Common name: Giant Gourami, Common Gourami, Goramy

Scientific name: Osphronemus goramy

Family: Osphronemidae

Origin: Southeast Asia, Indonesia

Size: 18 to 24 inches in the wild (up to 70cms). I've owned one that grew to 14 inches over 4 years.

Care: These fish are not picky. They live in warm stagnant ponds and tolerate a lot of muck. They like soft, acidic water and peat is welcomed. They eat nearly anything and if not fed regularly, the will eat the plants in your tank. Their appearance consists of grey coloring with dark bands when young. The bands fade with age and their scales become edged with black and are opaline in appearance. Young fish are more streamlined and attractive. Older fish become ponderous with various fatty deposits on the head and large fleshy lips, but, they can still be an attractive fish.

Feeding:Giant gouramis are omnivores and will eat flake or frozen food. Many will feed small portions of fresh vegetables as well.

Sexing and Breeding: Dorsal and anal fins are reportedly more pointy in males. They are also reported to make bubble nests of plant material but considered difficult to breed.

Comments: The Osphronemus goramy is the largest of the "gouramis". They are very much the "Oscars" of the labyrinth fish world. They are big, sloppy and full of personality. They become very tame. This one is named "G". He is yet a baby at 6 inches and about a year old; his form is just beginning to change.

When young, O. goramy looks very much like a predator in the form of a leaf fish, or a tiger fish. As they grow, their face and body begins to morph into, well, imagine a chunky dwarf gourami but over a foot long. Their head forms massive fatty deposits, the mouth becomes less aggressive looking with large fleshy lips. Their bodies also grow taller and wider. One theory for this change is that when young their diet IS more predatory and as they age, they become more vegetarian.

They are long-lived. O. goramy is very hardy like many labyrinthine fishes, but drastic changes in water pH and hardness (and other factors) can still cause them to weaken and become ill. They are clever fish and become quite tame.