One
of the most enjoyable community fish available today is the Golden
Gourami. Their good looks and unique behaviour makes
them the ideal fish for a larger tropical freshwater community tank.
Golden
Gourami's are relatively large fish, growing to a maximum of 12cm.
They are hardy and extremely easy to care for. As with all Gourami's,
they are egglayers and will build a bubble nest to breed.
This
magnificent looking creature has a beautiful bright orange colour and
features long thin pelvic fins that are effectively used as feelers.
The Golden Gourami's comical antics amongst themselves in the aquarium
is nothing short of entertaining. They will
chase one another around the tank, particularly after a feeding, that
will consume you as you chuckle at their behavior while you wonder
what will happen next.
Golden
Gourami's possess a labryinth organ, which allows them to breath air
directly from the surface as well as under the water. You will notice
them constantly visiting the water's surface
to grab a gulp of air. In the wild, this allows them to live in swamps
or pools of
low water quality.
Golden
Gourami's generally habitat the mid to top level of the aquarium.
Female's
grow larger than males. A Golden Gourami's sex can be identified by the
shape of the dorsal fin, which is long and pointed in males, compared
to the female's shorter rounded dorsal. Males can be very territorial,
therefore only one male should be kept per community tank.
To breed
them, condition a male and a female on some frozen food like bloodworm
or brine shrimp for several weeks, when the female is gravid (fat with
eggs) remove her from the community tank and move her into another tank
with little or no filtration (you need very little water flow at the top
of the water) and some plants - even add a cave or ornament for the
possibility a scared female can retreat once the deed is done. Ensure
the new tank has a lid - bubble nests require warm air for eggs to do
well.
After a
few days, add the male to the same tank. The male will begin to build a
bubble nest on top of the water. Once he has finished he will seek her
attention as they will 'dance" together before he squeezes the eggs from
the female. He fertilizes the eggs, he will then place the eggs into
the bubble nest.
At this
time you must carefully remove the female (being sure not to disturb the
bubble nest) from the aquarium because she will be naive and will eat
the eggs (which ensures he will attack and maybe kill her for..) and
leave the male in there (as he does all the caring for the eggs) for the
next 24 hours - at which time the eggs will hatch.
Of the the 600-800
eggs, only a handful of fry will survive, they can be raised on baby
brine shrimp until old enough to take flake food or other frozen foods.
Golden
Gourami's are omnivores and will eat a variety of foods including flake
food, live or frozen brine shrimp, algae flakes, bloodworms, plants and
green vegetables.
In the
home aquarium, it is good practice to offer the Golden Gourami a well
planted tank with a variety of foods.
Golden Gourami