Breeding The Dwarf Gourami
Wild male dwarf gourami is an astoundingly beautiful fish. The deep-bodied, laterally compressed male can reach a size of about 2.5 inches, with the female staying a little smaller. The wild form of the male has a metallic turquoise blue face and body, with a dozen or more bright orangey-red vertical stripes transecting the body from behind the gills and extending into the long-based dorsal and anal fins, as well as into the tail fin. The attractive female fish, on the other hand, is not nearly as colorful as the male, being a pale silvery-blue with a faint trace of orange-yellow vertical stripes from behind the gills. Manmade strains of dwarf gouramis are available, in which the male fish is predominantly blue or red, giving rise to the powder blue, neon blue and the red or sunset forms of the dwarf gourami. The female fish of all these varieties are much the same: a pale blue. It’s therefore important to buy a male and female from the same source, particularly if they are going to be used as breeding stock. The dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia), belongs to the family Belontiidae and has a labyrinth organ that allows it to utilize oxygen from air gulped at the surface. The labyrinth organ contains a maze of lamellae that are well-supplied with blood vessels that absorb oxygen, enabling the gourami to live in water that has low levels of dissolved oxygen. Another peculiarity common to gouramis is the long feelerlike pelvic fins used to touch things and even to greet other gouramis. These long pelvic fins are also reputed to have taste cells. Today all dwarf gouramis reaching the aquatic hobby are bred at fish farms in southeast Asia. When buying these fish, take time to observe them to ensure they are healthy and swimming well. Healthy males will always be sparring or observing other males in their vicinity. Make sure the fish you select do not have any ulcers on their bodies and that the fins, including the long feelers, are all intact. It’s easy to tell the colorful male from the smaller, plumper female. Additionally, the male’s dorsal fin is slightly longer and more tapered, compared to the rounder tip on the female. So, picking a male and female pair should be relatively easy.
