# Breeding gouramis



## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

hi,
i'm new at breeding gouramis and would love to know any info on how to do this. i have the pair in a seprate tank, i feed the blood worms and a mix between tetra and brine shrimp,and i chnage the water every weekend. At all the sites that i looked at it says that the male will start bothering the female after they laid their eggs but for some odd reason my male is doing it right now. I also would like to know how do u distinguish if a female is pregnant or not. Thanks for all the help.
Mike


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Please answer these for more assistance:

Size of tank

filtration

temperature

KIND of gourami

other fish present

using tap water?

what kind of setup? (plants, etc etc etc)

water parameters

how long you have had them

are you sure it is male and female

have you ever bred fish before


~~~If you are dedicated and patient you can almost guaranteed spawn your gouramis, barring the possibility that you have a very rare and finnicky species such as labiosa or fasciata


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

Size of tank 5 gallons

filtration sponge

temperature 30 c

KIND of gourami pearl

other fish present no

using tap water? NO

what kind of setup? (plants, etc etc etc) flowting plants, fake, anchored plants

water parameters huh? 

how long you have had them 2 years

are you sure it is male and female yes defenitly

have you ever bred fish before not these ones but mollies,playties,guppies and swordtails


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

fishlover93 said:


> Size of tank 5 gallons
> 
> filtration sponge
> 
> ...


NOOOO dude what are you _doing??_

http://www.fishlore.com/Pictures/Profiles/pearlgourami-lg.jpg

Pearl gouramis hit five inches easy if properly cared for! That's terrible that you have them in a five gallon. I can't discus this any further with you until you move them to a tank that is at absolute bare minimum 30"x12". Anything less is a little cruel. A 20 Gallon would be quasi acceptable but its too cramped. Ideally these guys need 36x12 but 30x12 will do.

I dont know where you read or were told that this was big enough- but its way way too small. Something like SIX TIMES too small actually, which is a lot!


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

sry i actually read a page saying it should be enogh for a 10 gallon and thats wat i have i just accidently rote 5


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

hey're the site http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/gourami/breedingpearl.php this is were it says a 10 gallon is fine and i'm just goin by wat they say


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

If you read carefully they say its ok to spawn them in that not keep them in that.

I disagree very strongly. A 10 gallon is still way too small. These fish can really move and really like to explore. 

You could theoretically place both fish in the 10, monitor, wait for the spawn, then remove them- but then why not have them in a 3o?

NEVER ever ever ever ever take what these sites say seriously. Myfishtank or Aquaworld or Bobsfish is just a load of crapp. I could pull anything I want out of thin air and write an article and post it on the internet.

I've seen so much wrong info I wonder why people bother...


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

Pablo said:


> If you read carefully they say its ok to spawn them in that not keep them in that.
> 
> I disagree very strongly. A 10 gallon is still way too small. These fish can really move and really like to explore.
> 
> ...


the reason is that gouramis won't spawn unless they're alone. i also do not have a 30 gallon tank since i have a 10 gallon and a 40 gallon but thats the community tank which they won't spawn in. and thanks for the advice on the sites i won't take them as siriously.


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

You have to check more than one site to get a good idea of what is good care for certain types of fish.

Just because one site says a 10 gallon is fine doesn't mean it actually is. You have to be careful and use common sense. If the fish is known to grow up to 5", then obviously they will need larger tank.

A 10g will probably work for a young pearl gourami that's 2-3". As they get bigger it becomes obvious they need more space than a 10g.

I also keep pearl gouramies, but in a 55g. They are definitely very active and easy to care for, but they do need more space than a 10g when they become adult sized. I would say minimum is 30g for an adult pair.

A breeding tank is different from a normal tank. It is meant to be short term to entice the fish to breed, otherwise not designed for long term care.

minimum 100l = 26 gallon - http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_leeri.php 
40 gallons minimum - http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=21043&pid=190699&st=0&#entry190699
At least 10-20 gallon for a small pair - http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Trichogaster leerii.html
At least 80cm long tank - http://www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/Articles/The_Labyrinth_Fishes_Part_1.html
minimum 60l = 15 gallon, any size larger *greatly recommended* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_gourami

You can make them grow in your 40g, then breed them in a 10g.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

fishlover93 said:


> the reason is that gouramis won't spawn unless they're alone. i also do not have a 30 gallon tank since i have a 10 gallon and a 40 gallon but thats the community tank which they won't spawn in. and thanks for the advice on the sites i won't take them as siriously.


Really? So all those gouramis I've spawned with other fish around must have been really high on something 

Seriously- *Do not* take information from these _'sites'_ seriously


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

well pablo wat did u do to make them spawn in the tank? cause my dad's friend has bred gouramis for more than 20 years and says that they will not spawn in a tank with other fish. i also want to know how will they spawn because i ave the male ready to mate by his coloration and the female is ready by her size and i also had her longer then i did with the male.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

fishlover93 said:


> well pablo wat did u do to make them spawn in the tank? cause my dad's friend has bred gouramis for more than 20 years and says that they will not spawn in a tank with other fish. i also want to know how will they spawn because i ave the male ready to mate by his coloration and the female is ready by her size and i also had her longer then i did with the male.


All you need is a very calm section of tank with lots of floating plants where a large bubblenest can be built undisturbed.

Any other fish must be very unaggressive, and stay away from the gouramis, which is why a big tank is good.

Ive spawned them with corys in the tank, plecos, some of the larger tetras.

Certainly another imposing fish like angels etc would be a no-no, and no doubt, the more peaceful fish-free environment is _better_-- but not if what you can provide is not big enough


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