
Photo thanks to Graeme
Name:
Scientific name: Trichopsis Pumila
Common name: Sparkling Gourami
AKA: Pygmy gourami
Country of origin: Southeast Asia
pH: 5.5 - 7.0
Temperature: 25 - 28c
Hardness: 5 - 20 dH
Water flow: low
Oxygenation: standard
Maximum size: 4cm body. 5cm long including tail, 1cm high.

Photo thanks to Solomon
Diet: It is primarily a carnivore. Despite its deceptive size, it has a comparatively tiny mouth, and can only feed on tiny food, such as daphnia. It may only accept live food initially, but can with difficulty be taught to accept frozen and dry food. Mine enjoy Aquagreen's fish food.
Breeding: This fish is a bubblenester. While mating it makes an unusual croaking noise. It is likely to attack other fish, and can be aggressive when breeding.
Tank companions: Hunts shrimplets+++ It is an avid hunter and can wipe out an entire shrimp population in a small tank.
It is an unusually shy fish, and does not cope well even with other microfish. It only copes with the smallest boraras & corys, ottos or whiptails as tankmates.
This is an extremely shy fish. It does not learn to cope well with the range of other microfish in a community tank. It requires shade and hiding spot, and prefers tannin in the water, which can be provided by Indian Almond Leaves.
It is very touchy (needs specific conditions so survive, and is more likely to die than the other gourami species in microfish habitats).
It has been known to make a very unusual clicking noise when courting.
Trichopsis Pumila are legal imports to Australia as of 20/10/2013:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiv...mport-list.pdf
The IUCN Red List reports Trichopsis Pumila as a species of least concern with a stable population trend at 21/10/2013:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search
It is very important not to release any aquarium specimens into our waterways. Any that are not sold or re-homed/ given away, can often be re-sold to aquarium stores. If they are homed in ponds, care should be taken that they cannot escape in run-off into our waterways. Even if fish are native & local they should not be moved from one waterway to another, as this can transfer disease. If they are not local fish, they can both spread disease and either out-compete or eat local fish, shrimp & plants, causing their demise.
This is definitely not a fish for beginners. It is a good fish for experienced hobbyists.
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...rkling-gourami