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I'm toying with the idea of getting a small fish to keep my quarantine aquarium ticking over. The size of the quarantine aquarium dictates a small fish, and one that won't mind being in a pair or a trio at most, and so, when hunting down an appropriate fish, I alighted upon ...

Trichopsis pumilus, the Green Croaking Gourami.

The sources I've checked say the following:

Maximum size: 4 cm.

Water conditions : preferably soft, slightly acidic (this matches my tap water, which is OK for my assorted South American Characins and Panda Corys).

Temperature : prefers it warm, minimum of 24°C (again, not a problem, it's at 26°C at the moment, and if need be, I can raise it to 28°C if that's what the fish wants).

Decor : ideally a well planted aquarium, with floating plants present, as the fishes are somewhat shy. The intended home has Hornwort sprigs floating at the top, and I have a big clump of Java Moss in there too (which will be attached to a small piece of bogwood once I've prepped it).

Food : will take flakes, but appreciates live foods, particularly to condition for breeding. (I get live Daphnia and Bloodworm for the Pandas every week, so that isn't a problem - just pick up extra bags when I get the Panda banquets )

The only minor fly in the ointment, so to speak, is the aquarium size. It's small - 13 litres.

So, the question is, would two Green Croaking Gouramis go in there? I'm tempted to suspect that they're small enough, but I thought I'd canvas opinions before committing myself to a purchase, not least because they'll be a special order and consequently pretty expensive.




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Pygmy (dwarf croaking) gouramis are very pretty fish, although I don't have any luck them in a group of 2 or 3 in a small aquarium (mine is a 54L). I always end up with just one left after a few months. Invariably one of would be harassed by the other(s) to the point of hiding constantly and not eating, keeling over a few days later. I think they're better either alone or in a bigger group of at least 4. Then again it could also be that the ones I get came from a dodgy source somewhere in SE Asia where a lot of gouramis are e to internal parasites (which would explain their relatively cheap price - less than AU$4).

As far as keeping them, they love the security provided by plants, especially broad-leaved ones like Java Fern. They're not all that shy after getting used to the tank though. They eat pretty much anything that fit into their tiny mouths - crushed flakes, micro pellets, daphnia, BBS, even chopped up blood worms. Not a fussy eater. I've kept mine from 24C to 30C (pH 7.8, moderately soft) and they've been fine.

Personally I wouldn't put a group of them in a 13L tank just because I think they need more space to diffuse some of the interspecies agression that gouramis usually have.

Last edited by upikabu at 16-Dec-2005 01:07

Last edited by upikabu at 16-Dec-2005 01:08

-P

What about just the one? Or a breeding pair if I am fortunate enough to be able to obtain such a rarity here?


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Just the one should be ok. Mine seems quite content by itself. You can add small companions like male Endlers or shrimps. I think sexing this species is quite difficult.

-P

Sparkling/dwarf croaking gouramies are cute and full of hcaracter, but they can be viscious. They can also be somewhat delicate, so you may have die-off when you buy them. You probably want at least 3, to diffuse some of the aggression, though I didn't have any major problems when I had just 2 in a small aquarium. There was definitely a dominant fish, but it didn't bully to the point of making the other fish stop eating.

Honestly, though, if this is for a quarrantine tank, you might want to opt for a less delicate, and less expensive animal. A single mystery snail (the small ones that grow to about golf ball size) will keep a tank cycled just fine. They are less maitenance, and will work to keep the tank clean.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

I have a blue sparkling gourami in a communnity setting. He has claimed a home in a big jave fern bush. It is a very curious fish, and is one of my favotites to watch. It was shy the first week I got him, but is usually out and about now. Mine eat all the flakes I ahve tried to feed it and micro pellets from hikari also. It (sinatra, as it has blue eyes) loves frozen blood worms or frozen brine shrimp also.

I would wholly recommend the fish, but I only have one, so can not speak for multiples.

When we say croaking or sparkling gourami we could actually be talking about 3 different species of somewhat varying sizes. The croaking gourami though is generally trichopsis vittata and the largest of the 3 (6.5cm). A breeding pair or 1 would be all that fits in a small tank. 2 males would probably kill each other off although I have not kept vitatta specifically.

The sparkling gourami is usually T.pumila or sometimes T.schalleri. They are nearly identical both in looks and behavior but I think I have schalleri. They get around 3-4cm. I found a trio can live in a 5g tank together so long as you watch out for overly agressive males. Keeping just a pair can often lead to 1 being much more agressive than the other and killing the other off. A breeding pair might work but a trio is best to spread out any agression. These fish strike me as being quite social despite a few disputes over females and tank space. They very much prefer company and will not color up or act normally without other trichopsis species in the tank. The ones I've ended up with by themselves were no comparison in looks and actions to the ones I kept together. A trio would be the best bet and they are actually quite hardy to water parameters provided the tank is well maintained with low nitrates.

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Below is a pic of the gouramis I have, which were purchased as 'sparkling'. At one time I had 3 in a 5g without problems. Now I have 5 in a 20g Asian tank...there aren't even problems between them and my honey gourami or betta coccina.



Theresa_M attached this image:


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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I would say those are even closer to the look of schalleri than mine are. Pumila have less of a stripe and more rounded fins than Schalleri. Schalleri also have more red especially to the fins.

Last edited by sham at 20-Dec-2005 23:40

Those schalleri ]look nice. How big do they grow?

Are their requirements sufficiently close to those i posted above for pumilus, or are there important differences to take into account?


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Schalleri can get just a bit bigger in length and body mass but we're talking only around 1cm difference between the average sizes of the 2. Schalleri is also a bit hardier toward water parameters and will tolerate more alkaline and considerably cooler waters than pumila. Both species though prefer mildly acidic(~6.0) and warmer water especially to breed. Mine wouldn't even consider spawning until I pushed the temperature up to 82F. Other than that as far as I can tell the 2 species are identical in care and temperament.