Pfk Article

[gsta13]

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...m.php?news=1139

not major good news eh?
will this affect anyone who intends to purchase the fish?
Greg

 

[sylvia]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=167088

I don't think it'll have any more effect now than ever before. Dwarfs have been susceptible to disease (possibly this one all along) for a long time - just because we've heard about this virus now, doesn't mean things will change. Also, the article doesn't mention how common this is outside Australia.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I feel about this very much as I feel about the medical tests my daughter is currently undergoing- having a name to a problem you already know is there isn't going to make things any worse. Dwarf gouramis have been problematic for years. This forum warns against contagious health problems in dwarf gouramis on an average twice a week. All right, so we have tended to call them bacterial infections, while it seems they are viral, but this changes little that I can see. Sensible precautions would seem to involve selecting dwarf gouramis very carefully, avoiding any tanks/shops with sick fish, and making a habit of quarantining new fish- particularly dwarf gouramis - before letting them in one's tank. And, of course, never, ever letting fish from the hobby trade enter native water systems. It might be worth finding out from these people what the incubation period of the virus is thought to be- that would help with giving quarantining advice.

 

[nmonks]

It does change one thing: if this is a virus, then antibiotics won't help in the least. Too often I see people recommend using antibiotics in aquaria without that person having the least idea about how drugs work and what the long-term effects of casual antibiotic use can be.

Curing viral diseases is extremely difficult with drugs. Consider 'flu, HIV, and the common cold in humans: these are essentially untreatable, and all you can do is moderate the symptoms.

Vaccinations of course can help, so vaccinating dwarf gouramis might be a step forward, but in the meantime the only treatment for "dwarf gourami disease" remains what experienced hobbyists have been saying for years -- avoid contaminating healthy stock, and optimise water conditions to ensure that any sick fish can fight the infection with their own immune system.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[gsta13]

If i would of read this before choosing my first fish i would of picked summet else.
Not untill u find these forums that u realise that some LFS will not have a clue about what is going on....
u just expect someone tht works there to tel u the facts.... anyway this isnt a flame about LFS thread. Just saying that it would of made me rethink my idea. Lovelyfish tho must b said
Greg