What Is Happening To Dwarf Gouramis?! Question

So lately a lot of people i noticed were having all the same issues with their dwarf gouramis. Is like a parasite or something that kills them and they all lie on the bottom of the tank breathing and then die. I heard it may be something called iridovirus? I heard some people have now stopped by gouramis because of this. What is happening?

 

From my understanding it’s a parasite/disease that specifically affects DGs and that it is a result of poor and over breeding. Also that it’s highly contagious to other DGs. It seems to be able to be dormant for long periods of time and acts fast with no cure.
I think I saw a statistic that there’s a 60% chance of a newly purchased DG to have it? Not sure about that one but most DG have it now no matter the quality of the LFS because of how wide spread it is.

 

The stock of dwarf gouramis has really declined. They are mass produced in huge fish farms, and hybridized, as well as being very linebred with very little genetic variation. The resulting gouramis are larger and more aggressive then their wild counterparts. They are pumped full of antibiotics, then injected with hormones to make their colors pop. This has left them genetically weak, and susceptible to getting diseases. Since there is little genetic variation, any illnesses that arise will effect the entire population of dwarf gouramis. This is partly why iridovirus has been able to spread so quickly. Iridovirus is not a parasite, but as the name suggests, a virus. I have noticed that over the years there will be a spike where it goes rampant, and it seems that by all of the DG related questions that are being posted, as well as a talk with the owner of a nearby LFS, there may be another "spike" in iridovirus occurring.
I recommend reading some scientific papers on the subject, that way you will have a better understanding of the virus itself and it's causes.

 

I have heard that DGs a decade ago were extremely hardy. Now, most of them fall within a year to DGIV.

Hopefully the stock will improve in the next couple of years as DGs are an amazing fish.

 

It is the biggest disaster in our hobby.
Neons are next.

It is all about the money money

 

I believe all fish will fall into this... Guppys, molly, platys, tetras, neons. All so common and cheap and now no longer hardy. We need to find a way to stop this disaster. I think bettas are safe for now though with the occasional bad breeding.

 

Its sad yet amazing how fast this spreads... We must find a way to stop it before more fish are in this dangerous area.

 

Thanks for the information. Im sure more and more will use this "injecting" for other fish. Such as glow fish who were "injected the glowing stuff" while they were eggs. THAT'S NOT NATURAL!

 

To my knowledge DG's are not injected with hormons or something.

Glowfish are another thing

 

Such a shame as they are beautiful, but I now won't buy them either as I don't want to support the rampage of this disease throughout the hobby!

 

Yeah wasnt sure about the gouramis but other fish... poor things

 

I am pretty sure that dwarf gouramis, along with fish like german blue rams, are pumped full of hormones before shipment. Not 100% on this though.

 

Neon tetras and guppy strains are already beginning to suffer health problems due to weakened stock....it's a disaster and should be prevented soon, before it's too late

 

Same experience here, and yes very little we can do but still worth spreading the word, I've been doing my best to inform our local club here when I see someone asking for stocking options and DG is on the list. I don't completely tell them not to but it but just give them a warning and share my experience and told them do a research about it. It broke my heart when I saw my wife crying when I told her our beautiful DG is not gonna last long and surely he didn't.

 

I had the same issue as the others were posting with Honey Gouramis. So I think it is some parasite as Honeys cannot get the DG disease.

 

Yeah ive lost a lot of gouramis to this and dropsy. To know their is no cure breaks your heart.... I have been looking into honey gouramis though.

 

I have three honeys now. They are doing great for 2 months now. I even have one their fry which is 2 weeks old now They are 1 male, 1 female and one which .... looks like a lady, even people here said that it should be a lady, but I think it is a male that respects the dominant one. If you decide to get some judge their gender by their top fin, not by color or black line. My point is, the dominant male is very terrtorial and build nest CONSTANTLY and just wants to spawn. So I would watch out for that. He can chase the female to death.