Lucy

I was watching one of my Sparkling Gouramis going under the drift wood and coming back out. She repeated this over and over.
This is new behavior so I grabbed my daughter's camera and caught a male and female in the spawning embrace.

Please excuse the glass, I have a terrible cold and haven't wiped it down for a while.

Tony G.

NO WAY! when i saw the title to this thread i was like:

LOL congrats grandma!

NOW i'll watch the video

EDIT: They are adorable!!! and so tiny too! they look like female bettas LOL

Lucy

Tony, you know I'm no good with fry! lol
The male never built a bubble nest. I think she's eating them as soon as they drop.
Who knows what's under the driftwood.
I saw a pgymy cory sneak under there a while ago.
Guess I should read up on their breeding habits.

Tony G.

Gourami's build bubble nests (as you probably know LOL), if they dont then either they will eat the eggs or they will rott. They will get the hang of it soon, dont worry

aquatic mouse

Wow! Thanks for sharing!

Lucy

Tony, Yep, and no bubble nest in sight. Guess that's why I was surprised.
At least now I know the one I suspected was female is.

Oh and you're right, the similarities between them and female bettas are amazing.

Thanks Carrie

Tony G.

LOL they are adorable makes me want a female betta.... LOL

just curious, how big are they?

Lucy

I'm not sure, maybe an inch? They're smaller than my Cardinals and Glow Lights.

Tony G.

wow! cardinals... they must be tiny! I will google them!

Lucy

I'd love to have them in a species only tank with a substrate that would compliment them.
My husband would kill me. lol

Tony G.

you and i both know he would love to lend you his desk as a new stand...

CHoffman

Lucy!!!. That's awesome!. Great video.. They are super sweet little things, I hope you get some babies

eiginh

Wow great video!!! If you do plan on spawning them, they need the water level to be 6 inches or less above the substrate. Also a huge leaf to build the bubble nest under, some people use almond leaves. That's if you plan on spawning them I'm sure your husband won't mind having a 10 gallon tank on his desk .

Tony the maximum size they get is 1.5 inches and minimum tank is 10. They love plants! Really bushy and big leaf plants. I'm currently waiting for a new stock from the LFS this week

peacemaker92

Aw.. Lucy, their so cute. As small as a cardinal So sorry if the eat the babies though, as Tony said, they'll get the hang of it.

Btw, about your cold, get well soon!

iloveengl

Excellent video! Hmmm, is there a floating plant? My little gourami liked building his bubble nests on a plastic floating plant. I hope you get babies!

Oops, he mentioned floating plants already. I need to go to bed. lol

aquarist48

How wonderful! Amazing you were able to catch that on video! Thanks for sharing Lucy.
I hope you get over your cold soon!
Thanks for sharing the video.
Ken

TedsTank

Those seem to be really cool little fish. I've looked them up often, the pics I've seen online aren't very nice for color etc. Why sparkling??...blue??
Never available around us but frequents on aquabid.
Do you recommend them as a nice peaceful fish?....just curiuos...I'm getting fish fever.

bolivianbaby

Wow, Lucy, that's an awesome video! You did a wonderful job of catching the embrace on film.

Shawnie

omg that is too cool! wish I could find some of these amazing fish (of course when I have tank space)

Lucy

Thanks everyone!

Martinismommy

They say you learn something everyday......I NEVER knew they spawned like Bettas....How adorable and what a wonderful video! Thank you so much for sharing it....

Lucy

Sorry Ted, I missed your questions.
When the lights hit them right, they do sparkle. What they lack in colors they make up for in total cuteness.
Two of mine have blue eyes.
They're very peaceful and unlike most Gouramis you can have more than 1 in a small tank.
Mine are with cardinals, glowlights, guppies and pgymy cories.
I don't think I'd put them with a whole bunch of guppies (too much action for them lol), but there's only 2 gups in this tank.

One male is showing bit of aggression because of the spawning thing. It's not amounting to much more than chasing others away.
He's a little more relentless with the other male.

I'd recommend them if you have a peaceful tank with no one big enough to eat them.

I did a little reading, apparently, they don't build bubble nests on the surface like bettas but underneath things. Guess I know what is or was under the drift wood.

Tony G.

you might have some wigglers!

Lucy

Maybe, but probably got eaten. She's still spending a lot of time under the drift wood. It's pretty cute how she peeks out.

JaneAustenAddict

How adorable was that! I thought it was really rare for Gourami's to mate in the community tanks?

Lucy

Sshhhh, don't tell them that. It's not something I was prepared for that's for sure. lol
All my equipment is in use for the next (hopefully) 6 weeks.

Lucy

A little update.
These sweet little fish turn into tiny demons when they're protecting the nest/fry.
First they started on the 3rd Gourami so I moved him to a 20g long.
I suspect they killed one of my lyre tails and they were body slamming the other so much so, I could hear him get hit.
He's also been moved to the 20g. and was happy to go. lol
I was wondering why my snail was twitching, I go over to see one of the parent Gouramis's pecking at his shell.
They are holding all my other fish at bay. They've divided the tank in half and won't let any fish past the filter.
So one side I have two little Gouramis and on the other 12 cardinals and 4 glowlights. lol, poor things.

But, oh, their clicking sounds are adorable.
I think they need a tank of their own.

MissMTS

Wow Lucy, that's really interesting. Who knew they would turn into little terrors when they spawned, lol. They are such cute little fish though It does sound like they need a small tank of their own. Surely your husband won't notice one more 10 gallon tank

Tony G.

LOL watch kate she's left FL to get them a tank

Lucy... you should get cichlids... they divide tanks too

Je55*e

That is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing.