Red Gourami (Three Spot Gourami)

Three Spot Gourami
Trichogaster trichopterus

Habitat:
Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.
Sex:
Male do have more pointed dorsal fin.
Max Length:
11 cm.
Temperature:
26 to 28 degrees Celsius.
Water Condition:
This hardy yet gentle fish strive well in many water condition.
Characteristic:
This gourami are very gentle to any other species. But the male may be intolerant towards his own kind. Better keep in pair. It is very advisable not to keep these gentle fish with any active species especially the tiger barbs as the later tend to nip their long antennae.
Accommodation:
Gourami prefer dark substrate with shadowy, dim environment.
Food:
They will happily accept any kind of food. Varied from assorted dry food to live food such as the water fleas or mosquito larvae.
Breeding:
This species is very shy and rarely mate should there is any other species. Transfer the ideal pair to a separate tank with floating plant and water about 20 cm deep. You may then slowly increase the water temperature towards 29-30 degress Celcius (though it is unnecessary if you are in tropical climate country, just to make sure they get the right mood). Like betta fishes, the male will build a foamy nest on the water surface. Usually it'll attached to the floating plant. It is best to remove the female after the mating process as the male will chase her away and take care of the young until they are independent enough.
The young should be treated with recently hatched brine shrimp, fine powder food or small live food.



Special remarks:

In my home country (Malaysia of course) the gourami are better known as "Sepat" in our mother language. There are also other variants of three spot gourami which came in either blueish, greenish or gold colour.