Gourami Breeding

[coralbandit]

Set up sounds good!
I bred my pearls in a 20 long with 2 sponges and plants(java moss,and a few stem plants floating.)
Although I am aware of the labarynth and surface temp my fish are all in open top(no cover) tanks.
All my breeding/fry growout tanks(400+ gallons) are BB.!
Get another girl and have at it!

 

[Andy Sager]

At 10 weeks old they shouldn't be picky eaters.
My gouramis will feed from all levels but are most enthusiastic surface feeding good quality flake.
Feed often and change water gouramis in general are pigs!
Higher quality,aka frozen,live foods will help fish grow faster and healthier ,but they can be raised on prepared foods fine also.

How big should they be at this age? I'm surprised at how tiny they still are. They are less than a cm in length still.
I have them in a 60L tank, maybe it's too big for them to find the food? They never seem to notice the food when it's put in, they just pick away at things on the filter, plants and glass. :-/

Hmmm, sounds like mine are runts! Lol
They didn't get the most attentive start to life with me going away, so I guess that could have been a factor.
How do you go about water changes when they are tiny without sucking them up?
And.... To help them develop their labrynth lung, I had the tank wrapped for a few weeks to maintain the air temp, so I didn't really clean the tank or do much in the way of water changes..

If I can butt in here, You are comparing sizes of fry between a fish that grows to 5" ( Pearl Gourami) to one that grows to only about 2"-2"1/2 " ( Dwarf Gourami) so of course the fry are not going to be the same size at that same age. You are really comparing apples and oranges here.
Dwarf Gourami fry are small and stay small ( in comparison) for some time. Breeding them in a larger tank can have an adverse effect on the fry as it does make it harder to find the food. I did my dwarfs in a 10 gal tank with much success. Only after the fry developed their labrynth organ did they get moved into a longer tank for growing.
Infusoria is a big part of their first food diet and they need copious amounts of it so your absence most likely contributed to your small turnout. If I can suggest, instead of using potted plants for the fry, try using bunch plants such as Anacharis or hornwort, java moss or any Thin leaved plants and let them float in the tank. These are a great source of infusoria cultures as these plants will shed leaves and deteriorate which will make the infusoria cultures grow leaving plenty for your fry to find to eat. Having all that food will make them grow quicker so you should see some growth faster than you are seeing now. Once the fry are older and larger, I would suggest hatching out baby brine shrimp. It's not hard to do at all. These live foods will help these fry grow larger and healthier than any prepared foods ( such as first bites.) I firmly believe that it's the motion of the live foods that get the fry to start eating so flakes or powders are a waste ( IMO). I would try this feeding program on your next try. You can feed crushed flakes to the fry once they are big enough to handle the flake, which is usually when they start showing colors as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[hils]

Awesome! Thanks for your help guys.
Now I need to convince my hubby that I can't possibly wait until next week to replace my female. I shall move the 3 babies to a smaller tank and get them some live foods. My other fish are quite partial to mosquito larvae. I have millions growing in my children's water filled sandpit!

 

[hils]

Hey Andy, do all baby honey dwarf gourami start out silvery with the dark horizontal stripe and then turn either yellow if male and stay silvery if female? All three of my survivors are silver with a stripe..

 

[Andy Sager]

Hey Andy, do all baby honey dwarf gourami start out silvery with the dark horizontal stripe and then turn either yellow if male and stay silvery if female? All three of my survivors are silver with a stripe..

Well now I have to ask for proper care....are you breeding Dwarf Gourami ( Trichogaster lalius) or honey gourami (Trichogaster chuna) ?
Either way, yes all gourami fry look like females until they become sexually mature.

 

[hils]

Oh gosh, I'm not so sure now. They were sold as honey dwarf. This is a pic of the male. Which is it?

 

[coralbandit]

Oh gosh, I'm not so sure now. They were sold as honey dwarf. This is a pic of the male. Which is it?
View attachment 272814

Nice little honey!

 

[Andy Sager]

Yeah, that's honey which is actually smaller than a "dwarf gourami" (T Lalius). Just an FYI, comparing notes on these vs a Pearl Gouramis is really apples and oranges. This fish, when fully grown doesn't usually even get to 2" so the fry have to be smaller.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

Very nice looking fish!


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)

 

[hils]

Thanks Andy.
I'll be off to get him a girlfriend in the morning. Very excited!
I have two boys just like him, they live in a nice community planted tank and seem very happy.
Have you bred bristle nosed cat fish before?

 

[hils]

Very nice looking fish!


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)

Thanks

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks Andy.
I'll be off to get him a girlfriend in the morning. Very excited!
I have two boys just like him, they live in a nice community planted tank and seem very happy.
Have you bred bristle nosed cat fish before?

Unfortunately, my catfish experience was cories only. My friends were breeding catfishes so there was no need for me to. Also, many of the bristlenoses available today were not available when I was breeding or even importing. They are something I too am looking into doing after I get my Angels better situated.