone. I also use Boyd's liquid freshwater vita-chem with their water changes. Altogether, it makes the GH closer to 'medium' hardness. I usually don't try and alter water chemistry, but the snail's shell was starting to show some erosion before I began adding the supplements. The tank is cycled and has been running over a year with it's current filters. I also have extra bio in the filters. I have an extra bag of AC's Biomax in the AC 30 and I use a replacement insert that has it's own frame, carbon/pad, and bio sponge in the 10i, along with the stock bio frame. The tank has standard lighting (florescent tube), three kinds of standard aquarium gravel, an ornament (cave for my cory cats), and a lot of cloth plants, including floating lilies. There is a bubble wall in each end section, and an air-stone bar in the center section. The dividers are standard LFS/lps variety. One is about a year old and the other I replaced a few months ago. I replace them when they start to fray. I use the center like a DMZ between the two gourami. They started out in a 30 together, but the addition of a third dwarf Gourami set it, and the standard, against the powder. I've kept them separated ever since. The third Gourami was in the 20 long as well, but he died about three months ago. I think/believe he died from old age, as he was full grown when we got him. He was huge compared to the other two. He also didn't show any signs of ill health, but had developed a bit of a hunch-backed look. We've had the two remaining Gouramis almost 2 years now. Two of the bronze cory cats are also almost 2 years old, and the other two are the offspring of one or both of the other two (separated Mom(s) and daughter(s) from the males). The apple snail was born in the tank, and lived in it her whole life (a little over a year). She was bigger than a golf ball, and surprisingly heavy. I have no idea if she died from anything related to Frack's swelling, or if she died due to age. I'm not sure how long mystery snails are supposed to live? Frick (powder blue) does not show any signs of the swelling/pimples, so far. Lastly, water changes average out to about every 2 or 3 weeks. When the Nitrate reading is around 30 ppm, I do an 80-85% water change and vacuum the gravel at that time. I service the filters every 4 to 6 weeks, and they usually don't have a lot of junk/gunk in them. I only rinse the bio medias in discard tank water. I replace the 10i's carbon pads, and rinse out the AC 30's mechanical sponge in tap water during servicing. The Gouramis eat a mix of flake food twice a day, and I use a feeding ring with each of them. I mix several brands (Tetra, Omega, LFS brands, etc) of tropical flakes and crisps, along with Hikari's freeze dried brine shrimp (with and without algae) and daphnia, into one container, along with one container of algae flakes. I use small containers since I'm mixing around 5 of them together. The Hikari comes from whatever size I already have open, for the other tanks, at mixing time. I occasionally feed the Gouramis' mix to some of the other tanks as well, to help use it up quicker. It ends up being around 3 fresh mixed batches a year. I also give them Hikari frozen (defrosted) bloodworms a few times a month, which I feed by hand (large plastic tweezers). The cory cats get (again, a mix of brands) sinking wafers, sinking pellets, and the bloodworms. The snail had access to the cory cats' food and also had her own mix of sinking algae wafers. She would also let me feed her a few of the defrosted bloodworms, every once in a while. I would appreciate any/all the help and advice you can spare. Thank you!
<Colisa lalia used to be one of my fave species... but the incidence of these diseases... Bob Fenner>

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>

Dwarf Gourami problem 8/7/07
I have two dwarf Gourami in a 60L tank together with 4 Neons, 2 loaches and 2 mollies.
<Not a good mix of livestock. The mollies will really want brackish water eventually or they end up with Finrot or fungus (you mark my words!) and Neons should really be kept in schools of 6 or more. I have no idea what your "loaches" are, but clown loaches at least (the most commonly traded species) grow into huge fish that need a tank perhaps eight or ten times the size of what you have!>
When I introduced the Gourami, everything was fine for a week, but over the
last 24 hours, one Gourami has suddenly become very aggressive towards the other, to the
point of chasing them around the tank relentlessly.
<Entirely normal. You probably have two males. In a small tank, males will also chase females, if the female doesn't want to spawn with him right there and then.>
The one fish being chased has also developed a small white lump on their side, between the fin and the tail, but I can't establish whether it is a bite or another problem.
<Quite possibly signs of physical trauma, in which case treat immediately with combination anti-fungus/Finrot to prevent things getting worse. Make sure you remove carbon from the filter first. Dwarf Gouramis are also prone to something called Dwarf Gourami Disease that starts off with lethargy but halfway to the fish dying it develops tumour-like sores on the body. No cure, except in the long term to stop people buying Dwarf Gouramis so that the breeders in Southeast Asia will breed better stock and not pump them with antibiotics on the farm (don't get me started on this...).>
What would you suggest could be the problem, and what do I do!!!???
<Not much you can do save (obviously) remove one of the gouramis to another aquarium. They will never get on. Period. End of story. Once you're done, please go buy or borrow an aquarium book and read up on social behaviour and water chemistry requirements. This will make your future purchases much more successful!>
Many thanks
Pete Davis
<You're welcome, Neale>

Gourami/tank troubles – 07/23/07
I have been reading your site to try to find out what to do for my tank, but I think that I have several problems going on, and I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to start dumping things in to fix everything, especially when I'm new at this.
<OK.>
1st problem.
Overall alkalinity is high. I assume it is because of our extremely hard water. the pet store said that theirs is always high too.
<Almost never a problem. Freshwater fish are very adaptable. Provided you do water changes around 50% per week to keep the water chemistry stable, and use adequate filtration to keep the water quality high, the fish don't usually care. It's a mistake to get hung up on water chemistry unless you're keeping fishes that need specific environments, like Lake Malawi cichlids or blackwater rasboras. Most of the common stuff, barbs, gouramis, angelfish, etc., are very adaptable. Better still, choose species that *like* your water chemistry, so the "problem" becomes a virtue, and you have healthier fish that are easier to breed.>
2nd:
pH tends to be high, always registers blue on my test kit (7.6, but it could be higher, as that is the highest this test registers). I'm not sure how to get it down. I've been doing regular changes (20%) at least weekly, but sometimes more often than that so that my fish will be okay with the high pH levels.
I've also tried Proper pH 7.0, but it hasn't brought it to the correct level. Do I keep adding it until it is to 7.0 or 7.2 somewhere sufficient, or will that disrupt the nitrogen cycle I'm trying to establish?
<Again, don't bother. If you don't understand water chemistry, and you're finding it a struggle to master, don't try and change it. A pH of 7.6 is fine for most standard community tropicals. Far better you do big water changes each week to keep things stead (i.e., by diluting nitrate accumulation and the background acidification in aquaria that happens anyway) than you add potions that you don't understand. Once you're up to speed on the hobby, it's fun to set up another tank to experiment with. Get some Apistogramma dwarf cichlids or something and then play with water softeners and pH adjusters to get the chemistry those fish want and then watch them breed. For now, forget about it. You're more likely to stress the fish by bouncing the water chemistry about. Above all else, remember pH is only an indicator, and fish don't feel it. If the pH goes down to 7, but the total dissolved solids (the minerals in the water) stay high, you've achieved nothing at all. Invariably, fish want either acid + soft water, or alkaline + hard water. These things come in pairs. You can't focus on the easy one, pH, and ignore the difficult one, hardness.>
With our new tank, I'm trying to get the nitrogen cycle established, so I think that I need some alkalinity so it can be converted to nitrites to nitrates, but I don't want to damage my fish.
<No no no. Alkalinity is derived from hardness minerals, nitrates from ammonia produced by decay and metabolism. The two things are unrelated, except to say this: in very soft, acid water, biological filtration doesn't happen. But that's to do with the tolerances of the bacteria involved. For your purposes, there's no connection. Mature the aquarium using the method you prefer. Some folks like fishless cycling, others a few hardy fish like danios. Either way, proceed with care, and monitor ammonia and nitrites regularly until everything has settled down.>
It has been over a month now--should the nitrogen cycle be established by now? I haven't had any prob.s with high nitrites or nitrates.
<The ammonia to nitrite part of the cycle is usually done within a month of setting up, and the nitrite to nitrate part within 6 weeks of setting up, but that's if you're using a "with fish" cycling method. Things are different if you're adding bacteria cultures straight to the tank (e.g. Bio Spira or some filter media from another aquarium). But ultimately this is all theory: all that matters is the results from your ammonia and nitrite test kits.>
I have a ten gallon tank with 2 gouramis (one bright orange and one lighter orange--male and female of same species) and 1 cardinal tetra. Before the gouramis, I had seven cardinals, but they all died except one.
(probably high pH?) The one left seems to be well adjusted and doing great.
<The cardinals will die off very quickly in immature aquaria. Water chemistry is largely irrelevant. I've kept them in "liquid rock" where the pH was around 8.0. But they are delicate fish in new tanks, and they are also sometimes sensitive to Neon Tetra Disease. The dwarf gouramis are nice fish but famous for being stricken by a viral and/or bacteria set of diseases called Dwarf Gourami Disease, so watch them carefully.>
Prob #3:
Whitish cottony growth all over the tank--esp. on the artificial plants. Some on the glass. We had the problem before, and couldn't get rid of it, so we started over--disinfected the tank and everything in it, and started with new water (thus the nitrogen cycle issues) Is this a normal fungus? Should I try to get rid of it? How? With our old tank, my husband tried some things like Jungle Fungus Clear, but it didn't fix the problem.
<Not fungus, since fungus usually grows only on organic materials that are decaying, like dead fish or wood. This is likely bacteria, a sign of poor water quality and a lack of cleanliness. Check water quality values (nitrite and nitrate especially) and act accordingly. Siphon out any leftover food in the tank. Clean dirty objects like rocks and plastic plants under the hot tap, but avoid using soap, try to just scrub them clean. Do 50% water changes per week. Make sure you have adequate filtration: the filter should provide not less than 4x the volume of the tank in turnover per hour (you will see a litres- or gallons- per hour quote on the filter).>
I noticed just a little of it on one of our gouramis (orange one with deep orange fins) now.
<That's fungus or Finrot. Treat immediately. There are commercial preparations that deal with both, and that's perhaps best here.>
Every time I do a water change, I let the new water sit with Water conditioner in it before adding it to the tank. I was adding Top fin Bacteria supplement, but don't always add it with water changes now, since I am assuming that the tank already has bacteria introduced into it. should I be adding a little of it with each water change?
<No. Once the tank is cycled, the bacteria look after themselves. Adding "top up" doses of bacteria is a waste of time, and indeed many of these bacteria supplements seem to have to practical value at all anyway.>
Has it caused the cottony fungus?
<No.>
Should I add aquarium salt?
<No.>
My guess is that the Top Fin water conditioner already is replenishing electrolytes--does aquarium salt add
other things?
<No.>
Would my water become too salty?
<Yes.>
We have a water softener in our house because of our hard water--does that have an effect on the fish?
<Arghhh!!!! No, don't use softened water from a domestic water softener. Use the drinking water tap, i.e., the unsoftened water. Domestic water softeners -- despite their name -- don't soften water. What they do is replace "temporary" hardness (carbonates for example) with "permanent" hardness (such as chlorides). The goal here is to switch the kind of hardness that furs up pipes and appliances with the kind of hardness that doesn't. While that's fine for washing and plumbing, it's terrible for the fishes because they get stuck with this bizarre and very unnatural set of water chemistry values. Have a read of this: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwh2oquality.htm >
Problem 4:
Our gouramis were eating fine when we first purchased them, but now the bright orange one stays down in the back corner, and isn't eating. (The other is more active and eats fine.) It seems to have a long bulge near it's back fin. It also has had whitish stringy feces from the beginning, when we first got it. (I've read several people on your site mention that as a symptom) Does it have a bacterial infection? or a Parasite? Has the fungus affected it?
<Ah, this Dwarf Gourami Disease. This fish will die. And so will the other one. As I seem to write once a week, and as is pointed out in virtually every fishkeeping magazine on a regular basis, Dwarf Gouramis produced in Southeast Asia especially are exposed to a bacterial and/or viral set of diseases that cause the same symptoms: loss of colour, loss of appetite, lethargy, open sores, death. There's no treatment. It appears to be 100% contagious in small tanks. Remove the sick fish to another aquarium and try to provide optimal conditions if you want, but frankly you may as well destroy it painlessly now and hope the other fish isn't infected. Buying Dwarf Gouramis is a TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY in my opinion and the only reason the fish farmers get away with producing these sickly fish is that inexperienced aquarists (unfortunately) keep buying them. Until that stops, those farmers won't change their ways.>
Is it the pH level that is affecting it? it didn't seem to be
affected by it before).
<No.>
I have been feeding them color-enhancing flake food, once or twice a day, and I try to not feed them more than they will eat in about 5 min.s.
<No, loss of appetite is a normal symptom. Nothing you can do.>
Thanks for your time in helping with our tank issues--
Angela
<Since you are almost certainly going to lose both gouramis, can I make a suggestion for the future? Since you have hard, alkaline water, why not choose fishes that prefer such conditions. Livebearers, gobies, glassfish, rainbowfish among others fit into this bracket. Have a read of this: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwhardness.htm . Hope this helps, Neale>

Dwarf Gourami mouth problem
Hi, I have a 10 gallon tank with a dwarf powder blue Gourami, 2 fancy guppies, a halfbeak, and a small Pleco. I do water test 2x a week and water changes weekly. My Gourami has been fine until 2 days ago when I noticed a small white growth near his mouth, kind of where the gills meet on the bottom, but a little to the left. Since it first appeared, it seems to have turned a bit reddish, but not gotten any larger. He eats fine, swims fine, acts fine in all other respects, can't think of anything I've done different of introduced into the tank that would have brought this on. Sure hoping you can help. Thanks much --Melanie
<Hello Melanie. Without a photo, impossible to be sure. But almost certainly the first stage of "Dwarf Gourami Disease". This has traditionally been blamed on a bacterial infection but recent research by vets suggests a virus may be to blame. Regardless, it is next to impossible to treat. The series of symptoms is very consistent: small blisters or reddish sores, loss of appetite, odd behaviour (hiding a lot), difficulty swimming, then death. The problem is that virtually all mass-produced dwarf gouramis are exposed to the disease because of the very low standards of hygiene used by the fish farmers in Southeast Asia. The more responsible shopkeepers here in the UK simply won't stock dwarf gouramis, or will only use locally bred ones. Less ethical retailers keep bringing them in, despite the fact that the vast majority of them die after a few weeks or months. All you can do is keep is isolate the fish to another tank or destroy it painlessly. Under no circumstances buy another dwarf Gourami unless you are 100% sure it is locally bred. Even then, it is possible the virus could remain in your aquarium and infect the new fish. The best thing to do is avoid the gouramis sensitive to this disease (dwarf gouramis plus the various hybrid/varieties like "robin" and "neon" gouramis). Instead stick with hardier, look-alike species such as Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata. Cheers, Neale>

Flame Gourami with 'ulcer' & other gouramis
Dear Crew, Thank you kindly for your efforts. I have a 2-year old 38 gallon tank: temp 75 F, ph 7, ammonia 0, nitrite 0. Its a community tank with several peaceful fish: gouramis, killies, Corys, Otos, rainbows & one baby whale (I'm overstocked by 2 inches). Recently my flame dwarf Gourami (1- years old) developed a white raised pimple / ulcer on his side, the area around it is reddish, there's another reddish area further down without the pimple / ulcer. I'm treating him with Maracyn II & salt (tablespoon per 5 gallons) at 80 F in a hospital tank. My honey Gourami (1-year old) now has a few missing scales on different parts of the body (this is how it began with the flame) so I moved her to the hospital tank. The blue dwarf Gourami (1-years old) has one scale missing that seems strangely similar, but I left him in the main tank. Questions: (1) How should I treat the two gouramis now in the hospital tank?; (2) Should I move the dwarf blue Gourami into the hospital tank?; (3) Should I treat the main 38 gallon tank, if so, how? And would the baby whale survive the treatment? I read baby whales often perish with some medications and I'm quite fond of this nocturnal little guy who lives under the driftwood. Thank you very much, Michelle
<Hello Michelle. Second dwarf Gourami question of the morning, and second time to bear bad news. This is almost certainly "Dwarf Gourami Disease" an apparently viral disease that cannot be treated. The end result is almost always death. The problem for aquarists is that fish farmers in Southeast Asia are mass-producing these fish in ponds where the fish are exposed to the virus. So virtually all the cheap dwarf gouramis sold today carry the virus. It's usually just a matter of weeks or months before they show symptoms. It is extremely contagious, so sick fish have to be removed at once, otherwise other dwarf gouramis in the tank (plus hybrids/varieties like Neons and Robins) will come down with the disease as well. I simply can't say this often enough, but aquarists **just shouldn't, ever, buy dwarf gouramis**. Retailers should stop stocking them. Until the fish farmers lose a market, they'll carry on breeding these unhealthy animals. Anyway, to answer your questions. (1) No treatment exists. Isolation and euthanasia are really the only sensible options. (2) Yes, but don't expect it to get better. It might, under perfect conditions (soft/acid water, live food, excellent water quality). But don't bank on it. Since it's a viral disease, medications, even antibiotics, won't help. (3) Baby whales, like all Mormyridae, are extremely intolerant of medications and should never be exposed to them *unless* you have a guarantee from the manufacturer (or a vet) that said medication is harmless to them. Most are not at all harmless! Cheers, Neale>

Sick male Gourami & egg laden females – 06/11/07
Hello Crew,
<Hello.>
I was hoping you can help me with my blue dwarf gouramis. We have a 180 litre community tank (not sure what it is in gallons sorry) and we had three male gouramis which were fighting, we removed two (took them back to the pet shop to find better homes we hope!) and got two females for the remaining male to make him happier or so we thought it would.
<Litres are fine with me!>
There are 10 tetras, 2 clown loaches, 2 catfish, and the three gouramis.
<All fine for now. Clown loaches, long term, will need a bigger tank but you have a few years to worry about that. Obviously "catfish" covers a lot of ground from 2 cm dwarf Corydoras to 3 metre Pangasiodon gigas, so whether your tank is the right size does rather depend on the species!>
We have recently had bacterial problems in the clown loaches and one catfish had red streaks which we treated with half doses of promenthysul and fungus-ade and cured them.
<Clown loaches are sensitive fish. Do be extremely careful using medications with them: they are notoriously sensitive. Ideally, don't use them at all, and instead do things like saltwater dips to treat external parasite infections, and quarantine new stock before adding them to the community.>
however, the male Gourami now has lumps with scales missing and red around his eyes. One of the lumps now looks like its growing sort of like the cotton wool type disease, so I'm assuming its a fungal disease. I was told it may be Costia by the pet store.
<It may be fungus or Costia, or even Finrot. I have no idea how your pet store can ID the disease without seeing the fish. Anyway, 99.99% certain that the infection you can see is secondary to lump/blistering that was caused by "Dwarf Gourami Disease". This disease is practically ubiquitous among dwarf gouramis shipped from Southeast Asia and perhaps elsewhere. Some reports link it to a virus. It is untreatable and HIGHLY contagious. Infected fish should be removed and destroyed at once. Assume that the aquarium is infected with the virus or bacteria involved, and do not add any more dwarf gouramis (or dwarf Gourami hybrids).>
I was treating him inside the community tank but the females look as though they are full of eggs and I'm not sure what to do as they have only been in there a couple of weeks, and the male has not built a nest presumably because he is sick.
<The male is dying, and the females sound as if they have the early stages, which resemble bloating or dropsy. Look for the other tell-tale signs: lack of appetite and lethargy, often the infected fishes hide away or behave in a manner other than normal.>
Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
<Advice? Don't buy dwarf gouramis except from a local breeder. Period. End of discussion. I refuse to recommend them in the UK simply because of this, and consider them "junk fish" -- you buy them, and they die within a few months, so why bother? Until people stop buying them, retailers will keep bringing them in, and fish farmers won't attempt to maintain/breed higher quality stocks. If you want some nice alternatives, look at Colisa labiosus and Colisa fasciata; similar in looks but infinitely more robust.>
Thanks very much, Leigh
<Hope this helps, Neale>

Re: Sick male Gourami & egg laden females 6/12/07
Hi Neale,
<Hello Leigh,>
Thanks for your fast reply, Yep it looks like the females must have something too as they have very long poo and bloat which one of our earlier gouramis developed and died from. My dear partner Andrew euthanised him sadly which was hard to do.
<Too bad.>
Should we add Epsom salts and try to save the females?
<Won't make the least difference. Epsom salts are primarily used to fix constipation and act as a muscle relaxant. While that may be valuable if the only medical problem is poor diet, when a fish has a systemic bacterial or viral infection, as here, the Epsom salts will do little of any value.>
The catfish are peppered catfish.
<Ah, my favourites! First and only catfish I ever bred. Lovely beasts.>
I woke up this morning to find a plant on top of the water, I don't know if this is an attempt at a bubble nest?
<Unlikely if the male is actually sick. A bubblenest is usually obvious because it looks like, well, a mound of bubbles.>
Also how would you recommend to treat the tank assuming the tank is infected.
<You can't, sadly. As of 2007, there's no reliable or even halfway effective cure for Dwarf Gourami Disease. This is one of those things where the market has to change, such that people stop buying these fishes forcing the fish farmers to produce healthier stock. In the meantime, try and provide optimal water conditions and diet for you remaining gouramis and hope for the best. If you're sensible, you will remove the sick fish at once and hope that the remaining gourami(s) are uninfected. That's really all you can do.>
Thanks again
Leigh
<Cheers, Neale>

Sick Blue Dwarf Gouramis 5/18/07
I purchased a pair of blue dwarf gouramis two days ago.
<Your first mistake. I cannot recommend anyone buy dwarf gouramis. They are ridden with bacterial and/or viral diseases that eventually make them sick once as they leave the fish farm.>
One seems to be doing fine, but the other has developed a brown "area" from about the center of his body all the way back to his tail.
<It's going to die. Quarantine it if you want, try and optimise water conditions, and if you want to consult a vet. Given the disease appears to be viral (specifically, Dwarf Gourami iridovirus) in at least some cases, antibiotics can't even be relied upon.>
It seems to be getting progressively worse as the hours go by, in fact I have pulled him from the tank and put him in a separate tank. He seems to swim fine and has even been eating a little bit.
The tank that I had him in is approx 3 months and I haven't had any problems with any of my other fish, in fact I have baby mollies and a pregnant guppy. Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
<Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Chances are the other one will die. Dwarf gouramis aren't worth buying, period. They are raised in antibiotic laden ponds where they all infect one another but don't succumb to the symptoms just yet. Once moved to the pet store, the antibiotic effect fades away, and the bacteria start to take over. The symptoms are always the same: first lethargy and loss of appetite, then discoloured patches on the body, then open sores, and finally death. Horrible, but the result of a demand for cheap rather than good quality fish. Until people stop buying them, fish farmers aren't going to switch to producing healthier stock. Tell your friends about it.>
Thank-you JMS
<Once both fish have died, which they will quite soon because the one has already infect the other, opt for species of Gourami that don't get "dwarf Gourami disease". The thick-lipped Gourami (Colisa labiosus) and the banded Gourami (Colisa fasciata) are similar in pattern if slightly bigger, but altogether more hardy. Your tank is now infected with dwarf Gourami disease, so any new dwarf gouramis you buy will likely come down the disease even if healthy at point of sale. Cheers, Neale>

Re: Icky Ich and honey Gourami prob.s (to Jeni please!). Treating Ich & a "Fat" Fish  5/10/07
Hi Jeni, It's Anna here again. Hopefully you remember my situation, my boyfriend put 2 Firemouth cichlids in my community tank.
<How could I forget!>
Well, as it turns out, their aggressive ways are the least of my problems. I have just noticed the dreaded white spots on around 3/4 of my fish (probably due to the unquarantined cichlids!!)
<Yup, what did I say?  I hope he feels really bad...  That'll teach him.>
It is very mild at the  moment and I'm thankful that I spend at least an hour every day CLOSELY examining every fish for problems.
<That's great--and relaxing too.>
It seems I have caught it before it has become a killer.
I immediately changed 50% of the water, cranked the temp up a couple of degrees, with the intention of bringing it to a peak of 87*F over the course of the day, and then added 12 tbsps of sea salt that is free of anti-caking agents and iodine, diluted in some aquarium water and added gradually over 5 hrs. I do have Corys, and I know they do not tolerate salt well but they
seem to be doing better than any of the others. I also added some Stress Coat to relieve the poor little things a bit. I will be changing 20% of the water every day and carefully monitoring the salt levels.  Do you think I am doing the right thing?
<Bump that up to 80% every other day & be sure to clean the gravel well as you are doing it, to remove the free-swimming parasites.  Don't forget to replace the salt you remove.>
I have read many horror stories regarding meds and would like to try the natural option first.
<Me too.>
I am really hoping the combination of salt and heat will kill the nasty little critters (Ich).
<It should.  Watch for fish struggling to breathe & add an airstone if necessary.>
I have also just ordered a 9w (all I can afford) UV sterilizer http://www.fishlore.com/uv_sterilizer.htm   (by Fish R Fun) from EBay, that will be delivered within the next couple of days. I have heard great things about them being used to combat Ich. It may be too late now but hopefully it will help prevent further outbreaks. Do you have any personal experience of using them?
<Sorry, I don't.>
I can't seem to find many people who have.  All the fish seem to be tolerating the salt so far but it's early days.
Upon checking up on them a couple of hours ago, I saw one of the Firemouths with something hanging from its lips. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the tail of one of my beloved WG Neons (ARGH!!!). The other is now searching everywhere for its best mate and seems at a loss. Poor little critter, they were constantly side by side and sooo cute together.
<Awww... so sad.  I hope the boyfriend really feels bad!>
As you advised, I will be returning them to the store today (as soon as I can catch them with the net, as I'm sure you know, almost impossible!)
<Try luring them out with food.>
Anyway, there is one last problem that's getting me quite worried. My female honey Gourami has been getting fatter for about the past month. She seems happy and has no prob.s with mobility. I am HOPING (as she's my fave fish) that this is due to her being laden with eggs and the male not having anywhere to build a bubble nest. Could that happen? Do they get fat with eggs?
<Possibly>
If not, I'm guessing she may have internal parasites or worse, the onset of dropsy. Should I wait or treat with parasite medicine?
<Parasite meds need to be fed to the fish, by soaking their food in it.  It can't hurt to treat everyone.  Generally though, internal parasites leave fish skinny.  Also, they have white, stringy poop.>
Anyway... Once again, sorry for the length! Thanks for your help last time and thanks in advance for any help with this!
<I hope they get better soon & you don't loose any more fish due to your boyfriend's "gifts".  ~PP>
Anna

Sunken eyes and sick looking Gourami - 04/14/07
Hi, thanks for your help.
I've had fish for five months now and I love the hobby!
In my 55g tank I have:
3 black skirt tetras
3 dwarf gouramis
6 neon tetras
2 dwarf platies
2 angels (1 small, 1 medium)
1 guppy
1 Australian rainbow
1 small Pleco
Within the last week, I've lost my 2 dwarf platies, a Gourami, and now another Gourami has big problems. My platies were dead within 15 hours of feeding frozen brine shrimp. This was the first time I've used this and I know I overfed!
<Fish don't die from being given too much food. They die from too