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

Gold Gourami

Family: Osphronemidae - Subfamily: Luciocephalinae

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Trichogaster trichopterus Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The beautiful color of the Gold Gourami makes this a very desirable addition to an aquarium, but it does get big and can become belligerent to small tank mates!

   The Gold Gourami, like the Blue Gourami, Platinum Gourami, and Opaline Gourami, is a color morph of the Three-spot Gourami and is therefore very similar. The difference in the Gold Gourami is the lack of the three spots and the gold coloration.

   The Gold 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. Because they can get quite large, about 6 inches, they will soon out grow a small aquarium and will need to be provided with more space.

   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

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

Distribution:
   The Gold Gourami is a captive bred color-morph of the Three-spot Gourami. Three-spot Gouramis are found in streams and rivers of the tropical Far East.
   Found in marshes, swamps, and canals, the Three-spot Gourami inhabits 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.

Status:
   There are no wild populations of the Gold Gourami.

Description:
   The body of the Gold 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 gold tone with a deeper toned striped patterning along the back. The two dark spots seen on the Three-spot Gourami are absent. 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.

Size - Weight:
   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).

Care and feeding:
   The Gold 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!

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   Top, middle, and bottom; the Gold Gourami will inhabit all levels of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   This fish will be bothered by a strong current in the tank, especially if the tank is small. It is also 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: 77-86° F (25-30° C)
   Hardness: 5 - 35° dH
   Ph: 6.0 to 8.8

Social Behaviors:
   The Gold 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.

Sexual Differences:
   The male has a longer and more pointed dorsal fin.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Like most fish in this family, the Gold 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.

Buy Gold Gourami From LiveAquaria.com

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

Availability:
   The Gold Gourami is readily available. Specimens will be about $4 - $6 USD each.

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Latest Comments
Hello everyone, I have a 55 gallon tank. I started off with two gold Gourami's and two blue. One blue jumped out of the tank through the opening of my water fall filter system. I also have a 10 inch Sailfin leopard pleco and 6 purple Zebra Cichlids, two Emerald Cory Cats, 10 Kribs (Cichild family) and a Bala Black tip shark. Everyone gets along fine and they all kmow the pecking order. The Kribs and the Purple Striped Zebra Cichlids keep the Gold Gourami's in check. As I'm writing this letter the sole Blue male Gourami is making bubbles at the top of the water. I feel he should check with the other gold male before he gets any ideas. Bill De Vinney 2008-06-29
I recently added 2 gold gouramis to my thirty gallon aquarium that also has 3 peppered corydoras catfish in it. The smaller of the two gouramis constantly chases the larger one around the tank. I know this is not because they are both males as I know one is female, the other fish's sex is unknown. I'm not sure why the larger fish allows the smaller to bully it, however they are quite beautiful and make a good addition to an aquarium. Matt F 2008-06-28
I had my black ghost knife for about 5 weeks along with some barbs, silver tip shark, and an african catfish. Well, yesterday my son bought 2 pearl kissing fish with his birthday money. They were fairly large, about 4 inchs, but really wide. The ghost is about 2-3 inches and slim. We put them in the tank and came back in about 10 mins to see how they were and to feed all the fish, and they had kissed my ghost knife to death. He was already dead when I came back to the tank and they were still kissing/attacking his poor body. I was very angry and I took both kissing fish back to the pet store the same day and got my money back. The sales person was even nice enough to give me another ghost knife as well. Anonymous 2008-04-10
In the early days of my tank I had 2 Gold and two Dwarf Blue Gourami along with other smaller fish, mainly tetras. One Gold Gourami grew more rapidily than the other Gouramis and was extremely agressive towards the other three, harassing them until each died in a very short time. Since then it has become docile, prefering to stay hidden in a pipe except at feeding time. Now it is the perfect tank inhabitant. Ideally I would like to introduce more dwarf Gourami but I would expect the same fate for them. So not having the heart to dispose of the bully, I will have to wait. Kevin 2007-09-13
I just added 2 gold gouramis to my tank consisting of some nasty barbs (3-banded apparently) that attack everything, a redtail shark, a large pleco, a parrotfish, and a blue crayfish (approx. 4 inches). A strange combination of fish I agree but they are all working well together. The barbs usually pick on anything in the tank or the crayfish gets a hold of a slow fish. The gouramis have lasted so far which I'm quite impressed with since everything else seems to mysteriously disappear... alicia 2007-01-03
Some of the coolest comments:
I have 2 Gold Gouramis in a tank with 2 Angelfish and a Zebra Pleco and they all do just fine together. Both of my Gouramis came from the same tank and are about 3-4 inches long and were very healthy when we bought them and they still are. I must say that this fish is rather easy to take care of, but they are VERY skiddish, even more so than the Angels. Also if you have not one of these fish already, and you plan to buy one, be cautious on the first few weeks because they get so much more stressed out than the other fish upon new tank entry. Katie 2006-07-10
I am the proud mother of two adult Three Spot Gourami and one (recently added) juvenile Gold Gourami. When my Three Spotters were younger, one was always bigger than the other, and they would chase each other, the smaller, paler one often being cowed. Now, however, they have grown to about the same size (4.5 inches) and are great friends. No territorial issues or anything besides hte occasional playful chase, but they never hurt each other anymore. When I added my Gold, I was worried because I have read so much about gourami being violent towards smaller fish, but I have had a no serious problems. I actually saw my gold chasing one of my adults! It was adorable. They all swim whereever they wish in my tank, and get along well. No problems with the homicidal tendancies that so many complain about, either. Wonderful fish! And so hardy, they can handle most temperatures and water conditions, and eat just about anyting they can fit in their mouths. Angela 2004-09-09
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
I am a proud owner of several fish that people said would not go along together, but so far so good! My 5 different Gouramis are some of my fish that no one said could be peaceful, but I thought in a large tank and enough hiding spots they might work. Its been 5 months and they have been great. They have quite a personality and they are so beautiful! Thank you to Animal-World with all your pages of information on fish, it has helped many people I know.! Brook C. 2005-11-28

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

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