View Full Version : What kind of Gourami did I just buy?
TeaPea
05-24-2003, 5:32 PM
Went to the lfs for something else and fell in love with this unusual Gourami. I can't remember what type the guy said it was! I remember he said it was a cross between a blue gourami and...???? Whatever he is, he's a beauty! I think maybe my favorite yet!! Check him out:
http://www.msnusers.com/3lsonq8llk28mi8alel7c42232/Documents/Pictures%2FMVC%2D003F.JPG
ChilDawg
05-24-2003, 5:38 PM
Originally posted by TeaPea
I remember he said it was a cross between a blue gourami
Are you sure he didn't say that it was a "Cosby Blue"?
rjl420
05-24-2003, 5:41 PM
I'd say opaline
http://www.exotictropicals.com/encyclo/fresh/anabantoids/images/opalinegour.jpg
BigFishDude
05-24-2003, 5:47 PM
this is a pic of the cosby gourami :
http://www.wiljo.nu/images/fiskar/trichogaster_trichopterus2.jpg
BigFishDude
05-24-2003, 5:50 PM
which is basically the same as the opaline gourami.
TeaPea
05-24-2003, 5:56 PM
Ok I guess he's an Opaline...Quite a handome one at that! I'm finding out as I go that I'm a Gourami person...I now have 2 Pearl's, a Dwarf, and this new guy in my tank. They're such pretty fish!
rjl420
05-24-2003, 5:57 PM
:)
you say tomayto, I say tomahto... or in this case you say cosby, i say opaline
they are all just regular blue gouramis
wetmanNY
05-24-2003, 7:01 PM
I heard they turned up first in a Mr Cosby's tanks in Texas-- 1950s? Can anyone confirm any of that? Anyone know who "Mr Cosby" was?
I say that rjl420's fish is the better of the two. Know why? Because the marbleizing pattern has lost any hint of the two splodges on the side of a regular "Sumatra Blue" T. trichogaster. That's why. If any hint of the spot is there, hey, it's not a good Opaline Gourami.
This is the best of all the fancy aquarium selections of this fish, IMNSHO.
This can be a mean fish, TeaPea.
rjl420
05-24-2003, 7:03 PM
wetman-
I have an opaline that shows the spots every now and again, but most of the time they aren't visable. the 3spot that I bought, OTOH, started out as just a 3 spot, but as it matured it developed more opaline characteristics althought the spots are still pretty distinct.
TeaPea
05-24-2003, 7:27 PM
Wetman, the lfs guy assured me he was a peaceful community fish. Could he really get mean? :( How mean?
I have a friend that had an opaline gourami that absolutly beat the hell out of anything in the tank and get this....it actually challenged a juvi jack dempsey :O the jack was 2 inchs and so was the gourami and the gourami took it on and didn't back down, but the jack got a nice thump in and I advised her to take the jack out anyway because it wouldn't work no matter what. The gourami whipped on her corie's too??? I never knew them to be mean myself until this particular one:confused:
rjl420
05-24-2003, 8:33 PM
Originally posted by TeaPea
Wetman, the lfs guy assured me he was a peaceful community fish. Could he really get mean? :( How mean?
TeaPea,
My opaline has been just fine in 2 community tank that I've set up. I'm sure temperment can vary from individual, but IME, if you have peaceful tank inhabbitatnts, and add the gouramis when they are young they do ok together. my best advice would be just to keep an eye on it and see how things go.
'Trichogaster trichopterus' (blue/golden/opaline/whatever) gouramis are USUALLY peaceful. However, the males are twice as likely to be aggressive, not only towards other gouramis, but other fish as well.
Along with the reading I've done and the feed-back from the customers (I work in a pet store), these gouramis are more likely to be aggressive in smaller tanks. Fewer fish = less destraction = more likely to encounter aggressiveness towards other fish.
Althought some gouramis completely over take a small tank's population, some ppl have the EXACT same type of fish, in a small set up with only a few fish, and everything is fine.
dethjam316
05-25-2003, 12:04 AM
i have 9 trichogaster gouramis of various species at the moment...8 of them are and have always been peaceful, 1 of them was a real jerk before almost a year in exile. the 8 peaceful ones?? ALL female. coincedence? i think not.
No one said they were all female bud...
TeaPea
05-25-2003, 9:38 AM
How do you tell the male from the female on this fish? Can you tell from my picture if my fish is a male or female?
ChilDawg
05-25-2003, 10:26 AM
Sex difference:
The male has a much longer and pointed dorsal fin. The female's is rounded.
ChilDawg
05-25-2003, 10:28 AM
(I can't see the picture, so I can't answer the second part.)
wetmanNY
05-25-2003, 10:41 AM
So it's a male thing eh? That makes sense, when you think of some aggression in other gouramis. Like Pearl Gouramis. I have five peaceful females. I'd like to add a bull to this pasture, but...
TeaPea, it's hard to tell until the individuals start to mature, when they're over two inches. The rear "corner" of the dorsal fin is a good place to look: a female's is rounded. a male's is increasingly pointed and gets like a sharp-angled extended pennant as he grows older.
Of course when the female starts to swell with eggs and the male starts building a bubblenest, those are giveaways!
TeaPea
05-25-2003, 10:46 AM
Thanks Wetman. Well so far he's as docile as could be. Let's hope he stays that way. All the other inhabitants are peaceful so that should help. About Pearl's--I have 2, not sure what sex they are either but they're so graceful, gentle and sweet I can't imagine one of them being mean. They love me, too, they let me "pet" them at feeding/cleaning...:D
ChilDawg
05-25-2003, 10:47 AM
I've read about two female Betta splendens living together resulting in both building the nest and both dropping their eggs...but I think that that's a rare occurence. I'm pretty sure, though, that the dorsal fin thing will work well for you. I'm also sure that Wetman's end comments should work well for you, but you may want to look at the dorsals in order to make sure that something different is not going on!
(2,500 posts! Yay!)
dethjam316
05-25-2003, 4:04 PM
Originally posted by RyJ
No one said they were all female bud...
well obviously i was referring to my fish, chief.
8 of my 9 are female, and only the male has ever shown aggression towards any other fish. all the females (blues, moonlights, pearls) are perfectly placid fish. the only other male gourami i've ever owned was very aggressive as well at times, especially towards the male which i still have. they had a couple run-ins before i separated them, even with all the females and in a relatively large tank.
hopefully, the gourami in question will not become aggressive, but if it does, there are a couple tricks you can try to change his ways. i just play it safe now and purchase only females, since i'm not currently trying to breed them.
carpguy
05-26-2003, 12:29 PM
Originally posted by TeaPea
About Pearl's--I have 2, not sure what sex they are either...:
The gourami in the pic posted by rjl is a female.
The gourami in the pic posted by BigFishDude is a male.
Its the dorsal fins -- this works for pearls and blues and most gouramis.
See how the dorsal fin is longer and pointier, reaching the base of the tail in the one and shorter and rounder, not reaching the base of the tail in the other? Its pretty easy to see once you see it…
HTH
TeaPea
05-26-2003, 12:41 PM
CarpGuy...What about my fish? Female?
carpguy
05-27-2003, 1:31 AM
Sorry TeaPea, I can't see your photo. Even tried downloading and opening in Photoshop. No good.
When I was first looking into Pearls I had trouble sorting this out. Someone pointed out to me the difference in the dorsal fins (the big one on top) and it seems very obvious to me now. I think that once you see it, it'll be obvious to you as well:
http://www.aquahobby.com/img/leeri1.jpg
The Pearl on top is a male -- long dorsal fin that extends past base of tail, thready pointy end. The Pearl on bottom is a female -- shorter dorsal, rounded, doesn't reach base of tail.
Female:
http://fins.actwin.com/fresh-pics/opaline_gourami.jpg
Male:
http://www.wiljo.nu/images/fiskar/trichogaster_trichopterus2.jpg