GouramiGal Introduction

[GouramiGal]

Good day all! I am a mother of a 5 year old little boy who wants to spawn his gouramis for pocket money. I have found good advice on this forum in the past as a non-member about our little tank. My intention in joining now is for some support to help my little guy out. I don't know anything about fish. I am a nursing student, my knowledge pertains to a totally different species! Any advice or pearls of wisdom you have to spare will be taken into serious consideration and very much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Welcome to AA! Gouramis are bubble nest builders. The male will blow bubbles at the top of the tank, i believe some kinds of gouramis use plant matter in the nests so live plants would be needed. I also know each bubble can hold and egg, so expect tons of babies! Good luck, and i hope someone with more experience can chime in.

 

[GouramiGal]

Welcome to AA! Gouramis are bubble nest builders. The male will blow bubbles at the top of the tank, i believe some kinds of gouramis use plant matter in the nests so live plants would be needed. I also know each bubble can hold and egg, so expect tons of babies! Good luck, and i hope someone with more experience can chime in.

Thank you! Actually, I was just looking at a thread you started and there was some very concise information there, so you have been a big help already!

 

[Samzter]

Everything bubbles said is correct. Here's my article on gourami breeding here it goes. BREEDING DWARF GOURAMI

Scientific name: Colisa lalia
Common name: Dwarf gourami
Max. size: 8.8 cm / 3.5 inches
pH range: 6.0 – 8.0
dH range: 5 - 19
Temperature range: 25 – 28°C / 77 – 82.5°F

Dwarf gouramis are easy to breed, but first, look out for the signs that a male and female are ready to breed. The female would be getting plumper and plumper, and the male s colouring will becoming more vivid and bright.

Once you notice a suitable pair that may be reaching breeding condition, if it’s possible, separate them in two aquariums for about a fortnight, while allowing them to see each other through their tank walls. Feed them a diet of high quality flake food, freeze dried bloodworms, and live foods. Of course, make sure both their aquariums are heavily planted so that they don’t feel stressed out. The tank with the male should have floating plants or you can use a margarine lid and poke a hole through the middle and attach string. From there hang it over the side and place the lid on, this will secure the the top of the bubble nest. (floating ferns or salvinia plants are a great choice.) If the male is in breeding mode , he will start constructing a bubble nest and keep adding to it daily, by blowing hundreds of bubbles.

The bubble nests of dwarf gouramis are thick and incorporate bits and pieces of plants. The male will keep blowing bubbles into the nest until it even rises up above the water level, and measures nearly an inch in height.

When the female becomes very plump (due to being filled with eggs), it’s time to breed them. Reduce the water level in the male’s tank to about 10 cm height, and slowly let in the female. The pair will start spawning. During this the male will wrap himself around her and "quiver" she will then release eggs and he will fertilise them. This can happen 6-7 times.After spawning is over, which takes about a few hours, remove the female from the tank and place her back in her own tank (not the community tank). This gives her a chance to recuperate for a few days. Meanwhile, the male will take care of the eggs and young, after they spawn.

When the fry become free swimming, which typically takes a few days, they will leave the nest, which by this time will be disintegrating. Remove the male at this point, and feed the fry with infusoria (infusoria cultures can be purchased from aquarium shops). After a week or so, you can start the fry on brine shrimp and minute amounts of mashed hard boiled egg yolk.

 

[GouramiGal]

Thank you so much! Just a few more questions, if you please.

1) Should we include an airstone, water filter, or both in the nesting tank?

2) What is the rationale to dropping the water level to 10cm? (Showing my inner nerd )

3) We have water lettuce on our property. Someone told me that it would provide a great medium for spawning, but to salt bath it first to kill parasites. I did a salt bath for one batch and it all died. What do you suggest?

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Thank you so much! Just a few more questions, if you please.

1) Should we include an airstone, water filter, or both in the nesting tank?

2) What is the rationale to dropping the water level to 10cm? (Showing my inner nerd )

3) We have water lettuce on our property. Someone told me that it would provide a great medium for spawning, but to salt bath it first to kill parasites. I did a salt bath for one batch and it all died. What do you suggest?

What sized tank are they going to be in?
Im not sure about the water levels, but my beta builds his bubble nest without a eater drop.
And i would do a salt dip. Drench the whole plant in the salt water and then dip it in fresh and put it into a 5g bucket of treated water.
And i can see how the water lettuce's roots can male a good spawning mop, but im not sure for the bubble nest.

 

[Samzter]

Here's my bubble nest ATM in my 30. There actually two lol.

 

[GouramiGal]

Our main tank is a 30 gallon and houses blue gourami, gold gourami, paradise gourami, flame gourami, dwarf gourami, tigerbarbs, and plicos. I have empty 3 gal and 5 gal tanks that I am planning on using for male and female blue gourami for spawning with Samzter's technique.

 

[paytertot]

Our main tank is a 30 gallon and houses blue gourami, gold gourami, paradise gourami, flame gourami, dwarf gourami, tigerbarbs, and plicos. I have empty 3 gal and 5 gal tanks that I am planning on using for male and female blue gourami for spawning with Samzter's technique.

Are all of those gouramis male?

 

[GouramiGal]

Are all of those gouramis male?

No, we have at least one female of each.

 

[paytertot]

No, we have at least one female of each.

Ah I see well I was asking because I was made aware recently that I can't just keep a few males together because of aggression and was totally bummed out.

 

[Samzter]

Ah I see well I was asking because I was made aware recently that I can't just keep a few males together because of aggression and was totally bummed out.

I feel it depends. But 90% of the time it doesn't work. Mine get along fine and they've matured and fully grown. Good luck gouramigal!

 

[GouramiGal]

Update

Okay, so its been 8 days since we began with Samzter's technique. Our male is constructing a bubble nest, and our female is BIG! They spend a surprising amount of time checking each other out through the glass, and the male actually rubs and bumps his snout into the glass when she is very close. The temp in the tank is 79.9 F. I would like to turn it up just a smidge, but he has constructed a portion of his nest around my access point! It is so awesome just to sit and watch them!

 

[GouramiGal]

Had to remove female from tank just a few hours into putting her in with the male. He was too aggressive and beat her up to bleeding! Is this normal?

 

[Samzter]

Had to remove female from tank just a few hours into putting her in with the male. He was too aggressive and beat her up to bleeding! Is this normal?

Yes, sometimes that does happen but it's never happened to me. Can you try another female?

 

[Lippers1]

Hi could you help me as I'm new to fish tanks and this site. I have a 120L tank and mainly have guppys, I've just got over the bloom and now my water is yellow/green. I've tested the water ph is a bit high but everything else is ok. My female guppys are now dying. Could you help me please

 

[paytertot]

Hi could you help me as I'm new to fish tanks and this site. I have a 120L tank and mainly have guppys, I've just got over the bloom and now my water is yellow/green. I've tested the water ph is a bit high but everything else is ok. My female guppys are now dying. Could you help me please

You'll need to make a thread of your own for this topic by going to the freshwater getting started forum. My guess is that your tank is cycling? Once you make your thread, we would be happy to help