Age Of A Gourami

[bobross]

How do you tell the age of gouramis?

The two male gouramis I have in my 55g(one is a three spot, the other is a gold) I acquired them about 5 mos. ago - the gold is about 2 1/2 inches long now and the three spot is about 3 inches now - how do i tell if they are 'mature?' also, other than having patience, is there any way of telling if these two fish will grow bigger? both of the fish have grown about 1/4 - 1/2 inch longer since I've had them and they were in a 20g at a lfs w/ about 10 other gouramis and they were the largest out of all of them. just curious about the age of these two fish since the person at the lfs had no idea how old they were.


This is off the topic of my question --- but, the three spot has an odd 'bump' on his behind. the 'bump' looks kind of like a flesh colored growth and it starts right at the base of the tail fin. the fish has had it since i got and it hasn't gotten any bigger - it doesn't seem to bother him - is this normal?

any response is appreciated

 

[sylvia]

They are still babies - maybe a few months old. They'll grow to 6" and will become increasingly aggressive. If they are indeed both male they could fight each other to the death. The bump could be a deformity or the beginnings of an infection. Make sure you keep up with water changes.