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Sounds like Dwarf Gourami Disease. One of the online sites I visited, from the UK, talks a lot about this disease and that Dwarf Gouramis are about 25% affected by it and it is due to poor breeding conditions in Asia where most are raised. They say it is pretty infectious and about 25% of the Dwarf Gouramis I've bought have had a similar condition. One had a sore on it's mouth that looked raw and another had a fin that looked almost as if it was swollen at the base and got more raw looking. Both died within days after this started showing. Supposedly, these fish are treated with antibiotics in the breeding tanks and by the time they are imported and the effects of the antibiotics are wearing off, they develop these symptoms.

It is a rewarding feeling to heal fish we get in the Petstore for this purpose, and I am sorry to hear that your fish died. That is a horrible disease. I think we should say something to the store managers about this type of thing, and eventually, if enough of us keep saying it, then maybe something will be done about the poor breeding conditions. The power of one can be powerful.

I really dislike the dishonesty of the use of the antibiotics to make the fish seem healthy when they are not - if that is what you are saying. I wonder if they are not aware that the antibiotics are not actually healing the fish, though? If we speak up in defense of these poor, defenseless creatures to the petstores and even try to get in touch with the breeders (I've found them to be elusive for some reason...hmmmmm.... when I've tried to get in touch with them in the past.)maybe we can be an advocate to aide in the education of the breeders as far as the effects of the antibiotics. Wait - did you mean you think they use antibiotics because they are already sick or did you mean that the antibiotics cause the sickness, or did you mean something else? : )