Breeding Gouramis
William Berg


Gouramis are a quite popular choices among fish hobbyists. For
novice fish breeders, breeding gouramis can be an appealing
challenge. Getting them to spawn and raising the fry can be a
rewarding experience.

Gouramis are labyrinth fishes. They have labyrinth, which is an
air-filled breathing hole, located under the gill covers. This
kind of fish can often be seen going to the surface of the water
to take in fresh air, making them survive waters with low oxygen
levels. There are many different types of gouramis, which all
originally came from South and Southeast Asia. Most species are
easy to breed, however a few species like Helostoma temmincki
(the Kissing Gourami), Osphromenus goramy (the Giant Gourami),
Sphaerichthys osphromenoides (the Chocolate Gourami) are rather
difficult. Some of the favmost popular species include the Pearl
Gourami (Trichogaster leeri), the Dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia)
and the Honey Gourami (Colisa sota). And these are the species I
am going to say a few words about breeding.


The pearl gourami is one of the most beautiful of all the
gouramis. The body and fins have lovely mosaic pearls that shine
in the lights. The length for female can reach 10cm, 12cm for
male. These gouramis love shallow, warm (around 27 C), and slowly
flowing waters. They are very calm fish and easy to keep. They
eat just about anything; however green flakes and Grindal worms
are preferable. The breeding aquarium should be 80 cm in length
or larger, with some suspended and anchored plants. The aquarium
should be filled with about 15-20cm of water with no air or
filtration, temperature 29C. Up to 2000 eggs can be laid in one
spawning. When the fry become free swimming the male should be
removed from the aquarium. The female should be removed right
after spawning.


The dwarf gourami has diagonal turquoise blue stripes on their
reddish orange body. The males are larger and more colorful than
the females. The male becomes very brightly colored at spawning
time. Their nature and needs of treatment are similar to those of
the pearl gouramis, they will eat anything they are being feed,
however they prefer live foods and prepared mixtures. Best
spawned in a separate aquarium especially setup for this purpose.
Place a well-conditioned pair into a 40-liter or 60-liter,
thickly planted aquarium with a lot of floating plants. The spawn
can consist of 300 to 700 eggs. After spawning is completed, the
female should be removed. The male will tend the spawn until the
fry become free swimming, and then he should be removed too.


The males of honey gourami have beautiful bright orange-yellow
color. The females are plain, have slightly shaded brownish
orange body with a silvery fluorescent glow. They prefer
aquariums with some thickly planted areas and with some open
swimming areas. They usually eat anything you provide them with.
These fish are moderately easy to breed, though a little more
difficult than the dwarf gourami. For a pair, prepare a 40-liter
aquarium without air stone or filter. The male will build a large
bubble nest. The eggs will when laid float up into the bubble
nest, where the male will guard over them until they hatch and
the fry becomes free swimming, which is when he should be
removed. The female should be removed right after spawning.


William berg is an experienced aquarist that written articles on
everything from aquarium decoration to clown loaches
http://www.clownloach.info/



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