Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Labyrinth Fish > Honey Gourami

Honey Gourami

Honey Dwarf Gourami ~ Red Flame Honey Gourami Family: Osphronemidae

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Trichogaster chuna Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Marie Steele

   One established, the Honey Gourami is a beautiful fish and very desirable for a smaller aquarium!

   The Honey Gourami are pretty little fish that are fairly easy to maintain. They are not as popular as their close relative the Dwarf Gourami. This is presumably due to the fact that their coloring is quite bland in a retail setting, they may even be mistaken for female Dwarf Gouramis. However once they become acclimated and comfortable in their own environment, their truly beautiful colors begin to come out.

   They have a great appetite and are not in the least bit picky about what foods they will eat. The Honey Gouramis are the smallest members of the Colisa genus. Males will only reach about 1 1/2" and the larger females will grow no more than 2". Being a peaceful fish makes them a good addition to a community tank but they can be a little timid, especially if housed with fish that pester them. These fish are very desirable for a smaller aquarium. Be sure to provide them with lots of plant cover so they have plenty of places to hide. Ideally place plants along the back of the aquarium, have some floating plants, and leave open spaces in the front for them to swim.

   Characteristic of all the Labyrinth fishes, the Honey Gourami is a bubble nest builder. It does not use vegetation in its nest as the Dwarf Gourami does, but it will build the nest under a leaf if available. There are a couple of behaviors that are unique to this species. In courting the male is not as aggressive towards the female as the Dwarf Gourami. Rather he will display vertically in front of the female, then swim towards the nest a bit to encourage her to follow. He will repeat the displaying and swimming until they reach the nest and begin to spawn. The male will also spit water droplets in both brood care and to catch prey. Spitting water above the nest bubbles forces them down into the water where he can arrange them back in the nest.

   The beautiful Red Flame Honey Gourami is a variety of the Honey Gourami. It looks similar to the Honey Gourami but has a bright blue dorsal fin. The Honey Gourami is also more orange than red and has a darker belly and dorsal fin.

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

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   The Honey Gourami or Honey Dwarf Gourami was first described by Hamilton, F. [Buchanan] in 1822 as Colisa Chuna, today it is described as Trichogaster chuna. This fish It is found in the rivers and lakes of Asia: India and Bangladesh. They typically inhabit areas with thick vegetation in soft, mineral poor waters.
   This term Colisa Soto has also been used to describe the female of this species. Reportedly there is also a species described as Colisa Soto that has rarely been imported. But whether this fish is the female of this species or a separate species that deserves special ranking has not yet been determined.

Status:
   The Honey Gourami are not endangered.

Description:
   The body of the Honey Gourami is somewhat compressed and similar to that of the Dwarf Gourami, though slightly narrower and the dorsal and anal fins are not as large. The ventral fins are threadlike and extremely sensitive. The basic coloring is a silvery gray to light yellow with a light brown horizontal band mid body. Females retain this coloring while males develop more coloration when in nest building and spawning mode. The sides of the male's body, the anal and caudal fins, and the posterior portion of the dorsal fin will become bright honey-yellow or reddish-orange. The dorsal fin will become a brighter gold and the face, throat, and belly will become bluish black.This fish has a labyrinth organ, a part of the fish which allows it to absorb atmospheric oxygen directly into the bloodstream.

Size - Weight:
   One and a half inches (4 cm) is a good length for this gourami to reach in the aquarium, though females can get slightly larger up to two inches (5 cm). The Honey Gourami is the smallest member of the Colisa genus.

Care and feeding:
   Since the Honey Gouramis are omnivores, these fish will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a quality flake or pellet food as the base to the diet. Supplement this with live foods such as white worms, blood worms, brine shrimp, or any other suitable substitute. Vegetable tablets can be offered as well.
   These gouramis are fairly 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 manner that provides plenty of hiding places for this shy fish to live happily. They appreciate dense vegetation and the cover of floating plants. They can be housed in smaller aquariums. The minimum size is 5 gallons for a single fish, but a pair will need at least a 20 gallon tank.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in primarily in the middle and top portions of the aquarium

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   It is desirable to keep the tank in a room with a temperature as close as possible to the tank water, or risk damaging the labyrinth organ.
   Temperature: 72 - 82° F (22 - 28° C), 80° F(27° C) for reproduction
   Hardness: up to 15 dGH, 8 ° dGH for the reproduction
   Ph: 6.0 to 7.5, 7.0 for the reproduction

Social Behaviors:
   The Honey Gourami are generally a good community fish. They are timid, however, and may take a bit of time to become comfortable in an aquarium and come out of hiding. Keep them with other peaceful fish. Once they are happily established the male's coloring will begin to show.

Sexual Differences:
   The male becomes much more colorful when in breeding mode. The female is larger than the male, but her coloring does not change. Pairs will generally swim together.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Like most fish in this family, Honey Gouramis are bubble nest builders. It does not use vegetation in its nest as the Dwarf Gourami does, but it will build the nest under a leaf if available. In courting the male is not as aggressive towards the female as the Dwarf Gourami. Rather he will display vertically in front of the female, then swim towards the nest a bit encouraging her to follow. He will repeat the displaying and swimming until they reach the nest and begin to spawn.
  The eggs as well as the fry, are lighter than water and float to the top. The male will spit water droplets above the nest bubbles forces them down into the water where he can arrange them back in the nest.

Buy Honey Dwarf Gourami From LiveAquaria.com

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

Availability:
   The Honey Gourami or Honey Dwarf Gourami is generally available, though not seen as regularly as the Dwarf Gourami. Males will be about $4 - $7 USD each with females (or purchasing by the pair) usually being a little less.

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Latest Comments
I have had these fish in my 20 gallon tank for a few monthes now, and I have to say, they are by far the best fish I own. Very peaceful, and I have even gotten some fry from them. I will never give them away! The coolest part, is that my father got them as a birthday present for me. Alyssa 2008-05-18
rfg is alittle agressive to my gdg and is bullying on others only when they do something to him. but when every thing settled down everyone gets along great! im thinking of geting some females to make it interesting if you know what i mean Jordan 2006-01-19
I have 2 Honey Gouramis in a 20 gallon tank, and I really enjoy them! Mine are very peaceful and do not bother any of my other fish (I have 15 other fish: various tetras, barbs, and a pleco.) The only thing that I have noticed is that they don't seem to eat. My tetras are such aggressive eaters that the food is usually gone by the time the gouramis even realized it was there. Other than that, the two are always playing with one another and following each other around. Great fish to have in a community aquarium. Nicole S. 2005-12-06
Two of my Red Flame gouramis bullied my three angels and Red Flame and Powdered Blue gouramis, but less than a week later, after the others settled in, the two bullies stopped. The others fought back. The thing is no harm was ever done; it was all a show, at least it seemed to me. The interesting this is that these two never bothered the Pearl Gourami. Nowadays, I am more concerned about my greyish-blue angel because he has become the super bully of the bunch, and he nipped off 1/2 of one of the antennas of my golden angel's. The golden angel, on the other hand, bit off a portion of the bottom fin from that greyish-blue, perhaps to assert his rights. While the third angel is standoffish like an angel should. It's all beyond me. The curious thing is all my gouramis chase each other, including the angels, but no harm happens. It's more like a dance, and it's actually fun to watch. By two in the morning, practically all of the gouramis even cuddle up in their silk (plants) nests. guarami-angel 2005-10-26
we got 2 red flame honey gouramis with bunch of different kinds of fish. oh my god, they are pretty strong. Only these gouramis survived while all the rest of fish have died. They are aggressive, too, but we would like to call them "active." They are huge glutons, too. We got two corys afterwards, but these gouramis eat everything whenever we feed them, so those poor corys are starving! But we love our gouramis, they are so cute, they swim around between rocks and plants, any small cracks they found. They seem to be very curious creatures, and they are never afraid of us, rather like us, while our corys get frightened when we approach to a tank. omg poor corys~ John & Julie 2005-09-10
Some of the coolest comments:
These fish are, indeed, a color morph of the honey gourami. As such, they also are 'colisa chuna/sota' (it's either c. chuna or c. sota depending on how up-to-date your sources are) and can inter-breed with the 'wild-type' honey gourami freely. Males grow slightly larger than females and are more brightly colored. the females are also deeper-bodied and wider if viewed from above while the males look skinnier and more stream-lined. Males also develop more of a point to their dorsal and anal fins (look at the picture provided on the website). The 'wild-type' honey gourami males also rurn a dark blue-black color around their ventral area when in breeding condition. This morph does not always show this so don't let that confuse you. Just in case anyone is interested, I'd like to add that the two 'feelers' or 'antennae' people often reffer to are modified ventral (also called pelvic) fins. They are used to explore and taste objects - or other fish as it might be - and are useful for finding food in dark or murky waters. these fish do best in trios - 1 male and 2 females - with at least 5 gallons per fish. Males are territorial but won't be aggressive unless kept in too small a tank. Females are social and enjoy other females' company but are likely to get chased by males which is why keeping mroe than one female per male is important - it means the male devides his attention between the two so neither is unduly stressed. You can also keep males alone or females in a single-sex group. These are a wonderful fish to keep. hardier than dwarf gouramies, which are another popular species, and smaller but just as colorful. Sylvia 2005-12-31
I must admit that I was surprised to find my male Red Flame being aggressive...no one in the fish store said they would be. I have had gold, blue, opaline, etc and they never were. I thought only the Kissing Gouramis were aggressive? He is chasing every fish in the tank. I have a female Red Flame and 3 Black Skirt Tetras too and I am rather irritated at it. One of my black skirt tetras tails has been chewed and he chases the female all the time. She stays hidden in the fake log we have until he chases her out again. He was chasing her away from feeding and the tetras, but not as much as her, last night. The tetras chase each other some too but not like this male. He is a big coward too, panics every time we come near the tank. jrdpa 2003-12-12

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Author: Clarice Brough, CFS

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