Sparkling Gourami?

[DeanoL83]

Hi guys,
 
I have 6 sparkling gourami in my 200litre 4 foot community tank with mollies, platties, tetras and some danios.
 
They seem to be extremely peaceful and often hide in the plants.  They are coming out more and more often - I am assuming that this means they are happy in their environment. I often see them hanging out in a group just like they are chilling having a chat
 
A couple of questions about them:
 
(1) I've done some reading about how to identify male and female and they have mentioned shining a light and looking for the ovaries.  This seems quite difficult, is there any other way??
 
(2) I've heard them make their croaking sound quite a lot - what does this mean?  Is it when they are fighting or breeding?  Do both males and females make the noise?
 
(3) They seem very slow when I'm feeding the fish, so I'm worried that they are not actually getting much food and the quicker greedier mollies and platties are getting it all.  Is there any particular food I can feed them, or how can I ensure they are getting food too.
 
They really are lovely fish
 
Thanks

 

[Byron]

The male dorsal fin is longer and more ornate.  I know I have male and female in my group of six as they have frequently spawned, and simultaneously I have had two males guarding nests, one at either end of the 3-foot tank.
 
The croaking sound is made by the male.  Like all gourami, males are territorial, and can in fact get quite nippy with fish that approach their nests when guarding them.  In a 1992 study, Friedrich Ladich et al. determined that this sound is important not only in breeding displays but also antagonistic displays of males to establish dominance, and this certainly is what I have observed.  It is a series of double pulses generated by rapid beating of the pectoral fins.  A later study in 1998 by Ladich established that the sounds vary according to the individual fish and the sound frequency has a role in determining the oputcome of the encounter between rival fish.
 
As for feeding, I have never noticed any problems.  However, your choice of tankmates likely has something to do with this.  As I frequently mention here, gourami are sedate fish and should be maintained with similar fish.  Livebearers are notorious for being rapid and greedy eaters.  [I would also be concerned over water parameters, as livebearers require moderately hard water with a basic pH, and the pygmy gourami should have slightly acidic and softer water.]  Many tetra can be similar feeders.  There is perhaps one way around this, and that is to have a good cover of floating plants.  Gourami love to remain in plant thickets, particularly floating plants like Water Sprite, browsing the leaves and roots for food.  They also use these for their bubble nests.  Tiny food like flake or mini pellet will lodge within the floating plants and be more easily eaten.  By nature this species is a micro-predator feeding on small insects at the surface, zoo plankton and invertebrates.  Mine relish frozen daphnia which can be squirted into the plant thickets.  They also eat bloodworms from the substrate, though again with those greedy livebearers and tetra this may not be successful.  My group of six are in with dwarf loaches and banded dwarf loaches, and upper fish are all rasbora species (Trigonostigma hengeli, Brevibora dorsiocellata, and Boraras maculatus).  The pygmy gourami can easily intimidate these, and mine do.  Brine shrimp (fresh or frozen) and brine shrimp sinking pellets are also relished.  I see my gourami feeding off of the sinking foods I include for the loaches, but the latter are not rapid eaters and there is enough for everyone. 
 
Byron.

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for the reply and the information about the croaking sound - i find it quite fascinating and it is a lot louder than I was expecting.
 
I must admit I was ignorant about the ph and water preferences of fish when I first was setting up my aquarium and am quickly trying to learn more since then.  This site has been a great help.
 
I have been unable to find floating plants at my LFS.  I live in a small rural location so not a lot of options out here either.  I guess I will try and find the floating plants online and have them delivered.  I also read that they recommend you drain the water to six inches in height to help with the breeding, but obviously with other tank mates I can't do that - will they still be able to breed with a full tank if I get the floating plants for them?  I have mini pellets that I use for the neon tetras and stuff, so once I get the floating plants that should work for them I'm guessing.
 
Thanks again Byron, much appreciated

 

[DeanoL83]

Another silly question - most of the websites I have looked at have the water sprite planted in the substrate, but they do say it works well as a floated plant.  Do I have to do anything special, like cut it a certain way etc, or just put it in the water and let it float however it wants?
 
 
I really want to find a good floating plant for the sparkling gourami and to help any fry that my livebearers have.  This is the online site where I am looking at purchasing fish/food/plants from, but can't find a specific plant.  Any suggestions?  Can I just let any old plant float?
 
https/www.livefish.com.au/plants.html
 
Thanks

 

[bigcheed]

i have four sparkling gourami in my ten galllon. i use water wisteria as a floating plant. its easy to maintain. just periodically cut it from the bottom. tank mates are two clown killie fish and four cory cats. amano shrimp and assassin snails. i feed them hikari micro pellets and frozen brine shrimp. ive yet to hear mine croak but i think thats because they are all male and there is no female to compete over.

 

[Byron]

Water Sprite that is better floating is Ceratopteris cornuta.  The other species are better planted in the substrate but should growing floating (I've never had those).  India Fern is another common name for Water Sprite, but neither is listed in that linked site.
 
Wisteria also works well as bigcheed said.  I had this in my 70g once with Chocolate Gourami (two species) and the pygmy sparkling gourami, and all of them were spawning continually and I successful raised several fry of both gourami without my intervention.  The thick plants covering the surface gave superb protection and obviosly a lot of microscopic food for the fry.  I had a group of the same rasbora in this tank too, and Botia kubotai loaches.  Everything was great until an internal protozoan got in and I lost all of them very fast.
 
I can't say if they will spawn in the present conditions.  Sometimes soft water fish manage to live in harder water but spawning never occurs.  There is also the issue of the active livebearers and tetra, and even if spawning occurred, I am certain the fry if not the eggs would get quickly eaten.
 
Byron.

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for the information - I will definitely look into getting some wisteria for my tank at least to provide some floating cover.  I would love to have them successfully breed at least once.  Some awesome little baby gourami (at least once) would be nice
 
Actually, i'd love all my fish to breed once at least so I can experience little babies of each type and see their growth.  I'm sure the novelty will wear off after that though lol.