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Passport
- Family
- Dwarf Gouramis
- Grows to
- 4 cm (1.6")
- Lives
- 4–5 years
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Care
- Intermediate
- Swims
- Near the surface
- Keep
- In a group of 3 or more
- Water
- 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
Thailand
Care requirements
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On record for Sparkling Gourami: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 38 L / 10.0 US gal
- pH 5–7.5
- Hardness 1–12 dGH
- Diet omnivore
- Tank length 45 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Sparkling gouramis croak. They produce an audible clicking, creaking noise using modified pectoral muscles, mostly when displaying at each other, and in a quiet room you can hear it across the tank — there are very few aquarium fish you can listen to.
They're tiny, and up close they're extraordinary: a mottled brown body scattered with iridescent blue-green flecks that catch the light, and brilliant red-ringed eyes.
They're often overlooked because they show none of that in a shop tank. Under bright lights among fast fish they're a small drab brown thing, and only a settled, planted, dimly lit tank reveals what they actually are.
Tank setup
Plant your sparkling gouramis in heavily and keep the tank dim. This species more than most is made or ruined by its surroundings, and dense growth with shaded light is where the colour and the behaviour appear.
Keep the surface still and the tank covered but not sealed. They're labyrinth fish that gulp air, and they need warm humid air above the water rather than a cold draught.
Add leaf litter and wood. They come from shallow, still, tannin-stained water full of vegetation, and the tannins suit them.
Keep them in a small group. Males display and croak at each other, which is the point of keeping them, and it takes more than one to see it.
Give them a quiet tank. Anything fast or boisterous will suppress them entirely.
Feeding
Sparkling gouramis are micropredators with very small mouths, and this is the practical difficulty with them.
Feed small live and frozen food: baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, microworm, grindal worm. Many refuse dried food entirely.
Feed near the surface and in mid-water, where they hunt.
Avoid: standard flake and pellets, most of which are simply too large, and avoid tank mates that feed faster than they do.
Filtration and flow
Keep the flow very low. They're weak swimmers from still water and a current pushes them out of the open water they should be using.
A sponge filter is the right answer, run gently.
Keep the water warm and stable. They're less tolerant of swings than the larger gouramis.
With plants
Sparkling gouramis are completely safe with plants and need a densely planted tank to show themselves at all.
Floating plants are essential rather than decorative. They shade the surface, they calm the fish, and a male will build his nest beneath one.
Fine-leaved plants and moss give cover and hold the micro-life the fry will need.
Health
They're reasonably hardy once settled and often arrive in poor condition, so expect a period of recovery and feed small live food to get them started.
Watch the air at the surface. Labyrinth fish are damaged by breathing cold dry air, so a covered tank in a cool room matters more for them than for other fish.
A permanently hidden, colourless group usually means the tank is too bright, too open or too busy rather than that the fish are ill.
Breeding
Males build small bubble nests, often tucked under a floating leaf or in a cave rather than out in the open, and they croak while building.
The male wraps around the female beneath the nest and collects the falling eggs in his mouth to place them in the bubbles. He then guards the nest alone.
Fry are exceptionally small and need infusoria or green water before they can take anything else. Keep the tank covered so the air above stays warm while their labyrinth organs develop.
Tank mates
Avoid9
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Sparkling Gourami at 4 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Sparkling Gourami at 4 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Pictus Catfish Pictus Catfish grows to 12 cm against Sparkling Gourami at 4 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Common Goldfish Common Goldfish is not safe with Sparkling Gourami: common goldfish and dwarf gouramis are a bad pairing.
- Demasoni Cichlid Demasoni Cichlid is not safe with Sparkling Gourami: african cichlids and dwarf gouramis are a bad pairing.
Only with care21
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Sparkling Gourami is peaceful.
- Amano Shrimp Sparkling Gourami is a risk to Amano Shrimp: dwarf gouramis and shrimp and yabbies are a pairing to watch.
- Angelfish Angelfish is a risk to Sparkling Gourami: angelfish and dwarf gouramis are a pairing to watch.
- Bala Shark Bala Shark is a risk to Sparkling Gourami: dwarf gouramis and sharks are a pairing to watch.
- Bamboo Shrimp Sparkling Gourami is a risk to Bamboo Shrimp: dwarf gouramis and shrimp and yabbies are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 74 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 4 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.