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

Pearl Gourami

Mosaic Gourami ~ Leeri Family: Osphronemidae

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Trichogaster leerii Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The gorgeous Pearl Gourami have earned their name from their beautiful iridescent 'pearl' patterning!

   The Pear Gourami are some of the most beautiful of all fishes. Despite being relatively large fish, usually 3 - 4 inches (7.5 - 10 cm), they are among the most peaceful fish of this size. They are quite hardy and their pleasant demeanor make them a perfect community fish. They do tend to be shy however so will do best in a roomy tank with open swimming space, but also lots of plants. They are also easy to breed.

   Some labyrinth fish have voices!...and the Pearl Gourami is no exception. The fish has a kind of vocalization that sounds like croaking, or growling, or cracking tones. This is generally most pronounced during breeding or with territorial type behavior, but whether it has any special function is unknown.

   Another interesting characteristic of the Pearl Gourami is that they are well known for eating hydra. This is also a characteristic of the Blue (Three-spot) Gourami and its color morphs. 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 by the hydra. If you have a hydra problem in your aquarium, here is your solution!

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

Distribution:
   The Pearl Gourami was described by Bleeker in 1852. They are found in the tropical Far East; Malay Peninsula, Penang, Thailand, Sumatra, and Borneo. They inhabit shallow ponds and lakes with dense vegetation.

Status:
   These fish are not endangered.

Description:
   The body of the Opaline Gourami is somewhat compressed and is elongated. The dorsal and anal fins become long and flowing pennants, especially in the male. The ventral fins are threadlike and extremely sensitive. The body color is a brown to reddish brown covered with white pearly dots, from which its name is derived, that extend onto the fins and tail. There is a broken brown stripe running horizontally mid body. Below this line some darker spots intermingle with the white spots.This fish has a labyrinth organ, a part of the fish which allows it to absorb atmospheric oxygen directly into the bloodstream.

Size - Weight:
   These fish generally get up to 3 - 4 inches (7.5 - 10 cm), though they can reach just under 5 inches (12 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivores, the Pearl Gourami 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 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.
   Pearl Gouramis enjoy an aquarium that is roomy but with more subdued lighting. 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. While juveniles can be easily housed in a 15 - 20 gallon aquarium, adults do better with at least 35 gallons.

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: 74 - 82° F (24 -28° C)
   Hardness: 5 - 30° dGH
   Ph: 6.5 to 8.5

Social Behaviors:
   The Pearl Gourami is a very peaceful fish, even relatively so when in breeding mode. These fish make excellent 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.

Sexual Differences:
   The male is more slender, has longer more pointed dorsal and anal fins, and develops a red breast when courting.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   When they are breeding, the males develop a brilliant red hue. Males will also participate in mouth combat like many cichlid species. Like most fish in this family, these fish are bubble nest builders and their nest will be quite large. One peculiarity of the Pearl Gourami is that they will spit grains of sand into their nest and can develop a rather large sand hill underneath of it! Their eggs as well as the fry, are lighter than water and float to the top.

Buy Pearl Gourami From LiveAquaria.com

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

Availability:
   The Pearl Gourami is readily available and reasonably priced. Specimens will be about $4 - $8 USD.

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Latest Comments
I have had many fish. Last year a tragic accident happened to my Pearl Gouramis. One died of a terrible disease and the other was trying to keep the babies safe, but also died by fighting a betta. We had seven surviving babies and it's been four months and suprisingly they already have babies! Sami 2008-07-30
I love the Pearls and keep a 80 centemeter long tank basically for these guys, which seem to survive in the hard water here in Israel. The males do develop vivid breeding colors, though have not bred. I hear this is because I have some other fish with them. Anyway, keeping one is okay but nothing like having a pair-- and there's nothing like having a group of four or five! They are very very social, coherting with one another with their "feelers." Now for something really interesting: one of the males goes near the tank bottom, stands on his head, then a Corydoras aneus comes around and tickles his sides for about two minutes. The Pearl goes up for air and the two repeat this behavior. It reminds me of saltwater cleaning wrasses. Anyway, it proves that even fish like this sort of thing. Yehoshua Cirt 2006-08-05
I had 2 of this fish 3 to 4 months ago. A male and female, Jericho and Pearla. Jericho died a week after I bought them. Pearla is all alone after his death. But after 2 months I had enough money to buy her some Neon Tetra friends. They are doing great, but the tetras and Pearla are never swimming close to each other. She is still alive. 2 of my tetras died.(I had 4 tetras) She such a strong fish. This is a fish I recommend to keep with tetras, mollies or bottom-dwellers. Devon Chew 2006-06-15
I just purchased a male and female pearl gourami and by god, they are two of the coolest fish I've ever had. The female is so friendly and curious. I swear she knows me because every time I approach the tank or open it to feed them, she is right there at the surface. She lets me run my finger along her sides and comes back beggin for more. the male is a little less social, but he sure does protect the heck out of her. At first I thought he was nipping at her and irritating her, but I have since realized that if fish could fall in love these two most certainly are! I definately recommend this species because they are very friendly and they do not bother other fish, whatsoever. On top of all of this, they are really really really pretty. ruth salles 2006-03-16
I have four pearl gouramis and at first they hid whenever you looked at them. Then after a while they got used to the tank and swam around exploring everywhere and were always the first for food. Then I Bought a golden Severum and since them the two males always hide and the females sort of do. i think the severum bullies them a bit and they are scared of him Brendan 2006-02-04
Some of the coolest comments:
I recently bought a pair of pearl gouramis. They hid behind the plants for the first few days. I decided to turn down the bubbles in my internal filter until there was almost no surface ripples. Immediately, they started to explore the tank and swimming with my bala shark and barbs. They are great fun to watch. Dan 2005-04-13
I just added a male Pearl Gourami to my 20 gallon tank. He is a beautiful fish and my current favorite. The tank includes 1 Opaline Gourami, 2 Dwarf Gouramis, 2 Rainbow Fish, 7 Neon Tetras, 3 Harlequin Rasboras, and 3 Pristella Tetras. So far it is a very peaceful and colorful tank. I could sit and watch them for hours! Bailey 2003-10-01

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Author: David Brough, CFS