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Photo thanks to moyiesy
Name:
Scientific name: Trichopsis vittata
Common name: Croaking gourami
AKA: Croaking guaramy
Country of origin: South-east Asia – Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, northern Indonesia
pH: 6.0 – 8.0
Temperature: 22 – 25c
Hardness: 10 – 25 dGH
Water flow: low - standard
Oxygenation: standard
Maximum size: 5 - 7.5 cm
Diet: They eat live, frozen & sinking pellet foods – they are micropredators. They will benefit from both regular live or frozen food and some vegetable matter (algae pellets, etc) in their diet.
They have been known to eat hydra, eradicating an infestation.
Breeding:
Males: more colourful, longer fins with red edges to the anal fin, fins are pointed.
Females: less colourful, shorter fins, plainer fins, fins are rounded.
The male builds a bubble nest. As they spawn they display the typical gourami “wrestling”. Both parents should be removed after spawning – they will predate on the eggs & fry. The female should be removed immediately spawning, the male shortly after the fry have hatched.
Lifespan:
Tank companions:
They are NOT good tank companions with shrimp.
They should only have 1 male to a tank, unless it’s a very large (6ft+) tank, with a lot of visual breaks, in which case, you may get away with 2 males. They can be kept with a group of females, or in groups of 6+ to spread the aggression.
They are a shy gourami species, which is peaceful with other species and can be kept with other peaceful species.
They should not be kept with fin-nippers, or species such as Betta splendens, which may be aggressive toward them due to their trailing fins.
They live in the middle to top of the tank.
As with any fish they will eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths, and equally can be eaten by any fish large enough to eat them. This should be taken into account when choosing tankmates.
Stocking plans can be checked with aqadvisor.com
Tank:
Minimum tanks size is 2 ft for a pair.
They could be kept in a heavily planted tank with floating plants, open areas for swimming, and tannins from driftwood and Indian Almond Leaves.
It needs tightly fitted lids, both to create humid air to breathe, and to prevent jumping from the tank.
Confused with:
Other gouramis, particularly the sparkling gourami, possibly liquorice gourami.
The colours an pattern can vary from one individual to another, making it harder to identify.
It makes its croaking noises with the pectoral fins, in a similar way to Synodontis catfish.
They are one of the more rarely seen allowable gouramis in the trade.
Many have health issues, including iridovirus, which is invariably fatal, so they (in particular) should be quarantined before being added to the tank.
It has a labyrinth organ, so can breathe air to an extent.
There are feral populations that have been introduced in other parts of the world, but not in Australia to date.
Trichopsis vittata are legal imports to Australia as of 31/10/2013 (list last updated 16/10/13):
http://www.environment.gov.au/system...mport-list.pdf
The IUCN Red List reports Trichopsis vittata as a species which is of least concern, with a stable population trend at 03/11/2013:
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.
They are good fish for beginners.
Relevant threads:
Tankmates & pics of planted tank:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...r+trichopterus
With a mixed group of gouramis – Bolsy’s 4ft:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Mixed group of gouramis & tankmates – stiny:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Tankmates with Samurai gourami:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Tankmates with Dwarf gourami - Jazzy:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Species of gourami to shoal:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Gourami with shrimp:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Pearl gourami eating snails:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Breeding gouramis:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...ighlight=honey
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Breeding pearl gouramis:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Courting vs aggressive behaviour descriptions, with link to video:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Sexing gouramis – particularly chocolates – unissuh:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
1 male per tank & iridovirus:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...ighlight=honey
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...ighlight=honey
Feeding chocolate gourami:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Pink giant gourami info:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Giant gourami – diet & tank size:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Various types of Trichogaster trichopterus - three spot/gold/blue/opaline gourami:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Liquorice gouramis:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
Gouramis for small tank:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...hlight=gourami
References:
Fishbase:
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/4728
Seriously fish:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species...opsis-vittata/
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croaking_gourami
Pics & threads with pics:
moisey
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...ut-6x2x2/page8
Photo thanks to moyiesy
Photo thanks to moyiesy
Photo thanks to moyiesy
Photo thanks to moyiesy
DE
3/11/2013