Hit or miss with D. Gourami?

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ZxC

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Forest City, Ontario
Walking through a big box store when my other half spots a dwarf gourami, one thing leads to another and I wasn't aloud to leave without it. So I was a brand new owner of a (albeit good looking) dwarf gourami. I generally knew of the health issues surrounding these guys, so I put him in his own little established tank and was planning on monitoring him there for the time being. A week went by, all is well, fed him in the morning and came back to him laid out dead as can be by the afternoon.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5-20
pH - 7.4
Temp - 78

Are these guys hit or miss when it comes the dwarf gourami virus? (assuming that was the cause) If one has it do the rest have it? I picked up another (this one generally looks even "healthier") via the warranty policy, I didn't really have anything to lose. I gravel vacuumed, 100% water change, cleaned filter media in old tank water (likely won't solve anything) Is he likely living a preset life too?
 
If you are talking about the Powder Blue, Red Flame, Turquoise etc types of Dwarf gouramis, the chances are that they will have the virus within them as they will be farm created fish. If you are talking about the natural colored fish ( as pictured on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_gourami ) it's going to be hit or miss whether the fish carries the virus. ( It's a man created virus I believe. I never had any issues with it when I was dealing in wild Dwarfs.)
That all said, there may be other issues that caused this death. Dwarfs do not like fast moving water. What kind of filtration do you have on the tank? Is the tank decorated so that the fish can hide to feel more secure? Are there any other fish or snails or live things in the tank with him? Do you have other pets ( ie cats or dogs) that could have startled the fish and scared it to death? ( It could jumped up and hit it's head on the lid of the tank, if there is one, and that killed him.) What kind of food do you feed? Could it have choked? Any and all of these can be a reason for the fish dying after a week.
 
If you are talking about the Powder Blue, Red Flame, Turquoise etc types of Dwarf gouramis, the chances are that they will have the virus within them as they will be farm created fish. If you are talking about the natural colored fish ( as pictured on this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_gourami ) it's going to be hit or miss whether the fish carries the virus. ( It's a man created virus I believe. I never had any issues with it when I was dealing in wild Dwarfs.)
That all said, there may be other issues that caused this death. Dwarfs do not like fast moving water. What kind of filtration do you have on the tank? Is the tank decorated so that the fish can hide to feel more secure? Are there any other fish or snails or live things in the tank with him? Do you have other pets ( ie cats or dogs) that could have startled the fish and scared it to death? ( It could jumped up and hit it's head on the lid of the tank, if there is one, and that killed him.) What kind of food do you feed? Could it have choked? Any and all of these can be a reason for the fish dying after a week.


Tetra whisper from a 10 gallon kit HOB filter, I modified the outflow to limit the stream of fast flow. Tank is medium ish planted with plenty of hiding space, no lid, lots of floating plants, no other fish, some hitchhiker snails from plants, a couple shrimplets that somehow survived his appetite, fed omega one micro pellets and the tank had a population of freshwater copapods he was snaking on,(did not feed him from the time I seen him alive to dead), no cat or dogs, the tank is in a non-busy part of the house not near a window, no CO2, no fertilizer dosing.
 
Tetra whisper from a 10 gallon kit HOB filter, I modified the outflow to limit the stream of fast flow. Tank is medium ish planted with plenty of hiding space, no lid, lots of floating plants, no other fish, some hitchhiker snails from plants, a couple shrimplets that somehow survived his appetite, fed omega one micro pellets and the tank had a population of freshwater copapods he was snaking on,(did not feed him from the time I seen him alive to dead), no cat or dogs, the tank is in a non-busy part of the house not near a window, no CO2, no fertilizer dosing.
And what type dwarf?
 
Non wild powder blue
Okay, based on what you described, my gut is saying it had something to do with what the fish was eating more than the virus. Reason being that when the fish is suffering from the effects of the virus, they tend to deteriorate over time, not suddenly. Your fish was eating your natural foods,( something sick fish generally don't do) and I have a feeling just choked on one. That happens more often than one would think. :( Fish sometimes have bigger eyes than mouths. I once had to extricate a piece of clam from a saltwater butterfly fish in my tank. When I got the piece out, all I could say was " What the heck were you thinking trying eat something that big?!!!!!" lol The good news was that that fish survived but I have also had fish that didn't. ( Some just aren't the brightest bulb in the pack. :LOL: )

Lastly, just an FYI, there is no such thing as a wild Powder Blue Dwarf. The only wild Dwarfs (Trichogaster lalius) are the ones pictured in the link I posted above.
Hope this helps. (y)
 
Okay, based on what you described, my gut is saying it had something to do with what the fish was eating more than the virus. Reason being that when the fish is suffering from the effects of the virus, they tend to deteriorate over time, not suddenly. Your fish was eating your natural foods,( something sick fish generally don't do) and I have a feeling just choked on one. That happens more often than one would think. :( Fish sometimes have bigger eyes than mouths. I once had to extricate a piece of clam from a saltwater butterfly fish in my tank. When I got the piece out, all I could say was " What the heck were you thinking trying eat something that big?!!!!!" lol The good news was that that fish survived but I have also had fish that didn't. ( Some just aren't the brightest bulb in the pack. :LOL: )

Lastly, just an FYI, there is no such thing as a wild Powder Blue Dwarf. The only wild Dwarfs (Trichogaster lalius) are the ones pictured in the link I posted above.
Hope this helps. (y)

Unless he ate 100 at once there is no chance of choking.... you can barely see them with the naked eye. My chili rasboras would eat them without choking. Regardless, if that's the case with the virus (slow drawn out) I'm not sure what did him in. Hopefully it was just a one off, time will tell I guess.


Oh, and I wasn't referring to them as wild, just stating that it was not a wild type of any gourami, but in fact a powder blue dwarf.:cool:
 
Unless he ate 100 at once there is no chance of choking.... you can barely see them with the naked eye. My chili rasboras would eat them without choking. Regardless, if that's the case with the virus (slow drawn out) I'm not sure what did him in. Hopefully it was just a one off, time will tell I guess.


Oh, and I wasn't referring to them as wild, just stating that it was not a wild type of any gourami, but in fact a powder blue dwarf.:cool:
Actually, it only takes one going down the wrong way for the fish to choke on it. ;) But something obviously happened out of the ordinary. Hopefully it won't happen again to its replacement. (y)
 
My LFS says he will only get DG from one place..Every other is Asian sick fish..
I know the big box stores do not get their DG from the same source.
Reports say 22-25% that are imported already show infection..
It can take over a year to pronounce.
That being said it does not kill quick..
Something else happened.
Hope this one now does better..
 
Big box store syndrome/sudden death/parasites/disease. Who knows what else. I've found my petco to be hit and miss on average.
 
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