Sparkling Gourami

Care

Also known as the Pygmy Gourami, this small shy fish is ideal for quiet community aquariums. Best housed with other small and peaceful species, in a heavily planted tank and without too much strong water movement. In the wild, these fish are able to cope with very low oxygen levels in the densely vegetated pools in and ditches they are found in. Occasionally males may argue, especially when breeding, but they should not come to any harm, particularly if a good hiding network of plants is provided.

Feeding

Sparkling Gouramis will take good quality flake food, but prefer small items of frozen foods such as daphnia, cyclops and baby brineshrimp. They will also nibble on fine-leaved plants.

Breeding

Best accomplished by obtaining a group of at least 6 individuals and observe for pairing. A separate shallow breeding aquarium should be set up with plenty of plants, both rooted and floating, and the temperature set to around 27 deg C. The pair should be acclimatised to this aquarium and allowed to settle in. When ready to spawn, the male will construct a submerged bubblenest, often amongst plants close to the bottom of the tank, and then display to the female. Once she moves underneath the bubblenest, the male will embrace her, wrapping his body around hers. As the female releases her eggs, usually approximately 10 at a time, the male simultaneously fertilises them. The eggs are quickly retrieved by the male and placed in the nest. This spawning process will repeat several times until the female is depleted of eggs, which can total somewhere between 100 and 175. The male then begins to guard the nest, and at this point, the female should be removed. After 48 hours, the eggs should hatch into tiny wrigglers, and soon after become free-swimming. The male should be removed as soon as the fry swim free of the bubblenest, and the fry fed on infusoria, progressing on to larger foodstuffs as they grow. It is very important to maintain a warm layer of air between the surface of the water and the coverslides at all times whilst the fish are developing their labyrinth organ, critical during the first few weeks.