Honey Gourami

[KimW]

I am a "newbie" to the world of breeding, I have fancy guppies and they mate like crazy. I probably have more babies than i know what to do with. As an animal lover though i refuse to cull any of them unless they are absolutely in need of it and even then i feel bad LOL.

I do however, have a question in regards to my Honey Gourami,

1) How is it possible to sex them. I beleive i have a male and female just by the looks of their coloring. One's fins are quite a bright orange color, and he? has a black stripe running the length of his lower body. This came out about 2 months after i purchased the two. The other is alot paler in color, and does not have the black stripe at all. Still quite beautiful but just paler.

Now I know that gourami's are in the same family as betta's so i expect that they will come up to the surface for air and i do know that they build bubble nests like betta's do. I think i am seeing this behaviour in the brighter of the two of them. He spends an awful lot of time around the surface in one corner furthest from my filter. And it seems there are always bubbles in that corner. It's hard to tell as i do have a bubbler going in the tank.

Now if he is building a bubble nest is that signs that they want to mate? or is that just something they do? If it is just something they do, is there anything i can do to promote mating, would it be a good idea to purchase another 2 so i have a group of 4?

Just some questions i have been mulling over for awhile.

I plan to revamp the tank that they are in and i know i am definitely keeping the gourami because i absolutely adore them.

Edited April 7, 2010 by KimW

[darkangel]

It sounds like you have a pair. The best way I have found to spawn them is get a 2.5 to 10 gal tank, the ten would be a better choice. Fill it with 6 inches of fresh dechlorinated water,no gravel (bare bottom) put lots of floating plants in for the female to hide, have an air stone or sponge filter in one corner running very slow as not to create much turbulance,use a submersable heater to keep the water temp at a steady 80 degrees, cut a styrofoam coffe cup or small plate in half and float it upside down in the other corner for the male to build his nest. When he is done he will attempt to bring the female over for inspection of the nest. If she is ready to spawn and likes the nest she will allow him to go ahead. When they spawn the male will wrap himself around the female and sqeeze the eggs from her as he fertilises them, he will then release her and pick the eggs up and put them in the nest.CAUTION,the female will look like she is dead after he releases her and start to sink to the bootom (this is normal). The spawning may take several hours, but when they are done it is best to remove the female and let dad do his job. Hatching will take place in 36 to 48 hours,after about 2 days when the fry become free swimming (very small and hard to see)the male can also be removed and they can be fed. Infusoria is the best, but the yolk of a hard boiled egg squeezed through the mesh of a clean cloth will also work (very messy) or very fine ground flake or fry food works too,feed at least 3 times a day. You can slowliy increase the amount of water in the tank 1/2 to 1 gal a day until the tank is full. You will have to do 90% water changes daily to clean up uneaten food and the fry will release a hormone into the water so they don't outgrow their surrounding. Hope this helps and good luck.

[KimW]

It sounds like you have a pair. The best way I have found to spawn them is get a 2.5 to 10 gal tank, the ten would be a better choice. Fill it with 6 inches of fresh dechlorinated water,no gravel (bare bottom) put lots of floating plants in for the female to hide, have an air stone or sponge filter in one corner running very slow as not to create much turbulance,use a submersable heater to keep the water temp at a steady 80 degrees, cut a styrofoam coffe cup or small plate in half and float it upside down in the other corner for the male to build his nest. When he is done he will attempt to bring the female over for inspection of the nest. If she is ready to spawn and likes the nest she will allow him to go ahead. When they spawn the male will wrap himself around the female and sqeeze the eggs from her as he fertilises them, he will then release her and pick the eggs up and put them in the nest.CAUTION,the female will look like she is dead after he releases her and start to sink to the bootom (this is normal). The spawning may take several hours, but when they are done it is best to remove the female and let dad do his job. Hatching will take place in 36 to 48 hours,after about 2 days when the fry become free swimming (very small and hard to see)the male can also be removed and they can be fed. Infusoria is the best, but the yolk of a hard boiled egg squeezed through the mesh of a clean cloth will also work (very messy) or very fine ground flake or fry food works too,feed at least 3 times a day. You can slowliy increase the amount of water in the tank 1/2 to 1 gal a day until the tank is full. You will have to do 90% water changes daily to clean up uneaten food and the fry will release a hormone into the water so they don't outgrow their surrounding. Hope this helps and good luck.

[KimW]

Oopsie, still tryin to get used to the way these forums work LOL.

I don't have a 10 Gallon tank or sponge filter, but i do have a 5gallon tank and heater etc just waiting to be set up. Is a sponge filter necessary for breeding them? or would another filter suffice. Hubby gets a little tempermental when i have to purchase new items for fish tanks that he can't stand LOL

[fishclubgirl]

You could use a 5 gallon and an airstone. Wouldn't advise a filter(unless a sponge) as anabantoid fry are very small. Putting in some java moss gives the fry some infusoria as well as mom a place to hide. Good luck and let us know how it goes!! (Funny story, last edmonton show there was a pair of gouramis that spawned during the show. When fish want to breed, they don't care what the set up is!)