Dwarf Gourami
Genus name: Colisa Ialia
Distribution: North Eastern India, Assam, Bangladesh
Length: up to 2″ (5cm)
Minimum Tank Length: 12″ (30cm)
Water Temperature: 68-79F (20-26C)
Diet: Worms, crustaceans, insects, dried food
Water: not critical, soft to medium-hard preferred
Lives: Towards the top of the aquarium
Breeding: Egg Layers
The Dwarf Gourami is a peaceful fish which will do well in most community aquariums. They are better with smaller, peaceful fish, as they do not do well with larger, more aggressive fish.
The Dwarf Gourami is very suitable for the novice aquarist. It should be kept in an aquarium with feathery-leaved rooted plants and a few floating plants. Roots and rocks should be arranged on the bottom to provide shelter for the Dwarf Gourami. There should also be sufficient open water for swimming.
The aquarium should be positioned so it receives some sunshine, as Dwarf Gourami like to graze on the algae which grows on the glass.
Dwarf Gourami like to swim near the top of the aquarium, and can breathe oxygen from the air on the surface, so make sure that the surface of the aquarium is exposed to fresh air. Usually an aquarium hood with ventilation holes will be sufficient.
The male Dwarf Gourami is scarlet with narrow oblique double rows of blue or green dots that give it a striped appearance. The throat and breast are deep blue-green, and the ventral fins are orange. The female Dwarf Gourami is generally a bit smaller than the male, and she is usually duller in colouration, and has the appearance of being silvery-grey.
The Dwarf Gourami will breed quite successfully in an aquarium. Firstly the male will build a nest using bubbles to bind plants together, and then he will court the female. The female will release her eggs into the nest, and the male with fertilise them, there could be anywhere from 300 to 800 eggs.
At this point the female Dwarf Gourami should be removed from the aquarium, and the male will look after the eggs. When the young are 2-3 days old, it is advisable to remove the male Dwarf Gourami as he may well eat the young.