Gourami blue - Trichogaster trichopterus - single animal

The beautiful blue gourami Trichonogaster trichopterus belongs to the labyrinth fish. These calm, peaceful fish are extremely popular in aquaristics. They grow to 13-15 cm in size and therefore require somewhat larger aquariums of at least 120 cm edge length. Blue gourami live to an impressive 10 years and older. The blue gourami originates from Southeast Asia, where it lives in rivers. However, it has now also been found in waters in South America and Africa, where humans have introduced it.

The Blue Threadfish has a silvery-blue base color and shows a dark spotted or striped pattern. The iris of the eyes is all or part orange-red. The lower fin areas are adorned with bright spots. Striking in both sexes are the very long, thread-like pectoral fins, which the fish likes to use for groping and which it moves markedly frequently. Males can be identified by the pointed dorsal fin, females have a more rounded, shorter dorsal fin. The sexes can be recognized however only starting from a body length of approx. 6 cm.

Blue gourami are quite peaceful aquarium companions. Breeding is not difficult. However, the males are territorial and delimit their territory against other males. Here the foam nest is also built in floating plants (perfect here for example Riccia / pond liverwort as a basis), in which the males then after mating brood care, clean the clutches and bring falling spawn or also young fish back into the nest. During mating, the male embraces the female. The female gradually ejects up to 1000 eggs, which float up in the water and are fertilized by the male as they float up. Once the eggs are laid, the male drives the female away. If the aquarium is not large or not structured enough, injuries can occur here. If in doubt, please remove the female from the rearing tank. When the larvae start to swim freely, the male should also be taken out of the rearing aquarium so that he does not eat them. The fry are raised with dust food, fine live food like infusoria or slipper fish and later also with artemia euplii.

Blue gourami can be well socialized with other peaceful, rather calm fish, however, no other gourami species should be added here. Also with shrimps like Amanogarnelen or also with dwarf shrimps the socialization works very well. There is hardly any chasing. Crayfish pinch the gourami in the sensitive pectoral fins, here a socialization should be refrained from.

Blue gouramis tolerate soft to hard water, the presence of Humic substances is advantageous. A water temperature of 22-28 °C is optimal. Trichopodus trichopterus tends to prefer the upper water regions. As a labyrinth fish, it must be able to reach the water surface to catch its breath.

As omnivores, gourami like frozen food and live food as well as vegetable food. Also algae are nibbled off and Duckweed are eaten. Plants with very soft foliage may also be eaten. In addition, blue gourami can also be fed with high-quality flake food or granulated food for omnivorous aquarium fish.

Minimum order: 2 animals (one pair)

Our food recommendation: With the NatureHolic BettaFeed a special food for fighting fish has been tailor-made. Its soft granules resemble 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 as well as the NH Color+ high-performance additive support the immune system and the magnificent color formation of the fish.

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

Expert Tip: We recommend when keeping fish 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.