Vital Statistics

Description

Origin: Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Indonesia

Size: 5 inches total length

Temperament: generally peaceful

Sociability: territorial loner, but a pair can coexist in a suitably large aquarium

Breeding: bubblenest builder

Sexing: males have larger dorsal and anal fins, and more color

Diet: omnivorous, primarily carnivorous; accepts flakes

Water Chemistry: pH 6.5–7.5; dH 5–19

Temperature: 75–82°F

Above: young adults (female left, male right)

Pearl gouramies sport a lacy, mosaic pattern. The youngsters typically seen in stores give no hint of the ultimate beauty of this fish. Males are more colorful than females. Both fish have tan bodies with a stippled, dark, horizontal stripe. Light colored spots develop a cyan hue with age. The front of the anal fin is tinged with orange. Males develop a robinlike orange breast and longer, more pointed dorsal fin. The male’s anal fin not only grows longer, but develops a fingerlike frill along the edge. The genus name, Trichogaster, comes from the Greek trichos for “hair” and gaster for “belly,” referring to the feelerlike ventral fins of the fish

Pearl gouramies are fairly gentle as far as gouramies go. One will fit easily in most communities. A pair will fit in larger tanks. You always want to give females room to hide from the male, should he become aggressive. It is wise not to mix other gouramies with pearl gouramies, to avoid spats over territory.