Gourami spotted or common gourami is a very peaceful, interesting to observe fish. At home, the local population uses trichogaster trichopterus as food. In our country it is a popular aquarium fish. First described by the Russian scientist naturalist German by origin Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811gg).
First appeared among European aquarists around 1896. Soviet amateurs got the opportunity to breed this wonderful fish after 1960. From trichogaster trichopterus numerous varietals and hybrids were obtained, which occupy a worthy place in all species collections of the world.
kingdom | Animals |
type | Chordates |
class | Bony fish |
division | Perch |
Suborder | Labyrinthine |
Family | Macropods |
genus | Threadneedles |
species | Spotted gourami |
Synonyms: point, two-point.
Habitat.: The spotted threadfin dwells in standing or slow-flowing, densely vegetated waters in Thailand, the Greater Sunda Islands, the Malay Peninsula and South Vietnam. Indigenous people in these areas consume them as food.
Spotted gourami Description
The fish is large. In nature can reach a length of twenty centimeters. In aquarium keeping usually have a length of about twelve centimeters, sometimes can reach fifteen centimeters. The body is tall oblong flattened from the sides. It has a lanceolate shape. The color of the body is silvery with some purple cast. On the sides has two small spots. One is located at the base of the caudal fin, the other is approximately in the middle of the body. Due to these spots, the species got its name. Sometimes you can see another spot between the eyes.
The fins are transparent and covered with small whitish or slightly pink spots. Caudal fin may have a faint orange border. Anal fin long wide extends from the anal opening to the base of the caudal fin. Dorsal fin short. Pectoral almost transparent. Abdominal as in all representatives of the family are modified – are long whiskers – a kind of tactile organ.
Spotted gourami likes dense thickets of plants. Prefer to swim in the middle and upper water layers. Needs sunlight. Likes clean, clear water. Can live up to ten years. Sexual maturity reaches sexual maturity when reaching six to eight months of age. As a worthy representative of its family – somewhat shy.
Spotted gourami Sex differences
The male has a richer coloration than his mate. It is more slender on the sides. The female has a more rounded abdomen due to the maturation of eggs. Dorsal fin in males is longer, has a pointed end. In females, it is short, rounded.
Spotted gourami Aquarium Keeping
The volume of housing for this fish is desirable not less than fifty liters. It is better that the vessel was oblong, not very high. The recommended height for a species aquarium is about thirty centimeters. Since the spotted nitenosec representative of the labyrinthine, it needs oxygen of atmospheric air for respiration, so tightly cover the aquarium can not. But the cover or at least cover glass should be. This will prevent the ingress of cold room air to the surface of the water, which will keep nitenosets from catching a cold, which they can earn by swallowing cold air, if the cover will not be. The aquarium should be positioned so that sunlight falls on it for a few hours every day.
Soil
To imitate natural habitats, it is better to use small pebbles or granite chips of dark colors. You can also safely use any other available soil: quarry sift, coarse river sand.
Plants
The choice of plants for trichogaster trichopterus is very wide. It is only necessary that they can form dense thickets. It is possible to plant along the back and side walls of the spiral valisneria, Canadian elodea, submerged cattail, pistole. Cryptocoryne wendt will look beautiful in the middle ground.
Very unpretentious fish. Optimal temperature 20 – 24. Can long withstand lower temperatures, up to sixteen degrees Celsius, but then gourami spotted feels a little worse. Pale coloration, slower growth. Does not reach the maximum size. Water hardness for him is insignificant. Feels good when increasing the hardness up to 20. The reaction should have a neutral value (pH 7).
Освещение
The spotted gourami likes bright light. As always, it is better to illuminate with tubular fluorescent lamps LB. Recommended total power 0.3 – 0.5 W / L. It is desirable that the reservoir at least a couple of hours a day illuminated by natural sunlight.
If kept separately, additional aeration is not necessary. A simple filter can be installed to filter out the turbidity.
Spotted gourami Compatibility
Very peaceful friendly fish. Can be kept with almost any other peaceful species with similar conditions for maintenance. Sometimes males can arrange a small feud, but without lethal outcomes. To reduce their fighting spirit is better to keep them in small flocks with a predominance of females.
Feeding
Not picky when choosing food. Eats almost any food, both live and dry or frozen (defrost before feeding!!!). You can feed him small insects. This sanitizer will not leave a single chance to parasites like hydras.
Spotted gourami Breeding
For breeding should prepare a vessel with a volume of at least thirty liters. Spawn Nitenosets in a container and a smaller volume, but the female for one spawning is able to throw out more than 2000 eggs. For such a large number of fry is more convenient to care for, if the reservoir will be spacious. Two-thirds of the spawning ground densely planted with plants. These thickets are necessary for the female to hide from the excited cavalier, while she is not yet ready to spawn, and most importantly, that she hid behind them after sweeping out all the eggs. On the surface of the water need to throw a bundle of richchia or cassock. The water should be freshly tempered at least two days. It is desirable to aerate it during sedimentation. The height of the water column should be 15 – 20 centimeters.
Preparation for spawning
Producers about a week before spawning breed and feed live feed. It is better trubichnikom or moths. Small crustaceans before spawning should not be fed. That the father of his fry then with them did not confuse. In the prepared spawning ground planted first male, and when he gets used to it, a couple of hours later to him planted girlfriend. Thermostat heater set to 26 – 28.
Fish put on their wedding attire – get a bright coloring and the future daddy takes on the construction of a nest of air bubbles using plates of riccia. Usually it takes about two days. After the nest is ready, the beau invites the lady under it. The spawning begins. The female hatch the eggs in small portions, and the male, having fertilized her, picks them up with his mouth and then spits them out so that they are between the air bubbles of the nest. Spawning lasts several hours, after which it is desirable to remove the female.
Gourami spotted gourami fry care
The incubation period lasts about a day and a half, then between the bubbles that make up the nest, you can see the fry that hang there vertically. And after another three to four days, they will swim. This moment should not be missed. It is necessary to urgently remove the male, as he now loses the paternal instinct. This can end badly for his offspring. The water level should be lowered to ten centimeters. If the fry is very much desirable to establish a low-flow aeration. Starter food fry infusoria infusoria living dust. Then rotifers, small crustaceans.
Fry grow quickly, but very unevenly. About the fourth week it is necessary to carry out the first sorting – remove the largest fry, so that they do not oppress the small brethren. It is necessary to ensure that the temperature in both containers was the same. Fry, unlike adults, very poorly tolerate even slight temperature fluctuations.
Producers can spawn up to four times in a year. If you have taken a female that is more than a year old for breeding, the first brood will be small, because most of her eggs are overripe. Then after a couple of weeks it can be planted again for spawning, now the hatching of eggs will be much larger.
Spotted gourami is one of the most peaceful fish among the labyrinth species. Trichogaster trichopterus is fearful and when keeping, the aquarium with these sensitive natures is better to protect from sharp shocks, noise, sudden changes in light. But at the same time, with long-term maintenance, he can become so tame that he will take moths from the hands of the host.
Spotted gourami deserves to be given the attention it deserves. In addition, the species is unpretentious and can be safely recommended to novice aquarists.