Frail Gourami
Ctenops nobilis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 15–25 °C
Species profile
Dwarf Gourami
Trichogaster lalius
Common names: Dwarf Gourami, Powder Blue Gourami, Flame Gourami
Recognized speciesGouramis
Adult size
Up to 8.8 cm
Typical adult length 6–8.8 cm.
Up to 8.8 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A planted community with calm small fish
- A single colourful centrepiece for a medium tank
- A keeper able to quarantine new fish
Think carefully if
- You plan to keep two males in an ordinary tank
- You cannot quarantine or check the health of new stock
- Your tank has fin nippers such as tiger barbs
A colourful small gourami from South Asia, popular for planted tanks. It is calm with most fish, but males are territorial and shop fish have a serious problem with viral disease.
Appearance and Identification
A deep, oval body. Males show alternating red-orange and blue bars, while line-bred fish can be solid blue or red. Females are plainer and silvery. The pelvic fins are long and thread-like.
Line-bred colour forms are all the same species. Honey Gouramis are smaller, plainer, and slimmer. Sellers sometimes sell mostly males, so check when you want a pair.
Males are slightly larger and more colourful, with extended dorsal and anal fins. Females are plainer and silvery.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 110–170 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 50–75 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 55 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 60 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 2
- Activity level
- Low
- Flow preference
- Low
- Planting preference
- Heavily planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Use dense planting with floating cover to give the fish security and give the male nest sites. Keep flow low, because strong flow stresses gouramis and disrupts nests.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Calm and rather shy, spending time near plants and the surface and using its long pelvic fins to feel its way around.
Not suited to groups. A male and female pair is the usual choice, although males can harass females, so plenty of cover is needed.
Males are territorial toward each other, and also toward similar-looking gouramis.
Suits small peaceful fish such as tetras, rasboras, and corydoras. Avoid fin nippers, large cichlids, and other gouramis in smaller tanks. Shrimp may be eaten.
Water Parameters
Tank-bred fish adapt to a broad range, while wild fish prefer soft, acidic water.
Parameter caveat
Gouramis breathe air from the surface, so keep the surface accessible and the air above it warm with a lid.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Insectivore, Omnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Once or twice daily
- Preferred foods
- Small floating pellets or quality flakeThese fish feed readily from the surface. Choose a small size and feed sparingly.
- Frozen or live daphnia and brine shrimpOffer a few times a week for variety and condition.
- Frozen bloodworm or mosquito larvaeUse as an occasional rich treat rather than a daily food.
An omnivore that eats small invertebrates and algae, and takes food from the surface.
Add some plant matter, and feed small meals to avoid bloating.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Bubble Nest
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Brood or egg count
- Often several hundred small eggs
- Incubation
- 1 days
- Parental care
- Bubble-nest care
- Baby foods
- Infusoria or parameciumEssential for the first days, because labyrinth fry are tiny and cannot yet take larger food.
- Vinegar eels or microwormsIntroduce as the fry grow, and offer in small amounts to protect water quality.
- Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce once the fry can swallow it, usually after one to two weeks.
A bubble-nest builder. The male builds the nest, often using plant pieces, and the pair spawns beneath it in an embrace. The male then guards the eggs and fry, while the female should be moved away.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Bangladesh, Captive Bred, India, Pakistan, South Asia
- Natural habitat
- Pond, Slow River, Swamp, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Trichogaster
- Family
- Osphronemidae
- Species group
- Fish, Gouramis
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Giant Chocolate Gourami
Sphaerichthys acrostoma
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 72 litres
- Temperature
- 21–25 °C
Giant Gourami
Osphronemus goramy
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 70 cm
- Minimum tank
- 681 litres
- Temperature
- 20–30 °C
Giant Pikehead
Luciocephalus pulcher
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 20 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 22–26 °C