Choosing a Gourami

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Gouramis come pretty close to being the perfect aquarium fish. Colorful, active, elegant, temperamentally suited to community tank living, easy to care for, beautiful to look at, and even easy to breed, this group of fishes should be high on anyone's list of aquarium firsts.

What makes these natives of freshwater ponds, streams and paddy fields of Asia and Africa so well suited for aquarium life is their tolerance for a great range of conditions. They do well in temperatures from 68 to 85 degrees, they are happy with a diet of fish flakes, and they tolerate water that is somewhat depleted in oxygen.

This last talent is due to a special organ, the labyrinth, located in the head just behind the gills. The labyrinth is a maze of folded flesh that traps air from which oxygen can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Gouramis will regularly drift to the surface of the tank and release an air bubble or swallow air.

Other species and hybrids include sunset gouramis, Indian thick-lipped gouramis, and Indian-banded gouramis.

Care and Feeding

Gouramis, despite their exotic colorations, make caretaking easy. They live quite well on a high quality flake food. If you want to add a treat once in a while, try brine shrimp or blood worms. Gouramis do well in water from 68 to 85 degrees, which makes them good fish for a natural tank, even one without extra filtration or aeration. Water quality should be a pH of between 6 and 8.8 and a hardness of 5 to 35 dGH. The range is such that these should not be of much concern.

Tank Interactions

Unlike some fish that keep to certain areas of the tank, some at the top, some at the bottom, and some in the middle, gouramis will drift throughout the tank. They get along with most fish although the larger species, such as the blue, can become aggressive. Often, two of the same species of gourami will fight and pull at each other's fins, so it's best to have one of a kind. They are not schooling fish.

Breeding

These are one of the easiest and most interesting fish to breed in an aquarium. Set up a five- to 10-gallon breeding tank and let a plant float on top. (Breeders in Asia use a banana leaf.) The male (except the blue gourami) will begin building a bubble nest beneath the leaf, rising to the surface and exhaling a bubble that sticks to the underside of the leaf. Once enough bubbles have been amassed, the male and female will mate beneath the leaf, the male bending his body around the female's while she releases eggs. The fertilized eggs float up into the bubble nest.
Once the mating is done, remove the female since it is the male gouramis's job to protect the nest and the young. Within a couple of days the larvae will become apparent and will eat the yolk sac. After that, move the young to a nursery tank and feed the fry cooked egg pressed through a piece of cheesecloth to make pieces small enough for them to eat.

 

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