Chocolate gourami: description, care, reproduction

Gourami is an unpretentious fish that even a novice aquarist can handle. However, this does not apply to the variety of chocolate gourami, and it is better for an inexperienced fish lover to bypass this species. Caring for a chocolate gourami has a number of difficulties, and it is better to always trust only a professional to grow it.

Chocolate gourami has a reddish brown or chocolate body color and has a slightly greenish tint. Pale yellow transverse stripes are observed throughout the body, and the anal fin is decorated with a yellow frame. The length of an individual is not more than 5 cm. The body of the fish is oval, with a small head and a pointed elongated mouth.

This is the most difficult type of gourami to care for.

Such water is dark in color, moreover, such bodies of water are usually located in wooded areas, and dense coastal trees hide the water from the sun's rays, leaving the reservoir in the shade. These are ideal habitats for chocolate gourami.

But is it possible to organize such an environment at home? Only a professional aquarist can handle this, so this fish is rarely taken to pet stores. If a lover of aquarium fish ventured into such a demanding pet, then it is important to observe the following conditions of detention.

• The aquarium should be densely populated with plants. It is good if the tank contains both bottom and floating algae. A good addition would be beech or oak, which in the process of decomposition enrich the water with bacteria useful for gourami.
• Add peat extract to the aquarium.You can put it in a filter.
• Fine gravel or sand is suitable as a soil. These fish are indifferent to the kind of shelters, it can be both live stumps and driftwood, and artificial caves, pots, houses.
• Use an internal filter in an artificial pond to avoid the strong movement of water in which the chocolate gourami will feel uncomfortable.
• The recommended water temperature is 27-30 degrees, pH is from 6.2 to 6.8, hardness is 1.5.
• The aquarium should have a lid to keep the air above the surface warm. If the temperature of the water and air is very different, then the pets may catch a cold.
• Choose dim, diffused lighting devices.
• Change 10% of the water regularly, monitor the condition of animals and plants in the aquarium - for gourami, infection with bacterial infections and fungus is characteristic.
• Feed your pet frozen or live food. Bloodworms, cyclops, tubifex, daphnia will do. Feeding with dry ready-made feed is possible, although at first gourami may refuse such an unusual diet. Watch the dosage carefully, this fish should not be overfed. When in doubt about the serving size, it is better not to overfeed the gourami than to overfeed.
• Before buying an individual, ask the seller for its origin. If the fish is bred in artificial conditions, then it is less demanding on the content than its wild relative.

This variety can be kept both singly and in a flock. In their natural environment, fish are mostly solitary, but unusual relationships can develop in the aquarium group. As in any pack, a leader appears here, guarding his territory and chasing other members of the group. Some aquarists have noticed that an individual with the brightest colors becomes the leader.

Another behavior can be observed in the group of fish: the leader lies on one side, and his "subordinates" swim up to him and lightly touch his mouth. This is not a showdown or a kind of "riot", it is just a ritual of recognition of the leader. It is recommended to buy a school of 6 or more fish.

Medium-sized and peaceful fish are suitable as neighbors for chocolate gourami, that is, those who will not drive gourami around the aquarium or interfere with his eating. Often these fish get along well with zebrafish, tetras, kubotai micro-rasbora, cuneiform rasbora, some loaches (for example, Kühl's acanthophthalmus). Aquarists it is not recommended to add other varieties of gourami to the chocolate look.

Before you start breeding chocolate gourami, you need to learn to distinguish between females and males. For males, a larger size is characteristic. Their dorsal fin is angled, and the yellow edging on the anal and caudal fin is more distinct than in females. Males are brighter in color. They have a straight throat, while females have a pointed one. Often in females, a black spot can be seen on the caudal fin. Fish are considered sexually mature at 6-8 months.

An aquarium with a volume of at least 50 liters is suitable for spawning grounds. There are no preferences for the soil, but it is better to populate the tank with plants.

During the spawning period, it is better not to disturb the individuals, so it is advisable to cover the front wall of the aquarium.

For spawning, water with a temperature of 28-30 degrees, a hardness not higher than 3 and an acidity of 5-6 is suitable. Do not fill in too much water, it is enough to fill the spawning box to a level of 15 cm. First, the selected producers are kept separately for a couple of weeks and fed abundantly. After that, the female and male are planted in a prepared aquarium.

They are heavy and in some incredible way they themselves fall into the nest, and not just to the bottom of the aquarium.

The male fertilizes the eggs, after which the female collects the eggs in her mouth. At the same time, her lover also picks up future cubs and spits them out in the direction of the female. Further, the lady bears eggs in her mouth for a couple of weeks, at which time the male protects her. Sometimes it is possible to batter so many eggs that it does not fit in the mouth, but over time, the female still tries to fit every egg into herself. In total, about 40 eggs are placed in her mouth.

When the fry are formed, the female spits them out. Each calf is approximately 5 mm in size. The offspring turns out to be dark, each individual is clearly visible. Basically, babies take refuge in foliage or stay near the surface of the water. As a starter feed, the fry can be offered brine shrimp nauplii, cyclops, and microworm. They are fed often, but dosed. The water level for keeping fry should be no more than 10 cm.

Until the individuals have formed labyrinth organs, and they begin to gasp for air, the water in the aquarium is not changed. The favorable temperature for keeping babies is 30 degrees. In cooler conditions, they can catch colds.

You will learn the rules for keeping gourami in an aquarium in the video below.