Snakeskin Gourami

Distribution:
   The Snakeskin Gourami was described by Regan in 1910. It is found in the tropical far east; Thailand and Cambodia to southern Viet Nam, Malaysia, Mekong basin in Laos, Malakka, and the Chao Phraya basin. The inhabit slowly flowing and standing waters that have dense vegetation. It is used as a food fish in the countries of its origin and it has been introduced in other areas including Sri lanka as a food fish. At least one country now reports it as having and adverse ecological impact.

Status:
  These fish are not endangered.

Description:
  The body of the Snakeskin Gourami is somewhat compressed and is elongated. This fish has long pectoral fins, from which its scientific name 'pectoralis' is derived. The male's dorsal fin also becomes a longer flowing pennant while the female's dorsal fin is rounded. The ventral fins are threadlike and extremely sensitive. The body color is a light yellowish brown. There is a broken dark line running horizontally mid body and numerous dark diagonal stripes, though they are not always distinct. Juveniles are perhaps the most striking, having strong zig-zag lines from the eye to the base of the tail. This patterning fades away as the fish matures. This fish has a labyrinth organ, a part of the fish which allows it to absorb atmospheric oxygen directly into the bloodstream.

Size - Weight:
   Snakeskin Gourami generally get up to between 6 - 8" (15 - 20 cm) in captivity, but have been reported to reach 10 inches (25.4 cm) in their native habitat. They will breed at 5 inches (12.5 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivores, the Snakeskin Gourami will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. A quality flake or pellet food makes a good base to the diet. This can be supplemented with proteins such as white worms, blood worms, brine shrimp, or any other suitable substitute. In the wild a good portion of their diet is green foods. You can offer vegetable pellets and fresh vegetables such as blanched lettuce. This fish will not eat fry of any sort, nor even snails.
   These are extremely hardy fish but because they eat a lot, water quality must be maintained. 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.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas, but particularly in the middle and top portions 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 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 - 86° F (22 - 30° C)
   Hardness: 2 - 30° dGH
   Ph: 6.0 - 8.3

Social Behaviors:
   The Snakeskin Gouramis are the most peaceful of all gouramis. Even though they get quite large they are an excellent community fish. They are so unassuming that they won't eat their offspring when fry, nor will they eat the fry of any other fish. But because they are quite timid, they need to be housed with other non-aggressive fish.

Sexual Differences:
   The male is slimmer than the female and has a longer an more pointed dorsal fin. The female is also slightly less colorful.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Like most fish in this family, the Snakeskin Gourami are bubble nest builders. Their nests are generally small and they build them under plants or pieces of vegetation. Once they have spawned, theSnakeskin Gourami have no further interest in the eggs. They won't even collect the eggs that didn't make it into the nest and place them there, as other gouramis will do. Their eggs as well as the fry, are lighter than water and float to the top. See the description of how to breed these fish in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The Snakeskin Gourami is available from time to time. Specimens start at about $4.00 USD.