Symptoms of dwarf gouramis disease
external symptoms
- White spots appear on the body.
- Bloodshot or inflamed patches on the body
- ulcers
Behavior in dwarf gouramis disease
internal symptoms
photos
Photos: Andreas Peschke
Male dwarf gourami with the typical characteristics in the early stage. A white pimple and two sores are circled in blue. More bloodshot spots can be seen. The second photo shows a hole and an indentation on the pelvic fin. Dwarf gourami with these symptoms are commonly seen in dealer tanks. The spots there are usually much smaller, but recognizable. Never buy such animals.
Photo: Andreas Peschke
The female in the photo is from the same aquarium as the male above. At first glance, the female looks healthy. If you look closely, you can see a spot in the blue circle that could possibly be bloodshot. This is difficult to see in a photo, especially since fish sometimes have harmless pigment disorders.
Check the animals in stores for such spots and small white pimples. If it is not clearly a question of pigment disorders, do not buy it under any circumstances.
Photos: Peter Hampf
Dwarf gourami with white ulcers
Photo: Jan E.
Dwarf gourami with a typical ulcer on the body
Photos: A. Marquardt
female dwarf gouramis with typical wounds; e.g. B. in front of the dorsal fin and behind the eye
Photo: Jörg / Shaky
The red spots on the head of a blue gourami could indicate that blue gourami also contract EUS. In any case, a bacterial infection appears to be present.
Photos: Ramona Topplep
Dwarf Gourami with the typical bloodshot spots
Photos: Andy Hesse
The image on the left shows a Colisa labiosa male that had symptoms of fin rot and died 2 days after the image was taken. The female in the other pictures has one of the spots typical of EUS on the side.
Photos: Class
Female dwarf gourami with typical EUS symptoms. The photos were taken about 2 weeks apart. The female was killed when she tormented herself too much.
Photos: Ramona Pause
Female dwarf gourami with typical EUS symptoms.
Photos: Renate Stolzke
Dwarf Gourami with EUS.
Photos: Lucynia Hania
Dwarf Gourami with Mushroom and EUS.
Photo: Bluebird (Forum)
Blue gourami probably with EUS.
Photos: Dominik Augustin
Gourami presumably with EUS.
Photo: Kolja Neitzel
Dwarf gourami presumably with EUS.
Photos: Angela Frenzel
Dwarf gourami probably with EUS.
Photo: Regina Jähde
Dwarf Gourami male presumably with EUS.
Photos: Annika Prauser
Female dwarf gourami probably with EUS. The female was about 1 year old. A male of the same age died two weeks before the recordings. The male showed no symptoms but died quite young at one year old. Dwarf Gourami can live up to 4 years.
The female behaved normally at first, but later hid constantly. Finally, the female just swam to the surface and gasped, as shown in the pictures.
There were two sore spots. One spot on the left and one spot on the right above. The white dot on the right looked like it was made of cotton and was coming out of the body.
These sites thus show the combination of bacterial infection and fungal infection that is typical for EUS.
Photos: Catherine Zeh
Female dwarf gouramis of the blue breeding form presumably with EUS. She hadn’t eaten since she was bought, seemed apathetic, stayed only on the bottom or on the surface and moved very little. 24 hours after the recordings, five days after the purchase, she died. The male of the red breeding form colisa lalia, which came from another tank at the retailer’s, behaved inconspicuous and showed no symptoms.
Causes of dwarf gouramis disease
At present, dwarf gourami show symptoms of illness very often shortly after purchase, which ultimately lead to death. First, small white spots or ulcers appear on the body surface. These get bigger and bigger until they appear to break open and form large reddish spots that appear deeply embedded in the flesh. At this stage, the symptoms resemble those of tuberculosis. However, it is unclear whether it is actually and always tuberculosis. There is currently no known cure. Antibacterial agents may delay the process somewhat.
The disease has meanwhile spread so widely that there are hardly any dwarf gouramis on the market that do not already show at least the small white spots in the shop. If you want to keep these beautiful and previously considered robust fish, you should take a long and close look at the fish before you buy them. To help, here is an excerpt from a post I (NH) wrote about it once in drta:
There are at least a few indirect indications that dwarf gouramis are definitely not healthy. First get a general overview. If only a few dwarf gourami appear relatively lively in the middle of the tank, while the rest are sluggishly crowded at the edges of the tank and just above the floor or directly under the water surface, usually connected with fin clamps, extreme caution is required. I wouldn’t buy anymore then.
Then look at each individual dwarf gouramis, including the sluggish dwarf gouramis . Not just the ones you want to buy, but really all of them. This also applies if all dwarf gouramis seem to be alive and kicking. Check to see if you can see any white patches on the body that appear to be missing the scales. It can also be very tiny spots. If even one of the dwarf gourami shows something like this, then by no means buy it. Do not attribute the behavior described nor the spots to the cramped conditions in the shopping tank, territorial behavior and possible biting. Don’t take any chances and avoid dwarf gourami disease.
As far as I know, it always ends fatally, at least in the case of dwarf gourami disease. If the dwarf gouramis seems safe and sound, check out the other mazes in the store to be sure. I’ve seen the spots on other species in stores too. It could be an indication of where the dealer got his ZFF from and how the breeder works. Unfortunately, even if you do not see any of the symptoms described above, there is still a high risk that these symptoms will appear at some point.
A disease called Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) has been spreading in Asia for several decades. The description and procedure correspond exactly to the symptoms that occur with the dwarf gouramis traded here. The University of Bankgok’s Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) Technical Handbook, which describes the disease in detail, is available online. Spread, course and possible causes are also discussed there. The dwarf gouramis are mentioned as an affected fish species. Accordingly, more and more Asian rivers are contaminated by EUS and breeding facilities are also repeatedly affected. Unfortunately, the report is now subject to a fee.
The fungus Aphanomyces invadans is suspected to be a possible cause. However, the fungus could not be detected in all infected fish. The bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila and sobria should possibly play a helping role. However, one or more types of viruses are suspected to be contributory causes.
According to a recent report from England, the main culprit is a megalocytivirus, which can also infect Maccullochella peelii peelii. This would make the viruses MCIV, DGIV and ISKNV (English names) perhaps identical. A report is said to have appeared in Molecular and Cellular Probes about a PCR test (PCR-probe) for these viruses.
Go J, Lancaster M, Deece K, Dhungyel O, Whittington R (2006) – The molecular epidemiology of iridovirus in Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) and dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia) from distant biogeographical regions suggests a link between trade in ornamental fish and emerging iridoviral diseases. Molecular and Cellular Probes. 2006 Jun-Aug;20(3-4):212-22.
Go J and R Whittington (2006) – Experimental transmission and virulence of a megalocytivirus (Family Iridoviridae) of dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia) from Asia in Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii peelii) in Australia. Aquaculture 258 (2006) 140-149.
From this point of view, a report from an aquarium magazine quoted in forums on the Internet appears in a new light. A natural occurrence of dwarf gouramis in Asia was reported there. In the stream described, numerous dwarf gourami suffered from the known symptoms. From this it was concluded that this could possibly be some kind of senescence and it was recommended that dwarf gourami be seen as beautiful but short-lived aquarium inhabitants, quasi seasonal fish.
However, it is at least as likely that it was a site affected by EUS. This would also explain why dwarf gouramis were known to be robust and easy to care for decades ago and why today’s diseases and extremely short lifespans were not known.
The exact causes of EUS are unknown. While some studies have found the fungus Aphanomyces invadans on infected fish in all outbreaks of EUS, other studies do not confirm this association. At least the fungus cannot penetrate undamaged fish skin, so skin damage must at least be present.
Because the term dwarf gouramis disease is becoming more and more widespread, the indication that it is not an «official» disease designation. Because we didn’t know any German name, we invented the term dwarf gourami disease when creating the page. The name EUS did not seem meaningful or understandable enough to us, especially since the exact connections are unclear.
Treatment suggestions for dwarf gouramis disease
According to the theory, the pathogens should be killed by malachite green. Because the pathogens are in the muscles of the affected animals, they are not reached by malachite green in the water. To kill the…