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Fish Breeding - Breeding Gouramis
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.
About the Author
William berg is an experienced aquarist that written articles
on everything from aquarium decoration to clown loaches
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