Gourami: spawning, reproduction, description with photo, life cycle, characteristic features and content features

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Gourami are extremely popular and easy to keep freshwater fish. Their reproduction is easy to achieve in captivity. For spawning, gourami fish make small nests. Consider the most popular types of gourami, features of their content, natural habitat, reproduction.

General characteristics

Gourami are freshwater fish belonging to the suborder of the creeper family Osphronemaceae.

These fish differ from others in the presence of an auxiliary respiratory organ - the labyrinth, therefore they are sometimes called labyrinths. With the help of a labyrinth, fish are able to breathe air. The labyrinth is the transformed first branchial arch. At its widest point, there are bony plates covered with a mucous membrane and blood vessels. According to the mechanism of work, the organ resembles the lungs. Thanks to him, the fish are able to breathe air in conditions of low oxygen content in the water, in addition, they can live for quite a long time on land.

The labyrinth develops 2-3 weeks after the release of the fry from the eggs. During spawning, gourami caviar must be provided with water,well oxygenated.

Gourami's body is long and flat. The anal and upper fins are elongated and slightly pointed. On the abdomen are thin thread-like antennae, with which the fish can "feel" the bottom. If damaged, the antennae can grow back.

It has been noted that under conditions of aquarium keeping, gourami can grow up to 12 cm, but more often the fish grow from 3 to 8 cm. These are long-lived fish. It was recorded that the age of one of the oldest gourami was 88 years old.

Types and descriptions

Let's look at the most popular types of gourami in home aquariums.

Pearl gourami is one of the most beautiful and widely popular species among aquarists. These fish have gained their fame due to their bright red-orange color, a dark stripe runs along their body, and small white dots, similar to pearls, flaunt on the scales.

This fish is also known for making unusual sounds during spawning. The pearl gourami does this with its fins. It is believed that this species has a good memory and is even able to distinguish its owner from other people. The life span of a pearl gourami is about eight years. The fish can reach 9 cm in length.

Marble gourami attracts the eye with its color. There is a blue pattern on the blue body. Light dots are visible on the caudal and anal fins. The body length of the male reaches 10 cm, the female is smaller in size. During the spawning of marble gourami, the pattern on the body of the male becomes much darker than that of the female.

The body of blue gourami is almost monochromatic, but in some places there are dark spots on the scales. These fish sparkle beautifully in the light.

Kissing gourami are famous for their unusual lip shape. When the fish meet and begin to communicate, it may seem that they are kissing. The body of these fish is painted in pink and salad color, the fins are transparent. Kissing gourami grow large in captivity: up to 15 centimeters, and therefore they need a fairly large aquarium. In nature, they can reach 30 cm, and therefore are often eaten. Another feature of this type of fish is a bad temper, which makes it difficult for them to find neighbors for living together.

First appearance in aquariums

Gourami could not be taken out of their habitat for a long time in order to spread in aquariums. Several times they tried to transport the fish in barrels filled with water to the brim. None of the fish survived the move. For a long time it was believed that these fish are unsuitable for transportation.

Everything changed at the end of the 19th century. One of the scientists noted that in nature, these fish periodically emerge from the water to swallow some air. He suggested not filling the barrel with water to the brim. As a result, they tried to transport the fish in a barrel filled with water by two-thirds. In 1896, for the first time, it was possible to successfully transport gourami, while not a single fish died. Soon, gourami fish became widespread in aquariums around the world as easy to keep and breed.

Placesnatural habitat

Gourami got their distribution from Southeast Asia and adjacent islands. The first aquarium fish were caught in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Different types of gourami live in different territories.

In nature, they live in stagnant and flowing water bodies of various sizes. Brown and spotted gourami live in brackish estuaries and tidal zones.

In our time, some types of gourami are listed in the Red Book, while others are completely bred in aquariums and do not occur in nature.

Feeding

Gourami fish are unpretentious in terms of feeding. They can be given dry, live and artificial food. The basis of the diet should consist of artificial flakes and granules. You can supplement the diet with frozen and live food: bloodworms, crustaceans, insects, dry and live daphnia, tubifex.

These fish have a small mouth, so it is advisable to grind the food before feeding. Adult gourami can survive a hunger strike for 7-14 days, so they can safely be left without food during the holidays.

Content rules

Gourami - shy fish are happy, so the ground must be densely populated with algae so that the fish can hide in them. The optimum temperature for fish is 24-28 degrees. It is important that the temperature of water and air is the same. If the air temperature is much lower, the fish can chill its breathing apparatus. Acidity pH - from 6.5 to 8.5.

To achieve the most vivid color, you need to create bright lightingon relatively dark ground.

Gourami do not need highly oxygenated water. However, it is still desirable to install an aerator. Its power should not be made large so as not to arrange currents, because gourami in nature usually live in stagnant water.

The fish need to have access to air, so don't plant the tank with a lot of swimming algae. However, they are necessary so that the male can create a nest during spawning.

Gourami needs room to play and swim. Gourami can be settled in small flocks. There should be three females per male. A hundred-liter aquarium should be enough for six individuals.

These fish are able to jump high, so the cover on the aquarium is necessary. However, labyrinth fish breathe air from the surface, which means that there must be good ventilation under the lid. The distance between the lid and the water must be at least 5 cm.

Gender differences

Gourami has a pronounced sexual dimorphism, so even an amateur can distinguish a male from a female. In females, the fins are shorter and rounded. They have a round and wide body. In males, the fins are pointed, and the upper fin can be as long as the tail. The body of males is larger than that of females. It has an elongated pointed shape. Males are much brighter than females.

During spawning gourami, males become much brighter in order to attract the attention of the opposite sex, and females remain dull and inconspicuous.

Setting spawner

Arrange spawning gourami at homeconditions is easy. As a spawning tank, you should choose an aquarium with an approximate volume of 40-80 liters filled with 15 cm of water. The small size of the aquarium and low water levels usually have a positive effect on gourami breeding, but there are exceptions. There are species that require a large enough spawning ground: kissing, blue, pearl gourami, and species in which the size of adults reaches more than 25 cm.

Most species of gourami create foamy nests in the leaves of waterfowl. For other species, you need to put shelters.

The filter should not be very powerful so as not to damage the eggs.

Breeding

Gourami spawning photo is shown below.

First, the male is transplanted into the spawning ground. It is necessary to gradually raise the temperature to 29 degrees. The male begins to build a foamy nest in the midst of floating algae.

After a female with a rounded belly full of eggs is planted in the spawning ground. A skinny, not ready for breeding female, the male is able to drive to death. If the female is ready to breed, the male begins to court her. It changes a lot in color - becomes much brighter.

Gourami spawning in an aquarium is a truly unusual and interesting sight. The male invites the female to the nest, and there, clasping the female with his body, turns her over with her stomach to the nest. The male strongly compresses the female, squeezing out the eggs and at the same time fertilizing her. The male then releases the female. He collects caviar in his mouth, and then places it in a foamy nest. The process is repeated several times.

When the female is completely devastated, the male becomes aggressive and continues to pester her. In the spawning area, there must be algae in the water column, in which the female can hide from the male. Since the male jealously guards the nest, after the spawning of the gourami, the female must be removed. Otherwise, the male will strongly pluck the female and chase her.

Gourami spawning in the community aquarium

If the gourami managed to create a nest in the general aquarium, where the conditions are not the most suitable for growing fry, you must wait until the female lays eggs. After that, you need to pick up the nest along with caviar using a plate or saucer and transfer it to another aquarium. The temperature in it should be the same as in the aquarium from which the nest was taken. It is also necessary to transplant the male so that he has the opportunity to care for the eggs.

Fry care

The male who valiantly fulfills his duties takes care of the eggs. If an egg falls out of the foam, he carefully returns it to its place. After two days, larvae emerge from the eggs. It will take three more days for the larvae to become fry. During this period, it is important to monitor the water temperature, because if it drops, the male may well destroy the nest and eat the larvae.

While the fry cannot swim on their own, the male follows them and helps them swim to the surface. After the kids learn to swim on their own, the male can be returned to the general aquarium. It is very important not to miss the right moment, as the fry spreading in different directions, which are the care of their fathernothing else, they annoy the male so much that he may well eat them.

Fry at first can be fed with ciliates, later slowly transferred to zooplankton. If fry grow at different rates, it is advisable to plant large individuals so that they do not eat small fish.

Thus, gourami are very beautiful and easy to keep fish. They are unpretentious in food, and even a beginner is able to propagate them. This is why these aquarium fish are so popular in home aquariums.