Animal-World > Aquarium Tropical Fish > Labyrinth Fish > Blue Gourami

Blue Gourami

Three-spot Gourami

Family: OsphronemidaeTrichogaster trichopterusPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The name, Three-spot Gourami, at first seems a bit of a mystery. This fish actually only has two spots, the third spot is generally considered to be the eye!

   These are a beautiful fish that get quite large, about 6 inches. The Blue Gourami, like the Gold Gourami, Platinum Gourami, and Opaline Gourami, is a color-morph of the Three-spot Gourami. The Blue Gourami and the Three-spot Gourami are identical except that the Blue Gourami has a hazy, whitish-blue coat.

   The Three-spot Gourami, like all the variants of this species, are generally considered good community fish when small but they are not as peaceful as the other gouramis. They have been known to attack smaller fish. They can also get belligerent or territorial when they get large.

   This species group is certainly one of the hardiest available to the aquarist, and makes an excellent first fish for people entering the hobby. They are long lived fish with each having a remarkably individual personality. They will use their pelvic fins to feel their environment and even feel their tank mates. They also seem to be quite aware of their owners.  

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Habitat: Distribution / Background

   The Three-spot Gourami are found in streams and rivers of the tropical Far East. The Blue Gourami are a captive bred color-morph of the Three-spot Gourami.
   Three-spot Gouramis are found in marshes, swamps, and canals. They inhabit shallow sluggish or standing-water with a lot of aquatic vegetation. Occurs in seasonally flooded forests throughout the middle and lower Mekong. Undertakes lateral migrations from the Mekong mainstream, or other permanent water bodies, to flooded areas during the flood season and returns to the permanent water bodies at the onset of the dry season. Feeds on zooplankton, crustaceans and insect larvae.

• Scientific Name: Trichogaster trichopterus
• Social Grouping: Groups - Can be kept singly, in pairs, or groups. If kept in a group make sure there are plenty of hiding places to keep one or more of the individuals from being bullied.
• IUCN Red List: NE - Not Evaluated or not listed - The Three-spot Gourami are not endangered. There are no wild populations of the Blue Gourami.

Description

   The body of the Three-spot Gourami and the Blue Gourami is somewhat compressed and elongated. The fins are rounded and relatively large. The ventral fins are threadlike and extremely sensitive. The body color is a pretty bluish tone, sometimes with a striped patterning. The Blue Gourami has a hazy, whitish-blue coat. There are two dark spots, one at about mid body and the other at the base of the tail. The third spot, from which its name 'Three-spot' is derived, is generally considered to be the eye. White spots extend on to the fins, giving them a very attractive pattern. This fish has a labyrinth organ, a part of the fish which allows it to absorb atmospheric oxygen directly into the bloodstream.

• Maximum Size: 5.0 inches (12.70 cm) - Six inches (15 cm) is a good length for this gourami to reach in the aquarium. They will breed at 3 inches (7.5 cm).

Fish Keeping Difficulty

• Aquarium Hardiness: Very Hardy
• Aquarist Experience Level: Beginner

Foods and Feeding

   The Three-spot Gourami and Blue Gourami, like all the variants of this species, are omnivores. These fish will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. A quality flake or pellet food makes a good base to the diet. Supplementation should include white worms, blood worms, brine shrimp, or any other suitable substitute. Fresh vegetables can be offered as well, blanched lettuce being a good option for many aquarists.
   These gouramis are extremely hardy fish. Although the labyrinth organ allows the fish to survive in oxygen depleted water, it is a common misconception that this makes water changes unnecessary. This is hardly the case as these fish will suffer the same tissue damage from built up toxins as any other fish. Regular water changes are a must with 25% weekly being recommended.
   The tank should be decorated in a way which allows both the dominant and quieter personality type fish to live happily. This means the construction of a few hiding places and some dense plant cover. This species appreciates the cover of floating plants. While juveniles can be easily housed in a 15 - 20 gallon aquarium, adults do better with at least 35 gallons.

An interesting characteristic of these gouramis (as well as the Pearl Gourami), is that they are well known for eating hydra. The hydra is a tiny pest that has tentacles with a venom. Very small fish that come in contact with the hydra are paralyzed by the venom and then held fast by the tentacles until eaten. If you have a hydra problem in your aquarium, here is your solution!

• Diet Type: Omnivore
• Flake Food: Yes
• Tablet Pellet: Yes
• Feeding Frequency: Several feedings per day

Aquarium Care

• Water Changes: Monthly

Aquarium Setup

• Minimum Tank Size: 25 gal (95 L)
• Substrate Type: Any
• Lighting Needs: Moderate - normal lighting
• Temperature: 72.0 - 82.0° F (22.2 - 27.8° C) - Keep the surrounding room temperature consistent with the water temperature to avoid causing trauma to the labyrinth organ.
• Range ph: 6.0-8.5
• Hardness Range: 5 - 35 dGH
• Brackish: No
• Water Movement: Weak - This fish will be bothered by a strong current in the tank, especially if the tank is small.
• Water Region: All - Top, middle, and bottom; the Three-spot Gourami or Blue Gourami will inhabit all levels of the aquarium.

Social Behaviors

   The Blue Gourami and Three-spot Gourami are generally considered a good community fish when small, but they are not as peaceful as the other gouramis. They have been known to attack smaller fish. When they get older, only keep them with fish their own size. Individuals will show varying degrees of aggression. Some will be very belligerent and will handle their tank mates quite roughly. Others will be peaceful to the point of shyness. The aquarist should be prepared to adapt their tank to suit all personality types.
   A mix of neutral personalities is an ideal goal for the range of tank mates. You should not include fish which will provoke this species into aggression as they are often passionate fighters. Fin nippers and gouramis should absolutely never be mixed, as the trailing pelvic fins and generally slower movement of this fish make it the perfect victim. Bullying between gouramis is a likely scenario as these fish, typical of the family, are fixated on constantly working out the details of the hierarchy. Being skilled hunters, extremely small fish or fish fry rarely last long.

• Venomous: No
• Temperament: Peaceful - Although the fish is calm, very small tankmates could be bullied.
• Same species - conspecifics: Yes
• Peaceful fish (): Safe
• Slow Swimmers & Eaters (): Monitor - Gouramis can be quick at feeding time. Make sure any fish that are not so quick get fed if you are keeping them with gouramis.

Sex: Sexual differences

   The male Blue Gourami and Three-spot Gourami has a longer and more pointed dorsal fin.

Breeding / Reproduction

   Like most fish in this family, the Blue Gouramis and Three-spot Gouramis are bubble nest builders. Their eggs as well as the fry, are lighter than water and float to the top. Breeding is moderately difficult, and finding a suitable pair is perhaps the biggest challenge. An individual breeding tank of 10 or more gallons should be set up. The water should be shallow, about 5 inches (13cm) being ideal. Tank current should be minimal. Many aquarists find that floating plants, or stem plants grown to the surface, or any other floating debris will help keep the bubble nest in place.
   A healthy pair of adults should be introduced into the breeding tank. The male will spend a lot of time building a large bubble nest. The two will spawn and eggs will be deposited in the nest. The female must be removed at this time or she risks being killed by the male. Fry will soon emerge and must be kept on fry food until they can swallow flake foods. This is when the male should be removed or he might eat the fry which emerge from the nest.

See the description of how to breed these fish in Breeding Freshwater Fish

• Ease of Breeding: Easy

Availability

   The Blue Gourami is readily available and specimens are moderately priced.

References

Animal-World References
Freshwater Fish and Plants Tropical Fish ~ Freshwater Fish ~ Aquatic Plants

Author: David Brough, CFS
Additional Information: "Yvonne"

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Lastest Comments on Blue Gourami View all 59 comments on Blue Gourami Add Your Comment

Elvin O Lopez - 2005-04-07 I have a blue gourami in a 20 gallon fish tank. all my other fish are different types of gouramis. ones a pearl gourami, ones a dwarf gourami (which im a litle worried about because it tends to get chased alot by my blue gourami and im worried because dwarf gouramis are expensive), and i also have two pink kissing gourami which dont cause trouble. Now ive noticed that my fish are usually hiding from my blue gourami and most of the time when they go up to get their food they get chased. and so im a little worried about my fish and the beauty of my tank. well to much of your enjoyment ive found a rather surprising solution to my problem. evertime my blue gourami chases my other fish i seperate him from them and after a while of doing that he suddenly stopped chasing my fish. it worked for me and i hope it works for you. Jeremy Roche - 2012-04-18 That can work, but it can also create undo stress on the Blue Gourami. Moving the decor sometimes works as well. Takes their attention of the other fish and on it's surroundings. Reply

sandy mclintock - 2012-01-25 I have put two blue guramis in large tank with other fish all put in tank at same time. The blue guramis bully and chase one larger marbled angel fish, who has a fin missing (like it when we got him) all the time but don't seem to bother any other fish. Will this stop in time? I don't know what sex they are. I was wondering whether to take them back to the fish centre and change them, but I really like the blue guramis as they are so attractive. Charlie Roche - 2012-01-25 Yes, they are attractive but there is no way to know if they will stop bullying the marbled angel fish. Mayb it's a chase game, maybe it is I don't want you in here or in my territory - If you like the gouramis - keep them and then watch or remove the angel fish if there are any major signs of agression. Just could be newness. sandy mclintock - 2012-01-25 Thanks, I will keep an eye on them, I feel sorry for the poor old angel fish! Charlie Roche - 2012-01-25 Yeah, I feel sorry for the Angel fish also. Maybe the Gouramis that are new are just making sure they have their terriotry or maybe there is agression going on. Real hard to tell. If agression, just move the angel fish and get that little one another angel to play with. Shawn Handley Jr. - 2012-04-05 I once had a blue gourami that was so mean that I caught a blue gill from a pond and put it in a tank with him and he killed it and it was the same size as him. Reply

James - 2012-03-26 Hey my blue gouramis just laid eggs and the fry hatched early this morning. Both parents are still in there but I am going to remove them both later today but what can I feed the fry? Jeremy Roche - 2012-03-26 You will need to lower the water level down to about half to make it easier for the fry to get to the top. Do this with a sponge. You can feed them newly hatched brine shrimp or liquid fry food. Good luck! Reply

jason - 2012-01-29 Hello I have a 3 spot gourami and 3 blue gouramies, 4 mollies, 4 guppies, 6 ghost shrimp, a few fish that look like minnows from africa, and a pleco all in a 16 gallon bowfront tank and they all seem to be doing superb and don't bother each other at all. My gouramis bullied each other at first but I think they got used to each other.. and yes I do know my tanks slightly crowded but it seems like all my fish have tons of room to swim play and hide if they like.. I also have a ten gallon tank with 3 fire belly toads. 2 females and a male.. we see and hear them getting busy but we still haven't seen any eggs in the tank.. we have gravel on one side with other side flooded out for their swimming pleasures.. Reply

amber cunningham - 2012-01-11 i have 3 gouramis 2 girls 1 male one is a three spot one is a powder blue and the last is a opal type one i think (looks like connected spots on the sides) will they be able to mate Alex Burleson - 2012-01-11 Gouramis, are not commonly bred in home aquariums as fish such as guppies, or platies. It would take a great deal of steps to get them to breed. Generally, they do not interbreed, however it is possible. Reply

ann - 2012-01-06 I have one male blue which is territorial it killed my baloon molies previously, it also killed one of the female variety of its own species......quit worried about its unnatural behaviour. any idea................................. Reply

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