- Sep 21, 2006
- 21,430
- 13
- 0
- Real Name
- Paul
Origin:
Sparkling gouramis originated from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. They live in tropical ditches, small ponds, rice paddies and slow-flowing rivers and streams where water is often very low in oxygen levels.
Size:
Sparkling gouramis can reach a size of 5 cm although they are seen to be mostly 4 cm. I have a male here however that is almost 5 cm in size.
Water Conditions:
Although it can be argued that these fish are best kept in water soft, acidic waters, I kept mine in water conditions constant at 7.0 and filtered through peat with additional Indian almond leaves. The heavy amounts of tannins being leached makes them feel more comfortable in their home and well-protected from fungal and bacterial infections.
Temperature:
77-84 degrees Fahrenheit or 25-29 degrees Celsius
Care:
Sparkling gouramis are very easy to keep and are not fussy with the water conditions as long as they are acclimated properly. A trio of sparkling gouramis can be kept in a planted 5 gallons tank.
The tank can be furnished with leaf litter (Indian almond leaves), driftwoods and several plants. Substrate will not matter but do make sure it is inert and won't affect the pH. Since their habitat is mostly composed of vegetative matter, they will appreciate a heavily-planted tank with plenty of floating plants. Filtration should not produce too much currents as this fish will certainly not appreciate the currents. A sponge filter should be sufficient.
On tank maintenance, I would recommend doing 20-30% water change on daily basis. Small frequent water changes are far more safer for this fish than big water changes as they will not be happy with the tremendous changes in water conditions.
Tankmates:
There is also a question of what to keep with this small fish. Considering this fish cannot really compete well with overly boisterous fish for food, I would recommend keeping them with other small fish making sure they are equally competitive. I mixed them with my corydoras, small species of plecos, kuhli loaches and licorice gouramis. Other suitable tankmates will include the chocolate gouramis, samurai gouramis (Sphaerichthys vaillanti) and some small species of tetras.
You might be wondering why some people tend to say these also have vicious behavior for such a small fish. At first, I refused to believe what a few people mentioned about sparkling gouramis being very vicious, I learned my lesson on this later on. While they may get along with several fish, they will not tolerate tankmates with very showy fins as they will consider them as rivals. This can be related to my experience on the male guppy beaten to death by two male sparkling gouramis. I could not believe them initially to be responsible for the guppy's death after suspecting the zebra danios and subsequently isolating them. The next day, I watched in horror and shock as the gouramis nip the guppy's tail viciously and attacked him to death. I eventually accepted the reality and have been careful in selecting their tankmates since then.
Foods:
For this fish, live foods are a must. The food menu must also be varied. They will appreciate bloodworms, mosquito larva, daphnia, brine shrimps, mealworms and commercial foods.
Sexing:
There is no easy way of distinguishing their sexes unless you are very observant of the differences between the possible male and female.
Breeding:
Sparkling gouramis will spawn in the same fashion as bettas although the bubblenest is usually created under a large leaf so this is very important when attempting to breed them.
Sparkling gouramis originated from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. They live in tropical ditches, small ponds, rice paddies and slow-flowing rivers and streams where water is often very low in oxygen levels.
Size:
Sparkling gouramis can reach a size of 5 cm although they are seen to be mostly 4 cm. I have a male here however that is almost 5 cm in size.
Water Conditions:
Although it can be argued that these fish are best kept in water soft, acidic waters, I kept mine in water conditions constant at 7.0 and filtered through peat with additional Indian almond leaves. The heavy amounts of tannins being leached makes them feel more comfortable in their home and well-protected from fungal and bacterial infections.
Temperature:
77-84 degrees Fahrenheit or 25-29 degrees Celsius
Care:
Sparkling gouramis are very easy to keep and are not fussy with the water conditions as long as they are acclimated properly. A trio of sparkling gouramis can be kept in a planted 5 gallons tank.
The tank can be furnished with leaf litter (Indian almond leaves), driftwoods and several plants. Substrate will not matter but do make sure it is inert and won't affect the pH. Since their habitat is mostly composed of vegetative matter, they will appreciate a heavily-planted tank with plenty of floating plants. Filtration should not produce too much currents as this fish will certainly not appreciate the currents. A sponge filter should be sufficient.
On tank maintenance, I would recommend doing 20-30% water change on daily basis. Small frequent water changes are far more safer for this fish than big water changes as they will not be happy with the tremendous changes in water conditions.
Tankmates:
There is also a question of what to keep with this small fish. Considering this fish cannot really compete well with overly boisterous fish for food, I would recommend keeping them with other small fish making sure they are equally competitive. I mixed them with my corydoras, small species of plecos, kuhli loaches and licorice gouramis. Other suitable tankmates will include the chocolate gouramis, samurai gouramis (Sphaerichthys vaillanti) and some small species of tetras.
You might be wondering why some people tend to say these also have vicious behavior for such a small fish. At first, I refused to believe what a few people mentioned about sparkling gouramis being very vicious, I learned my lesson on this later on. While they may get along with several fish, they will not tolerate tankmates with very showy fins as they will consider them as rivals. This can be related to my experience on the male guppy beaten to death by two male sparkling gouramis. I could not believe them initially to be responsible for the guppy's death after suspecting the zebra danios and subsequently isolating them. The next day, I watched in horror and shock as the gouramis nip the guppy's tail viciously and attacked him to death. I eventually accepted the reality and have been careful in selecting their tankmates since then.
Foods:
For this fish, live foods are a must. The food menu must also be varied. They will appreciate bloodworms, mosquito larva, daphnia, brine shrimps, mealworms and commercial foods.
Sexing:
There is no easy way of distinguishing their sexes unless you are very observant of the differences between the possible male and female.
Breeding:
Sparkling gouramis will spawn in the same fashion as bettas although the bubblenest is usually created under a large leaf so this is very important when attempting to breed them.
