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does anyone know what the tentacle things are on the sides of a gourami?

i've always figured since theyre labyrinth fish, and can breathe air, that those could be used like "legs" to drag theirselves back into the water if they ever somehow got out of the water

-a solidary predator, the firetruck stalks its prey

They're modified fins...not strong enough to drag themselves around with at all.

My personal observation is that they use them to sense/examine things. I'm sure someone has studied them since they're unique, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have more abilities than to feel.

Eric

almost like an insect's antennae, but not so sensitive

i just find them so fascinating to look at



-a solidary predator, the firetruck stalks its prey

My 3 Opaline Gouramis like to touch any new additions to the tank with them for about the first 5 minutes. It's really funny to watch. We have a joke going around in my house that they're slapping the new fish to keep them in line. LOL.

my gourami flicks a silver shark that likes to swim directly beneath him.

My pearl gouramis have used them to embrace each other.

If I remember correctly I believe I read something about them using the tentacles to examine things and get around. I believe this fish ordinates from either swampy or dark water so they have the feelers to sense were they and what's around them since they could not see in the water well. I could be totally off base but that's what I remember reading.

Tigermom

Their "feelers" are actually modified pelvic fins (homologous to the hind legs of terrestrial vertebrates) with tastebud-like organs on them to sense their surroundings.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

yeah, same here, when i first got my tank set up, my 1st fish was a gourami, and when i added more fishes, he would feel them. i bet if my other fish could show any expression, it would be freaked out!

What came first? the chicken or the egg? No really.....

Yeah , they seem to "feel up" aggressive fish and competitors too, it seems to work as a warning, possibly a warding, and even seems to confuse other fish. They seem to have multiple uses for those fins.

The egg came before the chicken incidentally. The process of egg production began with primitive creatures pre-dating fish, then fish,amphibia, and onto the great reptiles, and then on to birds, so in theory the egg that precursored the first species we recognise as a modern chicken was laid by something slightly more reptilian or had more in common with a different bird species. In truth the chicken evolved from the galliformes, and the galliformes may have evolved from advanced reptiles like archaeopteryx for example. Therefore when you take the minutae of evolution in to context, the egg undoubtedly preceded the chicken.

If however youre a creationist, no doubt the question continues to be confusing.LOL.