Iridovirus In Rams

PFK recently advised it readers that “there is a virus reported in rams (which may affect other cichlids too), which is a type of iridovirus.”

This is news to me and quite worrying to my eyes as a) I love rams, and b) I have consistently avoided the beautiful dwarf gourami for whom it is relatively common knowledge that iridovirus affects shop bought fish.  I now feel that I need to take extra care with my favourite fish…

Czech bred rams are always known to be the most beautiful but I wonder if they are any more or less disease resistant….

I don’t know much about iridovirus but I assume an element of inbreeding/the hobby in general is partly to blame. This is another in a growing group of fish I am nervous of buying due to such issues.  Especially as iridovirus is one of those things that once it’s in a tank you’ve essentially got to live with it for the life of the tank…

Realising this is somewhat just my rambling but interested to hear the views of others too…

It is mentioned in a response to a reader's question
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-answers/whats-killing-my-rams/