Identifying clades with numerous and noticeable changes in chromosome counts is an important step in unraveling the evolutionary mechanisms that shape cytogenetics. Here, we describe chromosome counts in a group of teleost fishes delimited by their egg structure and with a species with a known low chromosome count within the labyrinthine clade (Osphronemidae). We sampled seven of nine known species within the spiral egg clade, reporting novel chromosome counts for five species while confirming two others. Overall, we find a rapid loss of chromosomes during the clade’s emergence and high variability in both chromosome count and centricity suggesting multiple fusion/fissions across evolutionary time. Lastly, we offer some possible explanations for these changes based on current and ongoing empirical and theoretical research. These data provide important information in cataloguing rapid chromosomal shifts and we call attention to this group of fishes for further study in chromosomal and genomic evolution due to their karyotypic variability.