2x Dwarf Gourami "Red" - Colisa lalia - pair

Here you buy the very pretty red breeding form of the dwarf gourami Trichogaster lalius from India, formerly Colisa lalia. The Red Dwarf Gourami does just as well in the aquarium as the wild form. The Dwarf Gourami from the Indian rivers Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra belongs to the group of labyrinth fishes, which are also called climbing fishes. Trichogaster lalius (Colisa lalia) occurs in nature in high population levels, so actually lives as a schooling fish. In the aquarium, however, the Red Dwarf Gourami can also be kept in pairs. The pretty Red Dwarf Gourami is quite reserved and peaceful. These compatible, relatively undemanding and very popular aquarium fish have been established in aquaristics for a very long time.

Red dwarf gourami grow to about 6 cm in size. An aquarium with an edge length of 60 cm is therefore already sufficient for a pair of these rather calm fish. The tank should be well planted and partially shaded with floating plants such as frogbit or riccia. Red Dwarf Gouramis will live about 4 years if kept under good conditions in the aquarium.

The Red Dwarf Gourami has a golden or silvery head and back transitioning to orange-red to bright red, and the dorsal fin is predominantly bright turquoise blue. The pelvic fin and caudal fin are also red. The pectoral fins are long thread-like extended - which explains the name "threadfish". They are readily and often used for groping, Trichogaster lalius uses them to orient itself in space. The males of the Red Threadfin are usually more intensely colored, their dorsal fin ending in a tip extended backward. Females are more orange-red and their shorter dorsal fin ends in a more rounded tip.

The calm, chilled Red Dwarf Gourami fit best either in a species tank or in a community tank with other aquarium mates that are not too lively or too curious. Dwarf shrimp are good to socialize with them, and small peaceful fish that leave the long gourami alone. Trichogaster lalius does not mix well with other gourami species. Crayfish will pinch the Red Gourami in the long pectoral fins and can severely injure the fish.

The Red Dwarf Gourami is fairly easy to breed. When the male of Trichogaster lalius is ready to mate, he builds a nice big foam nest, gladly with the help of plant parts in the floating plants at the water surface. When mating, the female lays about 600 eggs, which the male first fertilizes and then collects with its mouth and spits into the foam nest. It guards the nest and performs brood care. As a breeding tank is therefore a species tank without by-fish most stress-free. For breeding also the female should be caught out. At the latest after the young fish swim freely after about 3-4 days, the male is also taken out of the breeding tank - from the free swimming it sees the fish larvae as prey. The young red gourami are fed with fine dust food, paramecia, infusoria and after a short time with freshly hatched artemia euplii.

The Red Dwarf Gourami are somewhat sensitive to unsuitable water values and then become susceptible to diseases. They prefer soft to medium hard water in the aquarium, like a high content of humic substances and a water temperature of 24-30 °C.

Since the Red Dwarf Gourami is an omnivore, you can feed a variety of fish foods - from frozen foods to live foods to algae, over-broiled duckweed and other plant foods they will readily take. Flake food or granular food is also well eaten. As a surface-oriented fish, the Red Dwarf Gourami prefers to eat from the water surface. All gouramis are labyrinth fish, they have a lung-like labyrinth organ for breathing and therefore must always return to the water surface, to which they need free access.

Our food recommendation: With the NatureHolic BettaFeed a special food for fighting fish has been tailor-made. The soft granules are reminiscent of the consistency of insect larvae in nature. The soft beads protect the sensitive fish mouth from micro-cracks caused by too hard food granules. The specially developed NH Immun+ complex and the NH Color+ high-performance additive support the immune system and the magnificent color development of the fish.

Our plant recommendation: Use for the planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.