Gourami - Assorted

Gourami - Assorted

Trichogaster spp. (Leeri, Trichopterus variants)

These gouramis are great additions to any medium/large community tank, attaining a great yet manageable size, and many different colours dependent on species.

Locale: Occurs through much of South-East Asia, Trichopterus occurring in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos among other countries, with Leeri occurring mostly in Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra - occurs most often in shallow, slow-moving swamp regions that are heavily vegetated.

Fun fact: All Gouramis belong to the Order Anabantiformes, the fish that belong to this order all possess an organ known as the Labyrinth Organ, which allows these fish to breathe atmospheric oxygen, this adaptation developed over millions of years as a means to combat the oxygen-deprived waters that Anabantiformes such as Gouramis inhabit.

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner, hardy centrepiece fish

Temperament - Semi-aggressive, has been known to pick at longer fins of other aquarium inhabitants when stressed, underfed, or in too small of a tank.

Adult size - 12-13cms - but has been recorded up to 15cms.

Diet - Omnivorous; will eat both ends of the spectrum, from filament algae to small invertebrates and microcrustaceans, so in the Aquaria it is best to feed a staple diet of smaller pellets or flakes, and can have frozen or even live food dietary supplements, such as live or frozen brine shrimp, live black worms, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis with spirulina, these should only be fed once or twice per fortnight.

Habitat - In the aquaria it is best to replicate the natural environment that any fish hails from, this helps reduce stress and encourages good husbandry - for Gouramis it is best to have a low-flow environment that is heavily planted with both substrate-bound plants and floating plants, wiry / branching driftwood and smooth rocks are great hard scape to use, coupled with a soft sandy substrate.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 24-28°c

pH: 5.8-7.0

GH: 4-10

KH: 1-3

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.