Gourami Virus?

The first thing to say is that red robins are not pure dwarf gouramis. There are various theories as to what they are - honey gourami colour variants, honey-dwarf hybrids, honey-thick lipped gourami hybrids and so on. Males of the sunset colour of dwarf gourami usually have a turquoise dorsal fin.
The main symptoms of dwarf gourami disease are bloody sores and loss of appetite. You don't mention sores so I assume your fish doesn't have any, just loss of appetite, faded colours and listlessness. But dwarf gouramis are susceptible to lots of other infections, and honeys can be as bad. They've both been inbred for colour and farming conditions in the Far East do leave a lot to be desired.

However, given the symptoms you describe and the risk that it is dwarf gourami disease, this is one occasion where putting the fish down is the best way to go. Then watch the other gouramis. And don't get any more till you are certain these are OK.




To put a fish down you need a bottle of clove oil, a tub and bottle/jar with a tight fitting lid that you'll never need again; and a pair of rubber gloves is a good idea as clove oil is smelly. Clove oil can be bought from pharmacies; mine keeps it with the toothache remedies.
Put the fish in the tub with some tank water, enough to cover the fish completely. Put 25 drops of clove oil into the bottle/jar, add some water and shake until the oil has dispersed. Add the water/oil mixture to the tub with the fish a little at a time until it has all been added. By this time the fish should be lying unconscious on the bottom of the tub. Leave it there for a few hours before disposing of the body. Clove oil is a fish anaesthetic which puts the fish to sleep then kills it when overdosed. Leaving it for a few hours ensures that the fish is actually dead.

There are other methods that you could do now, but they are not for the squeamish. Stop reading now if you don't want to know.







































Prepare everything in advance so you can be as quick as possible.
Catch the fish and put it inside a plastic bag. Using some thing hard and heavy, hit the fish's head to destroy the brain. If the time between catching the fish and killing it is kept very short, it is a humane method as the fish won't have time to become stressed.

I managed to get a friend to bring me some clove oil, and I have now put my little Gourami to sleep 

Really sad, but at least he/she is not suffering.

One of the Harlies had a narrow escape, as he managed to get in the net, as well

Thanks again for your help, Sue.

@Trish so sorry to hear that you had to resort to drastic measures.

It's so easy to get attached to fish, and never easy to lose one.
It was the right thing to do, although it's difficult to put the comfort of the fish before feelings of wanting to try to make things better. It is very tough decision to make, but the welfare of the fish has to be a priority.
A very sad situation.

It definitely affects dwarf gouramis and possibly other gourami species as well. But it doesn't appear to affect non-gourami species. Or at least there have been no reports of that I have found.

Lemon tetras should be fine.

Very sorry to read of this sad situation, Trish - it's absolutely horrible when this occurs. However, it was clear that there was no other option in this situation - but well done for administering the clove oil (I've never been able to do this but I think once it's been done once, it makes it easier to do in future).

[Just made the mistake of reading Sue's alternative option while eating my lunch - I really ought to have heeded the advice in her opening line...]