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Opaline GouramiFamily: Osphronemidae
Latest Reader Comment - See More We bought three Opaline Gouramis for a 20 gallon high. I found out that I had one male and two females. The male and one female kept attacking the other female, so I... (more) Karen 2007-06-27
The Opaline Gourami, a long time favorite with aquarists, is a very attractive fish available in a variety of color patterns!Like the Blue Gourami, Gold Gourami, and Platinum Gourami, this gourami is a color morph of the Three-spot Gourami. Like all the variants of this species, the Opaline Gourami is 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. 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. Besides being a color morph of the Three-spot Gourami, the Opaline Gouramiit has also been bred commercially in various color forms of its own. Because inbreeding is common in its genetic history, it is in the aquarist’s best interest to take extra care when choosing specimens. Look for a well formed fish, free of skeletal or other deformity, and without obvious injury. Sulking or resting on the bottom is never a good sign. For more Information on keeping this fish see:
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| Geographic Distribution Trichogaster trichopterus |
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| Point data provided by FishBase.org |
Distribution:
The Opaline Gourami is a man made variant of theThree-spot Gourami which is found in streams and rivers of
the tropical Far East.
Status:
There are no wild populations of this species.
Description:
The body of the Opaline Gourami is somewhat compressed and is elongated. The fins are rounded and relatively large. The ventral fins are threadlike and extremely sensitive. The body color is a pale bluish tone with a darker marble-like patterning that varies with each color form. There are usually dark blotches at the pectoral fins and at the base of the tail and white spots that 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 the Opaline Gourami to reach in the aquarium. They will breed at 3 inches
(7.5 cm).
Care and feeding:
Since the Opaline Gouramis, like all varieties of the Three-spot Gourami,
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.
Opaline 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
Opaline 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: 2-25° dH
Ph: 6.0-7.8
Social Behaviors:
The Opaline Gourami is 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. The Opaline Gourami is also a skilled hunter and 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 Opaline 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.
For more information, see the description of how to breed labyrinth fish in Breeding
Freshwater Fish.
Availability:
The Opaline Gourami is readily available. Specimens will be about $4 - $5 USD each.
Click to see All the comments!
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| Latest Comments |
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| We bought three Opaline Gouramis for a 20 gallon high. I found out that I had one male and two females. The male and one female kept attacking the other female, so I moved her out to another tank. Then the male kept attacking the remaining female so I moved her out to the other tank. Then the two females were attacking each other and I moved the first moved female back into the 20 high with the male and kept the lights off because I had to decide on which one would go back to the store.
When I turned on the lights to feed them, I saw all the fry skipping across the surface and the male moving them back into the nest. I moved the female and am waiting the 5 days to move the male and hopefully raise some babies.
2007-06-27 |
| Being familiar with other tropical freshwater fish we stumbled upon what proved to be an excellent deal at a local market. In a container of water with a number of other fish were nine assorted 1 inch gouramis 2 Gold M/F 2 threespot M/F 2 Platinum M/F 2 Pearls M/F and one Female Opaline. We put all these in one 3 foot tank. 2 months later we needed to remove the golds(new 3' tank) as they had outgrown their tankmates and the male was beating up all the others. Next the 3spots and Opaline had to go(New tank 4'). The male 3 spot enjoyed being on his own and began preparations to build his nest. His nest never had any bubbles though he did try and eventually mated with both females over about 4 days. We thought no nest = no fry. Boy were we wrong !! Needing glasses to see we noticed little specks floating around and were amazed to see hundreds of babies at the freeswimming stage. All adult fish removed(new 4'tank) and now we have a healthy family of about 30 well developed fry. We have decided to call all the boys Nemo :O)some more opalines are sure to come from these we hope.
2007-03-16 |
| In my heavily planted aquarium with plenty of driftwood, my waterscape resembles an underwater jungle. I bought my first 2 opaline gouramis recently since all I had in my 33long was tiny cherry barbs(10), Rummy noses(5), 2 von rios, Figure 8(1), Julie Corys(3), Albino Cats(2), and 1 pleco. everyone seems to get along fine. I have a pair, so the male one with the longer/straighter Dorsal likes to chase the female(short/rounder dorsal). one thing though, they are very sociable. they will peck at my hand when I'm in there messing with the Driftwoods and plants, and they loooovvee to eat! and S--t alot too! They love Krill, Hikari Bloodworms, and Optimum flakes, but if you don't want to spend alot on a expensive diet they will eat anything! I love their purple bluish color when they are in a chillin" mood and when the water parameters are pristine, very important! keep up with the water changes with these fish, like I said, They S--t ALOT!
2006-10-04 |
| I HAVE 2 OPALINE GOURAMIS, 2 BLEEDING HEART TETRAS, 2 BLACK WIDOW TETRAS, AND AN ALGAE EATER IN A 29 GAL TANK. THEY ALL GET ALONG GREAT. I ADDED THE GOURAMIS ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO AND NO INJURIES OR ANYTHING OF THAT SORT YET! HOPEFULLY ALL WORKS OUT GREAT. I LOVE THE GOURAMIS!!
2006-08-23 |
| I have a 29 Gallon tank with a Dwarf Red Gourami, Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami, 2 Pink Kissing Gourami's, 1 Opaline Gourami, 1 Gold Gourami, and 1 Snakeskin Gourami with about 30 medium to large goldfish (the most common ones you see in stores), 2 Sailfin Mollies, 10 Guppies, 15 Rosy Reds and 3 Pleco's. The Snakeskin tends to engage in "mock" battles with the Opaline and Gold since they are his size (opaline being slightly bigger), but all in all I have various hiding places, 3 water filtration pumps (10 Gal, 20 Gal, and 100 Gal) and they are not really territorial with eachother or the other fish, even the mollies are docile. Though cleaning is an interesting prospect with 3 Gourami's "feeling" your hand and arm and taking nibbles at you or "charging" your hand
2006-05-16 |
| Some of the coolest comments: |
| I just got one of these fish and it is getting along great. For those with problems keeping two....try getting a third or fourth. It is said that when you keep two, the one will dominate the other, but if there is more they will settle down. 2003-10-25 |
| I had 2 male Opaline Gouramis that chased each other constantly. I found another home for one of them, and added a male Pearl Gourami, 2 Rainbow Fish (male and female), and 3 Harlequin Rasboras. Everyone seems to be getting along fine so far. The Opaline Gourami nipped at the tails of the Rainbow Fish at first, but seems to have settled down now. The 20 gallon tank now consists of 1 Pearl Gourami, 1 Opaline Gourami,2 Dwarf Gouramis, 7 Neon Tetras, 3 Pristella Tetras, 2 Rainbow Fish, and 3 Harlequin Rasboras. So far everything is going well. 2003-10-01 |
Author: David Brough, CFS
Additional Informaton: "Yvonne"
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