Austin Raabe Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Any tips and tricks for keeping a croaking gourami? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) That is a tough question because so far the ones I have are very resilient. They don't seem picky about temperature or water quality. They do like having plenty of plants (especially floating plants) so that there is a place to retreat to if their fellow croaking gouramis are getting territorial. @Nataku, @RovingGinger, and @Wmarian all seem to have or have recently had Sparkling (Croaking) Gouramis. I am curious about their experiences and their setups. I also curious who else on this forum has had experience with them? It is one of the wonderful things about this forum that it has the power to encourage the trying of new things. I 'knew' about Croaking Gouramis since forever, but it never occurred to me to keep them. Now that I do keep them and can see how easy and fun they are it makes me wonder about all the other fishes that I have never kept. Edited September 1, 2020 by Daniel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I have 5 or 6 (it’s really, really hard to tell...) in a 6 gallon with some blue velvet shrimp, sponge filtered. I haven’t noticed any aggression, between them or towards the shrimp, but only one is approaching full size so far, most are about half an inch or shorter. They definitely like the plants. I have heard they need a decent lid and only a small gap between lid and water to have humid air for the adults to breath. Right now I don’t really see them go to the top to breath but I have it set up like that. I am moving them to a 20g as soon as it’s a bit more “aged” and planted and a lid is procured. Really charming little vanishing fairy fish that are surprisingly unfussy is my verdict so far. Floo the Flowerhorn on YouTube has that fairly well known series with them and an unfiltered tank. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 21 minutes ago, RovingGinger said: Floo the Flowerhorn on YouTube has that fairly well known series with them and an unfiltered tank. Definitely love Foo the Flowerhorn videos. I just discovered him. I love his video style and I intend to shamelessly borrow that style if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I have 5 or 6 (it’s really, really hard to tell...) in a 6 gallon with some blue velvet shrimp, sponge filtered. I haven’t noticed any aggression, between them or towards the shrimp, but only one is approaching full size so far, most are about half an inch or shorter. They definitely like the plants. I have heard they need a decent lid and only a small gap between lid and water to have humid air for the adults to breath. Right now I don’t really see them go to the top to breath but I have it set up like that. I am moving them to a 20g as soon as it’s a bit more “aged” and planted and a lid is procured. Really charming little vanishing fairy fish that are surprisingly unfussy is my verdict so far. Floo the Flowerhorn on YouTube has that fairly well known series with them and an unfiltered tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 hours ago, RovingGinger said: Floo the Flowerhorn on YouTube has that fairly well known series with them and an unfiltered tank. Here is my take on Foo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 5 hours ago, RovingGinger said: Foo the Flowerhorn on YouTube has that fairly well known series with them and an unfiltered tank. A friend just offered me a rimless 5g. I have wanted to put one on a bookshelf for a while, no filter! cool! thanks for this, I am totally doing a walsted on the bookshelf now! I actually have several bookshelves come to think of it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nataku Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 I kept 7 sparkling gourami in a 10 gallon on my desk. They aren't fussy about temp, the heater I had in there eventually died and I just didn't put another one back in there and left it at room temp. They did fine. Temps were between 74-78. They do appreciate low flow. I had a HOB on it but I also had it heavily planted with a mass of floating hornwort which just caught and baffled out all the flow. They rarely ventured over to hang out in the direct flow. I saw the ghost shrimp there more often than the sparklers. Plants are important! Like betta, every leaf is a new thing to inspect around, above, under, etc. Only they do it as a group instead of solo. They like having plants to dart back into when they get spooked, they also like to lay on/sleep on plants. But it also kept the water super clean. I dont think the nitrates in that tank ever got above 10ppm. They initially started out very shy and would all go hide on the opposite side of the hornwort or java fern every time I sat at my desk or even walked by it. But, after about a month they got settled in and also came to recognize me as the food god, and became much less shy. They came to watch me just as much as I watched them. They have a fascinating social structure, which is a big part of why I enjoyed having them so much. Its like a tiny little soap opera on your desk. Every day a new squabble or bicker - all of which is sorted out with whisker smacking and a lot of bluffing, or even the occassional croak if things get really heated. But part of their social structure actually became 'who got to be closest to the person' as they would all try to cram themselves into the corner closest to me and then shove each other around to establish who had the 'prime viewing spot.' We're watching you human. Now, I never had a lid on this tank. Could they have jumped? Probably. But I had so much plant mass in there that they didn't. They bred after a couple years. They breed like bettas, building a tiny bubble nest (it was only maybe the size of a nickel, it was tiny) the male wraps himself around the female, fertilizes the eggs and then spits them into the nest. The other sparklers just kept around a four inch or so spacing from the nest while it was being tended. I'm sure they ate some of the eggs/fry, but the hornwort was so dense some made it. They probably fed off infusoria that no doubt lived in the tank on the plants in the beginning. I crushed up some flakes and fed the tank with that but I really wasn't trying to raise more sparkler fry. Several still made it. Eventually a friend, who was infatuated with them, asked if they could have my group of sparklers. They had a 33 hex, so I caught all the sparklers and transferred them and the hornwort and gathered up some valisneria from my other tanks for them to set that tank up as planted as well. I think I pulled 12 or 14 sparklers out of that 10 gallon. They went on to continue their little colony in the larger tank and bred several more times in there. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Has anyone found any particular food they go nuts for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 They go absolutely insane for live mosquito larva. They go normal insane for live Daphnia and live blackworms. I think it is the wigglement factor with the mosquito larva that pushes all the right buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nataku Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Yes they like live (what fish doesn't?) But I didn't find them to be picky eaters. Make sure it's small enough to fit in their mouth. I'd drop a couple sinking pellets in on occassion for the shrimp, the sparkling gourami would go after them but couldn't fit it in their mouth, so they'd just hover over it puffing and flaring trying to claim it as their's while the shrimp just ignored them and ate. Bug bites was taken readily, so was vibra-bites - probably because it looked enough like bloodworms for them to be excited about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinalFins Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) Croaking gouramis are Trichopsis vittata, a close relative of the sparkling gourami, and they get at least double to size... OP please specify the species you want to know since Croaking gouramis apply to 2 of the species in the genus Trichopsis, and sparkling gouramis are known as Trichopsis pumila... the care between the two species is much different. Edited September 2, 2020 by FinalFins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 The eggs have hatched and now I can see the little wiggler baby gouramis in the nest. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 More eggs are being added to the nest everyday! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 On 9/2/2020 at 9:26 AM, FinalFins said: Croaking gouramis are Trichopsis vittata, a close relative of the sparkling gourami, and they get at least double to size... OP please specify the species you want to know since Croaking gouramis apply to 2 of the species in the genus Trichopsis, and sparkling gouramis are known as Trichopsis pumila... the care between the two species is much different. So, @FinalFins you sound like you are familiar with these fish--I noticed that there seems to be a more colorful variety that sports a blue eye (as In @Daniel's video), and another plainer one that doesn't. Which is the one that has the blue eye? Or is that an individual/lighting dependent thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 On 9/2/2020 at 7:43 AM, Daniel said: They go absolutely insane for live mosquito larva. They go normal insane for live Daphnia and live blackworms. I think it is the wigglement factor with the mosquito larva that pushes all the right buttons. "Wigglement" officially just became my new favorite word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 I forgot to credit my son Walker and his collaborator Richie Varnadore. I asked for a few minutes of 'fishy' music and two days later they delivered. Walker played the oboe and Richie did everything else on the music I used with the Sparkling Gourami breeding just above. I thought it turned out really good! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinalFins Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) On 9/5/2020 at 1:02 AM, Brandy said: So, @FinalFins you sound like you are familiar with these fish--I noticed that there seems to be a more colorful variety that sports a blue eye (as In @Daniel's video), and another plainer one that doesn't. Which is the one that has the blue eye? Or is that an individual/lighting dependent thing? I am not familiar in the anatomy of Trichopsis vittata and Trichopsis schalleri but I believe that the males of Trichopsis pulima (sparkling gourami)in breeding dress are the ones that get much more colorful and most commonly sport the blue eye but occasionally I do see images of unsexed individuals sporting the blue eye- and a quick look at T.vittata via google does reveal they do also sport blue eyes- only males I would assume. Lighting will affect the coloration of the fish, as stronger lighting normally will result in a more intense coloration. Edited September 18, 2020 by FinalFins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shkote Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I just got mine yesterday. In the right lighting and at the right angle, they all have blue eyes. Does that mean I have all males? 😬 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 No, I just scooted over my chair and looked at the ones in the aquarium next to my desk and both males and females have a beautiful blue ring around their eyes when light hits it at the right angle. After I fattened them up with good food, you could see the beigeish, yellowish eggs inside of the females. In video above of Sparkling Gouramis breeding you can always tell who the female is because her belly is more orangey or yellowey. //content.invisioncic.com/b300999/monthly_2020_09/992856794_Sparkybreeding.PNG.80ae4c84b75ce3248a0817e1496925a1.PNG It can be subtle but once you notice it the first time you will never miss it again. //content.invisioncic.com/b300999/monthly_2020_09/992856794_Sparkybreeding.PNG.80ae4c84b75ce3248a0817e1496925a1.PNG 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shkote Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 I will be sure to keep an eye out! Right now they are itty bitty tiny. I do love them already! Inquisitive little fish, always watching everything, you can see them thinking. I keep 2/3 of the tank shaded, they really seem to appreciate it. I can sit there and read and then look over and all 6 of them are staring at me like they're trying to figure out what I'm doing. I'm thankful for this thread and your videos @Daniel without them, I probably never would have owned these neat little fish. 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmarian Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Hello! My gouramis came to me pretty small. The behaviors described by others is consistent with mine (inquisitive, constantly exploring). But my 6 gourami alone in heavily planted 20g l tank are an argumentative bunch, constantly nudging or bludgeoning each other out of the way. Some fin and tail tears on occasion. Croaking for the first time today! I am starting to think I may have all males and or too high a flow for nesting. Favorite foods:baby brine, daphnia, grindal worms, frozen live (cyclops, bloodworms), and some nibbling of extreme nano pellets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Be patient, there is likely a female in there somewhere. Argumentative is good, croaking is good (love that sound). I didn't have any breeding until there was croaking. I left the sparkling gouramis alone in a green water tank that I am growing Daphnia in. There are swordtails and endlers in this 40 breeder also. Yesterday I moved about 2 cups of duckweed and about 100 sparkling gourami fry out of the above tank into this other 40 breeder below: There are a lot of baby Daphnia that came over also (you can just barely see them in this photo). Neither tank has a filter or a heater or even an airstone. They are just big boxes of water at room temperature. I will post photos of the fry tomorrow on the 'Fry day Friday' thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetra Guy Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 great nano fish, I keep 4 in a 10g with pristellas. They lurk around here and there. One built a bubble nest but i never saw eggs or fry. Most days I hear them rattle at each other. They color up beautifully in optimal conditions. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 I see three beautiful species of fish, healthy plants, and some snails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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