Gourami of the Month.

Hey guys, i've been wanting to do something Gourami related for a while so here it is

The idea is I'll post a picture of a Gourami species and a description of my experience with them at the beginning of each Month and I hope others will follow suit in posting a picture of theirs
Try to only post pictures of species that are featured each Month and only post pictures you own, ideally of your fish

First up: March, Three Spot Gourami, Trichopedus trichopterus.

The Three Spot Gourami is my favourite Gourami...


They grow to around 6" and are fairly active, they display social tendencies and from my experience are best kept in a group of at least 4 individuals. While they are known for aggressive behavior keeping them in a group proves beneficial both keeping aggression within the species and encouraging more shy individuals to be more outgoing. Males are typically regarded as the aggressors however both genders can be aggressive if provoked.


Males can be easily identified with their pointed dorsal fin and females more rounded. The males develop it at around the 2-2.5" mark, anything bigger with a rounded fin is usually a female.
Male...


Female...


Three Spot can come in a diverse array of colour strains including Blue, Gold, Platinum, Lavender and Opaline. The Blue, Gold and Opaline variants are probably the most common and at times mistaken as separate species.
Blue...


Platinum...


Opaline...


If you're interested in keeping them I recommend building the aquarium around them, taking into consideration they don't like a lot of flow. Surface plants or something similar are important in keeping most Gourami feeling secure. I highly recommend an aquarium of at least 4ft to keep a group, this gives them enough room to get away from each other when they want. Only keep at maximum 1 male to every 2 females with a larger ratio of females preferable.


These are fantastic fish to keep when kept in a group and adequate space.

 

What a great post!
I've had Honey Gouramis since the Summer (don't worry, I'm not going to go off topic!)
I just wanted to say that virtually everything that I've learned about Gouramis has been from reading your posts and replies.
I'll be reading this thread with interest,
Thank you!
Emma

 

I have 3 three spot gourami

They are beautiful fishies!!!

Sorry my camera work is not the greatest

 

 

male or female???

 

male or female???

Looks male

 

Good idea. I'll just sit here and twiddle my thumbs until it's Pearl month.

 

No Gourami but looks interesting!

 

Good idea. I'll just sit here and twiddle my thumbs until it's Pearl month.

Let me join you.
Josh just had to pick this one xD Totally not biased pst.

Maybe I would have considered buying one just before the end of the month to show it off here. But it looks like we're going to have lockdown soon so I don't think I'll be able to get anymore fish the rest of the month.

 

I'll have to dig up an old photo of mine. Yes josh, I had a gourami. Get over it!

 

I'll have to dig up an old photo of mine. Yes josh, I had a gourami. Get over it!

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

OK, here you go! You thought that you had me but you don't! lol



Sweetest thing in the world. Would have worked very well in a peaceful Asian tank. I still miss her. Her name was Opa. She'd eat right from my fingers. I gave her to a good home (I hope!)

 

April: Pearl Gourami, Trichopedus Leerii

I’m not going to go into too much detail as I’m not as passionate about them as I am with the Three Spots (and the lighting in the aquarium they’re in is killing photos ).



They’re one of the most vibrant Gourami commonly kept and given their mostly peaceful disposition are a great centrepiece in peaceful communities.



Mature males are easily told apart from females, they display a beautiful orange underbelly, a long torn looking dorsal and develop extensions on the analfin.



From my experience they certainly aren’t as peaceful as Honey Gourami but have never caused trouble outside of my two males fighting in a small tank.

 

My pretty aggressive male pearl.


The male with my female before she died.

 

Pearls look so beautiful I wish I had enough space (or outlets )for a tank with one of them

 

Can't believe I haven't seen this thread

 

Here's my 2! I believe its 1M 1 F. At least that's what I was told when I bought them. I love them

 

Here's my 2! I believe its 1M 1 F. At least that's what I was told when I bought them. I love them

Yes, that's a male and female.

 

What about mine?


TIA!

Edit- sorry for weird lighting

 

What about mine?

TIA!

That is possibly the fairest Gourami I have ever laid eyes on!

 

What about mine?
TIA!
Edit- sorry for weird lighting

She looks ready to breed

 

All jokes aside, that golden one of Feohw's is a stunner.

 

All jokes aside, that golden one of Feohw's is a stunner.

Didn't even know they existed until now tbh!
Beautiful!

 

I have two golden gourami both female both very active and playful until recent they are a bit aggressive to each other mostly later in the day. Can be very aggressive biting at each others tail base then they chill out. Is too much light a trigger? I need to get floating ferns?
Was hoping to get a pearl gourami just one to maybe relax the others.
Any thoughts?
Are they actually female?

 

I have two golden gourami both female both very active and playful until recent they are a bit aggressive to each other mostly later in the day. Can be very aggressive biting at each others tail base then they chill out. Is too much light a trigger? I need to get floating ferns?
Was hoping to get a pearl gourami just one to maybe relax the others.
Any thoughts?

I wouldn’t recommend adding another species of Gourami, just more of the same depending on how big the tank is.
Three Spots can be aggressive and when kept in a pair there’s only one outlet.

 

I wouldn’t recommend adding another species of Gourami, just more of the same depending on how big the tank is.
Three Spots can be aggressive and when kept in a pair there’s only one outlet.

Ive a 230litre 55 gallon tank so got the room. do angelfish and gourami get along?

 

Ive a 230litre 55 gallon tank so got the room. do angelfish and gourami get along?

I really couldn’t tell you sorry. I’ve kept other cichlids with Three Spots in the past with mixed results.

 

Thought there'd be more pearl pics. Here's some more old pics of my two pearls.
Male:


Male & female first introduction:


Female:


Pic of the female that better displays her colouration:

 

The pearls are lovely! How many do you suggest keeping together and ideal tank size?

 

The pearls are lovely! How many do you suggest keeping together and ideal tank size?

They are quite social, so I'd recommend at least three of them. A male and two females. I think a 40 breeder would suit a trio perfectly. Between 30-40 gallons (and bigger) should be fine but I'd go for a 40+ personally. You'd have to make sure there is just one male.

 

Do 3 females get along? Keep it simple Or better to have a male with them what happens if he pairs with one and the other gets chased off around the tank?

 

Do 3 females get along? Keep it simple Or better to have a male with them what happens if he pairs with one and the other gets chased off around the tank?

Females can be just as aggressive as males but they’re more likely to get on than multiple males. 4 seems like a sweet number imo.
You could certainly try a male, when he decides he wants to breed you may have issues but mine wasn’t anything more than chasing. But I do have a huge piece of wood that separates the tank.

 

I've been finding lots of pics of my old gold pearl lately. Make me want to get more of these guys.




And I always love looking at pearls from above too.

 

May, Thick Lipped Gourami, Trichogaster Labiosa

Thick Lips are a commonly kept Gourami that people don't seem to know they have...


Often mistaken for the beloved Honey Gourami, they cause a lot of confusion amongst keepers. Given they grow roughly double the size of Honey's and have a bit more of an attitude, confusing them can cause issues especially when it comes to tank size.
A good way of telling them apart is the colour of the caudal fin, Thick Lips have a clear/white looking caudal fin, while Honey's will have their colouration.


Thick Lipped Gourami grow anywhere between 3"-4" are a lovely orange or red with wild colour specimens having a beautiful blue running through the body and like most Gourami are social. Keeping them in a group is recommended, while keeping males together likely won't cause many issues, they can get quite feisty so keeping more females is always preferred.

Sexing them is relatively easy (genuinely sucks at sexing fish) with the most obvious tell being the dorsal fin, males develop a very obvious point while females remain rounded.



If you want to keep them, look for a tank roughly 30 Gallons or bigger and keep at least a pair but a group of 5 or 6 would be better. I've found them to be more shy than Honey's but have heard differing opinions. They aren't likely to be aggressive to tank mates outside of breeding. Overall a good Gourami to keep, not my favourite but nice enough, although I would love to get hold of wild colours, they are stunning(Hopefully i'll convince someone to post a picture of one )

 

Love this thread and love gouramis! Here is my pearl gourami Percy and my opaline three spot gourami Olive! Andddd... drum roll please... they’re tankmates! Me, queen of bad decisions, went against advice from @jingerJOSH22 himself and put them together. They’ve been together for months now and love each other. They follow each other around and softly brush up against each other. Now, things may change so of course I’m watching them carefully. You can hate on me and tell me I’m wrong, but hey, so far it’s working. I’ll separate them immediately if I notice any issues.

 

Love this thread and love gouramis! Here is my pearl gourami Percy and my opaline three spot gourami Olive! Andddd... drum roll please... they’re tankmates! Me, queen of bad decisions, went against advice from @jingerJOSH22 himself and put them together. They’ve been together for months now and love each other. They follow each other around and softly brush up against each other. Now, things may change so of course I’m watching them carefully. You can hate on me and tell me I’m wrong, but hey, so far it’s working. I’ll separate them immediately if I notice any issues.

Certainly no hate from me
I mean most my Gourami tanks are mixed, some you have to be careful with like Three Spots *cough* but typically they don’t interact much. However I wouldn’t recommend keeping them together because there is the possibility it goes quite badly.

 

Still waiting on june's gourami hilarious

 

Still waiting on june's gourami hilarious

Tbh, getting photos is hard
I'm planning on doing Moonlights this month but my word they don't stay still hilarious
(I've also been kinda distracted lately )

 

My beautiful pearl as the sun hits the tank just before sunset

 

Josh you need to bring this back i want to show off my new honeys