Breeding Gouramis

 by: William Berg

Gouramis are a quite popular chocies 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.