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Sparkling Gourami - The little gem of the Aquarium


Jess

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Sparkling Gourami

Trichopsis pumila

For those who want a nano planted tank with some gorgeous activity in it, these guys would be perfect. They are a teeny tiny Gourami with a maximum size of 3cm :yes:

They are easy to care for. You can keep a group of 5-6 in a 20L tank, although not much bigger than this and ideally it would be a species only tank. They prefer no filtration to slow movement, a small sponge with a low flow rate would be enough movement for them.

Their spawning behavior is very similiar to other bubblenesting anabantoids. Raising fry for can be a little tricky as the fry are much smaller then betta fry and you will need to supply infusoria as first foods, or other small foods that float in the water column.

They are peaceful little fish that would not fair so well with other species. Males put on a fabulous display when courting females and they will make croaking noises while asserting their dominance to other males. They have kept me amused at night watching and listening to them. For such a little fish they are so full of energy!

pH: 6-7ish

Temp: 25-28°C

Here are some photos taken a few years ago of the tank and a male guarding his nest.

20L tank

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Male guarding his nest

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I have noticed they are back on the wholesale lists. I am hoping to get some in in the next few weeks for the little 20L I have sitting on my computer desk.

Is anyone else keeping them?

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Yes! Abbey, make room!!!

Heidi, I will be ordering some in through Aggies for next weeks shipment. (will order Monday/Tuesday) If you want some, let me know and I can order some in for you at the same time. They are around $4.85 each.

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Honestly, don't do it. They do better in a small 20L tank which is species only. I have twice moved two groups into community tanks and they disappeared one by one. It's like sticking 3cm fragile betta fry with a pair of Kribs = disaster.

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For real? Mine were feisty and held their own amongst the smaller fish. I do think that eventually the fusca picked them off, but they also took out rasboras and guppies so that was a bit more mouth-size than anything else. How odd.

Hmm, any other tanks that you could spare for these guys then? They are pretty spiffy.

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I kept a female imbellis with them in the 20, no worries. But once I moved them they disappreared. Later on down the track, I tried it again and the same thing happened. They were with kuhlis, cories, guppies and whiteclouds. I just figured everything I read about keeping them in a small tank and species only was true after two disasters.

Kribs are nasty pasties when spawning and the kribs will spawn. It's not fair to keep them in a tank with strong filtration, needed for kribs. But, anything can be tried and proven otherwise with fish :(

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I just have a sponge filter on the krib tank, so it's not strong filtration.

probably won't set up a tank just for them, as I want a wild betta species tank and a QT tank and that accounts for the other 2 x 2' tanks.

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