Gouramis

Labyrinth Fishes

The name labyrinth applied to these species has nothing at all to do with a propensity for cave dwelling. The characteristic that distinguishes these breeds is their ability to breathe air directly from the atmosphere. Ordinarily the labyrinth fishes take oxygen from the water through their gills. In stagnant waters or where the water temperature is very high they breathe air by gulping it in at the surface. These fishes have a chamber in their gill cavities called the labyrinth organ. The structure of the organ consists of layers of multi-folded, extremely thin tissue served by a rich supply of blood. The tissue folds are called lamellae. Within this labyrinth, oxygen contained in the air transfers directly to blood cells beneath the thin tissue layers. Some species are able to leave the water and travel surprising distances over land, carrying the species to new bodies of water. There have been instances where labyrinth fishes actually died as the result of being prevented from reaching the surface in well oxygenated water. Betas, commonly called Siamese Fighting Fish , are also labyrinth fishes.

The Gouramis we have are indigenous to southern Asia and Malaysia. Their diet consists of crustaceans, insects and worms. The Gouramis are an elegant looking fish. They are perhaps not as beautiful as other freshwater aquarium breeds such as Angelfish or Discus, but they surely are graceful and elegant. Their pectoral fins are long and threadlike. They fold them up against their sides or extend them fully forward to act as feelers. They are peaceful in a community tank, but will fiercely defend themselves if harassed by fishes of the same or other breeds. They like having lots of cover, both rocks and vegetation. If it is your intention to breed Gouramis (comparatively easy to do) be sure to furnish the tank with plenty of rooted and floating natural plants. These Gouramis are bubble blowers. That is, the male builds the nest by blowing bubbles at the surface of the water, including bits of plant material to bind it. As the female lays her eggs, the male retieves them from the water into his mouth and blows them into the bubble nest. When the eggs have all been laid, the female pays no further attention. The male tends the nest, pushing eggs back into it as required, for approximately twenty-four hours at which time the eggs begin to hatch. The fry remain in the nest for four to five days after the eggs hatch. When the yolk sack has been fully consumed they will eat infusorians, small rotifers or brine shrimp.

Blue Gourami
Trichogaster trichopterus sumatranus

In December of 1996 we noticed a population of white, threadlike worms flourishing in the 30 gallon tank containing our two adolescent Oscars. We determined through taking samples of the worms to our local pet stores that the worms were benign. By benign I mean they were not parasitic. If they had been allowed to continue reproducing unchecked, they would have competed with the fishes in the tank for available oxygen. One suggestion was to introduce a Blue Gourami into the tank, this breed being particularly fond of eating live worms. We took something of a chance, since the Oscars are rather large, and serious predators. The Gourami showed no fear, and swam about the tank with seeming impunity. I can't explain why this Gourami wasn't eaten, but we are fortunate it was not. The Gourami has effectively eliminated 99% of the worms, leaving enough to provide a continuing fresh food source. Our objective in all of our tanks is to control the environment with minimal chemical intervention. This seems to have been a very successful technique.

The Oscars in the 30 gallon tank are very entertaining, but the Gourami adds a special element of interest. It swims up to and around the oscars in complete safety despite its smaller size. I have observed the Gourami swimming lightly along, and in contact with the side of the Oscars with a fluttering motion. The Oscars curve their bodies around the Gourami and appear to genuinely enjoy the Gourami's attentions. I have since learned that the fluttering is a Gourami mating behavior. Talk about the ant having amourous aspirations toward the elephant. We feed live goldfish to the Oscars, and the Gourami eats their scales as they slowly sink to the bottom. The Gourami also eats bloodworms and the portions of the large cichlid pellets we feed to the Oscars that are expelled from their gills as they eat. The Gourami has doubled in size in the past four months.

We recently rearranged the groupings of our aquarium fishes. When the two large three year old Oscars died our 30 gallon tank was left with only a Blue Gourami and a small Oriental Algae Eater. It appeared that the Blue Gourami was a male based upon the long and pointed size and shape of its dorsal fin. We believed the golden colored Gourami we kept in another tank was female (having a shorter more rounded dorsal fin). We tried introducing the female into the tank with the Blue Gourami, object matrimony. The instant the male spotted the female his pigmentation changed from its usual pale blue with darker blue flank and caudal peduncle spots to an intense and deeply mottled dark blue with paler flank and caudal peduncle spots. The usually pale yellow spots on the dorsal and anal fins now glowed with a fiery deep yellow color and the fins themselves were noticeably darkened as well. The male was pursuing the female around the tank. The female was dodging in and out among the rocks and vegetation. Thinking this was a gourami courtship behavior we left them together for awhile continuing to keep an eye on them.

It took no more than twenty or thirty minutes for the Blue Gourami to fully exhaust the female and he nipped at the top of her caudal peduncle until a red bruise was visible. We removed her to another tank without delay and nursed her back to good health. The unexpected and positive outcome of this foiled breeding experiment, however, is the observation that at least this particular specimen of Blue Gourami is capable of producing these dramatic pigmentation changes to demonstrate aggression. I haven't read about this behavior in any of my sources to date, so I am including it here. It may be common knowledge among the experts, but it's fascinating to me.

Native Gourami
Trichogaster trichopterus

Because we were so impressed with the chracteristics of the Blue Gourami, we couldn't resist the temptation to set up a whole new 10 gallon species tank dedicated to Gouramis. We did add in a Redtail Tinfoil Barb, but the addition was primarily to test the veracity of the Gouramis in repelling the insolence of a more agressive species. The first few hours after introducing the Barb had us thinking the Gouramis would allow the Barb to rise to the top of the pecking order. Finally, we noticed the Gouramis teaming up on the Barb and pursuing it mercilessly. Now the three of them get along quite nicely, the Barb perhaps being the most timid of them. They haven't been in our home long enough to have given us much behavior to observe. We will add to this page frequently, as there is more to tell.

The Native Gourami is colored as its name implies, as it is in nature. The sides and back are gold to olive with fins that are nearly transparent. Its shape is identical to that of the Blue Gourami. The Blue Gourami is a subspecies to the native. The two varieties are also referred to as the Three Spot Gourami owing to the distinctive dark spot appearing on the caudal peduncle, another slightly larger spot midway along the flanks on the side of the body and the eye serving as the third spot. Males have a larger and more pointed dorsal fin. This variety is capable of breeding successfully with the Blue Gourami.

Sunset Gourami
Colisa lalia

I have been unable to find much information on this species (variety). The best information I have found suggests it belongs to the dwarf Colisa lalia species. It most closely matches this body and fin configuration. I was also unable to find a picture of it in the net archives. I am in the process of having pictures of all of these breeds prepared, and they will be added as they are available. My only comment on the observable behavior of the Sunset Gourami is that it seems to be less gregarious than the Native and Blue Gouramis.

Update -- The Sunset Gourami has been murdered. Originally we quartered the Sunset Gourami with the Native Gourami and the Red-tail Tinfoil Barb. The Sunset basically kept itself hidden behind the rocks and vegitation and consequently was a rather uninteresting fish. We noticed at one point that the two larger fishes seemed to be harrassing the Sunset and had caused it to look somewhat weakened. We moved it to a community tank containing Guppies, small Tetras and the like. It was easily the largest fish in this tank and it appeared to be on the mend. It progressively regained strength until it was once again hale and hardy. Then one morning it unexplainably began to drift aimlessly around the top of the tank, listing slightly to one side. We couldn't imagine what had so suddenly happened to the Sunset until we caught the Tetras in the act. The Tetras began to ram the Sunset in the sides with their heads knocking it around very violently. They may have been nipping the Sunset as well, but the bumping alone would have been sufficient to do the poor fish in. By the time we knew what was causing the poor Sunset's plight it was too late and we lost it. The Tetras were also suspected of murdering our Aruana.

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Gary Churchman
garydebc@silcom.com

Copyright © 1997 Gary Churchman
This page was created Friday, March 14, 1997
Most recent revision Sunday, March 16, 1997

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