Spike Tailed Paradise Fish
Pseudosphromenus dayi
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 6.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Species profile
Sparkling Gourami
Trichopsis pumila
Common names: Sparkling Gourami, Pygmy Gourami, Dwarf Croaking Gourami
Recognized speciesGouramis
Adult size
Up to 4 cm
Typical adult length 3–4 cm.
Up to 4 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A heavily planted nano aquarium
- A small tank with very peaceful companions
- A keeper who enjoys unusual behaviour and sounds
Think carefully if
- Your tank has large or boisterous fish
- Your filter creates a strong current
- You want a bold, always visible display fish
A tiny gourami from the Mekong basin with iridescent spots. Small and quiet, it can make audible croaking sounds, and it is a good choice for a planted nano aquarium.
Appearance and Identification
A very small, slim fish with a dark lateral stripe, iridescent blue-green spots, and red-edged fins that seem to sparkle under good lighting.
The Croaking Gourami, Trichopsis vittata, looks similar but grows larger. Check the size and fins when buying.
Hard to sex. Mature males show more intense colour and longer fins. Mature females can be identified by visible ovaries when strong light is placed behind the fish.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 80–120 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 50–75 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 40 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 45 cm
- Minimum group size
- 2
- Recommended group size
- 6
- Activity level
- Low
- Flow preference
- Very low
- Planting preference
- Heavily planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Dense planting, floating cover, and a gentle sponge filter work well. A lid keeps the air warm, which matters for the fry and protects the labyrinth organ.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Quiet and often shy, spending time among plants. Males can produce audible croaks during displays.
Best kept in a pair or small group, either alone or with very peaceful, similarly sized fish.
Males may hold small territories and display at each other, but serious injury is unusual.
Suits small rasboras, ember tetras, otocinclus, and small peaceful catfish. Adult dwarf shrimp are generally fine, although shrimplets may be taken.
Water Parameters
Soft to moderately hard water suits this fish. Keep the air and water temperature close to each other.
Parameter caveat
Small tanks change quickly, so keep up with gentle water changes. 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
- Fine micro granules or crushed flakeUse a particle size the fish can swallow whole, and feed only what is eaten within a couple of minutes.
- Frozen or live daphnia and cyclopsSmall crustaceans add variety and help bring adults into breeding condition.
- Frozen or newly hatched brine shrimpA good small meat food a few times a week rather than the only food.
A micropredator that takes tiny invertebrates and small prepared foods.
Use very small foods, and make sure faster fish do not take them first.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Bubble Nest
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Brood or egg count
- Typically dozens of small eggs
- Incubation
- 2 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 nester. The male builds the nest, embraces the female to spawn, and then collects the eggs and returns them to the nest. Eggs hatch in 24 to 48 hours, and fry need very small food.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam
- Natural habitat
- Pond, Rice Field, Swamp, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Nano Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Trichopsis
- Family
- Osphronemidae
- Species group
- Fish, Gouramis
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Tailspot Ctenopoma
Ctenopoma kingsleyae
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 18.2 cm
- Minimum tank
- 304 litres
- Temperature
- 25–28 °C
Thick Lipped Gourami
Trichogaster labiosa
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank
- 67 litres
- Temperature
- 22–27 °C
Three-Spot Gourami
Trichopodus trichopterus
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 10–15 cm
- Minimum tank
- 80 litres
- Temperature
- 24–30 °C