Honey gourami: description and features of the content

Among the gourami, there is a wide variety of all kinds of species that differ from each other in size and color, so every fan of labyrinth fish will certainly find the very “his” one. The honey gourami is very popular with aquarists, the smallest of all fish of this family, it reaches 4 cm in length, sometimes it can grow up to 7, but in practice this happens extremely rarely.

The honey gourami is a miniature and very beautiful fish, which, no doubt, can become a real decoration of any aquarium. This species of aquatic inhabitants got its name due to the unusual shade that appears in males during mating games. By the way, when these fish were just discovered, due to the difference in the colors of males and females, they were at first even attributed to different species.

Gourami are the closest relatives of lalius, however, they are much less popular than the latter - most likely the reason is that at the time of sale, honey gourami looks rather faded, and in order for its shade to fully unfold, it takes time to adapt.

The golden fish is distinguished by a rich yellow-orange color of the scales and red lateral fins, the dorsal one is painted in a lemon shade. In an adult male, a dark blue tint may be present on the abdomen, which in some cases reaches black. This tone also spreads to the front of the anal fin and extends to the lower part of the head.

Like all other labyrinth fish, gourami breathe air from the atmosphere, therefore it is necessary to organize access to the water surface in the aquarium. However, these creatures are able to breathe in dissolved oxygen - nature created them in such a way that they are able to survive in the most difficult conditions, where other species simply die. Honey gourami are famous for their unpretentiousness, so they are appreciated by novice aquarists - they quickly adapt to a changing habitat, have an excellent appetite, but at the same time they are absolutely picky about food.

In most cases, the fish grow up to 4 cm. The body of the honey gourami is compressed along the lateral line, it is a bit similar in structure to the body of the lalius, but slightly more narrowed, and the fins are smaller, the abdominal ones have completely transformed into threads with which the fish feel all the space around them.

Honey gouramis are quite peaceful creatures. Their maintenance is very simple, even for people who have no experience in fish farming. They easily adapt to life in small tanks - for example, a 10 liter capacity is quite enough for one individual.

Gourami prefer to stay at the very surface of the water, so it is important that the air temperature in the room and the level of heating of the water in the artificial reservoir coincide as much as possible, since labyrinth fish breathe ordinary oxygen, and if the difference is too significant, they can damage their labyrinth apparatus.

It is advisable to install a compressor that will provide high-quality aeration of the water; in addition, you should change the water weekly by about 25-30%. Honey gourami prefers clear waters, so it will be useful to install high-quality and powerful filtering unit.

Gourami love shady areas, prefer to stay in shaded areas. They do not need too bright light, although there should still be lighting in the container to support the full growth and development of aquatic plants. The optimal solution would be to use fluorescent lamps with a power of 0.3-0.4 W / l. Be sure to get plants floating on the surface of the water - they will create additional shading, but do not overdo it, remember that the fish should always have access to the top.

Any primer can be used but honey gourami looks most effective against a dark background, be sure to place driftwood, grottoes and caves on the bottom - the fish are very shy and shy, so they spend a lot of time in shelters. Be sure to plant long-leaved plants - usually it is under them that gourami equip their burrows.

The optimum temperature will be + 24 ... 28 degrees Celsius. This fish comes from India, and in this country the rivers are warm, so such conditions will be the most comfortable for gourami. Acidity should vary from 6 to 7.5 units, there are no strict requirements for hardness, parameters from 4 to 15 are allowed.

Honey gourami usually do not have any difficulties with nutrition - they are omnivorous, therefore they are able to eat all types of dry, frozen and live food. Experts recommend using cereals as the basis of the diet, and offering seafood and crustaceans to pets as top dressing. You should be more careful with the pipe maker - their frequent use often causes obesity of fish and their subsequent death.

Gourami are problem-free neighbors, although due to their natural shyness, they need time to adapt to a new "team". These fish are distinguished by a peaceful disposition, so they will not be the first to attack, but they can become a victim of too aggressive or active neighbors, which often damage gourami or simply take away their food.

Conflicts in honey gourami most often arise with lalius, since outwardly these animals are similar, but at the same time lalius is much more cocky.

Gourami are not schooling fish, they live either singly or in pairs... However, these pets may well coexist in groups of 4-5 individuals - as a rule, in such cases a certain hierarchy is established in the groups, one of the males dominates and drives away all competitors.

Breeding gourami at home is quite simple. Like all labyrinth fish, this pet builds its own nests from foam, unlike its lalius relatives, which need fragments of floating plants. They build a secluded place for spawn under the large leaves of any water plant.

Males of honey gourami are distinguished by their tolerance of females, this, by the way, is another difference between these fish and lalius - the latter are quite capable of slaughtering their female, if she has nowhere to hide.

For spawning, fish are moved to an aquarium with a volume of 40 or more liters, the water level should be kept at around 15-20 cm, the optimum temperature is slightly increased to + 27 ... 30 degrees Celsius.

The selected group of fish is abundantly fed with live food, while the female ready for spawning becomes noticeably fat. At this moment, the male usually starts building the nest. When it is ready, the partner begins to attract the female in various ways, demonstrating to her all his attractiveness.

At a time, the female lays about 20 eggs, which are immediately inseminated by the male. After that, the latter collects them in his mouth and carefully moves them into the nest. The process is repeated several times - in just spawning, each female lays from 200 to 300 eggs.

Immediately after the process is completed, the female is transplanted back into the general aquarium., otherwise it will interfere with the male to keep the state of the nest under control - the latter guard the eggs and watch them until the fry hatch. Typically, this moment comes after 1.5 days, after which the male is also moved back to the common aquarium.

After about three days, the fry begin to swim and feed - the first 7-10 days they are fed with special "live dust" or infusoria, food is offered several times a day, since hunger has a detrimental effect on the condition of the young.

Two weeks later, the fish are transferred to feeding with brine shrimp nauplii, as pets grow, young animals must be sorted - otherwise manifestations of cannibalism are not excluded.

Golden gourami have a predisposition to oodinose, while in adults it can be present in a latent form for several years, without affecting the quality of life of pets, but young animals are at risk. Oodinosis is caused by the flagellate Oodinium - they climb into fins, gills, under the skin and into the mucous membrane of the mouth. Sick fish can be easily identified by a rough head with a light golden dusting, as well as by glued brownish fins and the same dirty color spots all over the body.

Usually, for treatment, copper sulfate, "Bitsillin", table salt, malachite green or hydrochloride are added to the water, therapy is carried out in the dark, since the pathogens to some extent relate to plants.

Very often, the disease is brought into the aquarium by new inhabitants, which is why you need to meticulously inspect the fish when buying - if it has torn, poorly spread fins and broken antennae, then it is better to refuse such an individual right away. At the same time, the excessive pallor of the color should not scare you - it only indicates the state of stress in the fish, as soon as the pet gets to its permanent place of residence, after a while bright shades will return to it.

Anyway do not neglect quarantine - before planting a new fish in the aquarium, it is advisable to keep it in a separate container for 3-4 weeks, during this period, daily baths will be useful from a mixture of "Bitsillin", "Rivanol" and brilliant green, this processing takes about 15 minutes.

If you follow these simple tips, your honey gourami will stay healthy and will delight you with their unusual color for several years.

You can look at the honey gourami during the spawning period further.