gourami?

[BBouchard]

Hi all, I am having some trouble identifying my gourami. Is he a moonlight or snakeskin??

 

[Bowhunterking]

Hi all, I am having some trouble identifying my gourami. Is he a moonlight or snakeskin??

I beleive moonlight,

 

[BBouchard]

that is what I am hoping. Thanks

 

[Aquamandan]

Definitely a moonlight.

 

[Rivers2k]

I wouldn't be so quick to say moonlight just because its white. Do you have other pics? The stripe down the side makes me think washed out or light colored snake skin. moonlights don't have a strip down the side.

 

[BBouchard]

He won't stay still so this is the best I have

 

[Bowhunterking]

dose he have stripes going up and down as well? or dose he have sparkle like spots. i do agree apon a second look it is not a moonlight. i beleive it is ether a dragon scale or a pearl.

 

[BBouchard]

It is just the black line with the black spot on both sides. They kind of look like sparkles

 

[BBouchard]

His fins and the rest of his body is clear.

 

[Bowhunterking]

correcion i read that wrong- if it dosent have a sparkle like shine throughout its body, not just the stripe, then i would have to say a dragon scale, if it is washed out as previously suggested you wouldn't even see the white almost tiger like stripes.

 

[BBouchard]

I will try to get better pictures and post them if i can.

 

[Rivers2k]

Never heard of a dragon scale but some regions have different common names for the same fish. I think you have a snake skin there. Definitely not a moonlight. Not a pearl either pearls have the same mid stripe as a snake skin.

Snake skin
Snakeskin Gourami (Trichopodus pectoralis ) Profile

Moonlight
Fish profile - Moonlight Gourami

Pearl
Pearl Gourami - Trichogaster leerii

Also look at the shape of the head on the moonlight compared to the shape of the head on the snakeskin. The moonlight has a stop above the eyes and then slopes up. Snakeskin has more of a slope starting at the mouth and going up with a slight stop above the eyes.

 

[BBouchard]

is it possible to have a mixture of both? Mine has the body of the moonlight with the head and stripe of the snake skin.

 

[Rivers2k]

I guess its possible. I have never heard of a hybrid gourami but I have seen stranger things. But from your pics the body looks the same as snakeskin. I know you are really hoping for a moonlight so maybe you might want to bring this guy back and wait for a moonlight to pop up.

Snakeskins really are cool though. They get to know you as the person that feeds them and they get a pretty good size to them so they become more of a wet pet than just a fish

I think its nice looking regardless of what it is.

 

[BBouchard]

hah thanks, Sadly when we bought him it was listed as a moonlight, either way I dont mind, I was just hoping to ID him so we can figure out if another smaller (like an opaline) would be okay to add. I love him, he runs when I try to take a picture but otherwise is always doing something entertaining. He knows when its feeding time so he will stay. I am just slightly worried about him staying in my 55 gallon though, I am sure I read that it needs a bigger tank.

 

[Legit Fish]

cant be moonlight it has stripe.... moonlights dont have that

 

[Luananeko]

Looks like a snakeskin to me, but I can't say for sure since both pics have it's mouth out of frame

Moonlights have very distinctive faces, while snakeskins look closer to the blue gourami (face-wise). Also I've never seen any moonlights that have anything other than a super bright white coloring, with no hints of stripes.

 

[BBouchard]

Hmm... I will try to get better pictures.

 

[BBouchard]

Here we go

 

[Luananeko]

Snakeskin for sure. Totally wrong face shape and colors for Moonlight