 Lately,
I have been busy in the fish room taking care of a few of the more
common fishes that I’ve gathered over the past year or more.
When I say taking care of, I am referring to not only housing and
feeding but also making attempts at breeding to gain both experience
and BAP points. Early on, I’ve learned the tough lesson that,
for me, “common” is not always synonymous with easy.
One species that I’ve been enamored with since reading about
years ago in one of my now outdated reference books is the "true"
Honey Gourami. Although it took me a long time to find these guys,
I still think they are semi-common. If you find a dealer who carries
them, they will usually always have them in stock. In fact, I believe
the dealer may keep these guys in stock because they may never actually
sell the original shipment they receive. As many of you know, the
Honey Gourami sold in stores is not actually Colisa chuna
but a color variety of probably C. labiosa. The "true"
Honey Gourami is so drab in comparison, that customers will refuse
them and store workers may assume they are all females. So, when
a shipment of "true" Honeys is received by mistake, they
may never sell unless an astute fish-keeper happens by. This is
unfortunate because a male "true" Honey Gourami in breeding
color is one of the most spectacular fishes that I have ever maintained.
The transformation from an overall rust color to a red body, yellow
top and black bottom is dramatic and sudden. It is a sure sign that
spawning is immanent.
Maintaining the fish can be a bit tricky because the tank needs
to be somewhat secluded with a dark background and a few plants.
Once settled, they remain relatively shy but don’t always
hide. They more or less keep their distance from the front glass.
They eat just about anything but predictably; prefer live food such
as blackworms and bbs. The females and scared males look nearly
identical with a grayish metallic body and a black line running
from the eye to the caudal peduncle. It is best to keep the sexes
separated until spawning, as a male will constantly drive a female
regardless of her readiness. I’ve lost many females because
they were stressed by a male and therefore susceptible to disease.
Spawning is not a problem and can be accomplished in a 2.5 gallon
aquarium. I had success by placing a pair (that were kept separate
until spawning) into the 2.5g packed with Riccia on top and a nylon
spawning mop on the bottom. No air was supplied and a heater was
provided to keep the temperature at 78F. The male doesn’t
build a nest and will embrace the female anywhere in the tank, but
after numerous "dry runs" they seem to prefer a certain
spot and will rendezvous every few minutes. After spawning, the
male chases the female away and she must be removed as his advances
at this point are brutal and she will take quite a beating. Now
the male gathers the eggs and builds a bubble nest, typical of gouramis.
The eggs hatch within 24 hours and the fry are practically microscopic.
It’s a good idea to remove the male at this point. I’ve
learned the hard way (through losing batch after batch of fry) to
use a tank that isn’t necessarily clean. In fact, there should
be a layer of mulm on the bottom for best results. There is very
little you can feed the fry other than the microbes that naturally
live in the live plants. In addition, I would squeeze a sponge filter
twice a day into the aquarium until the water was cloudy enough
that I couldn’t see the back glass.
After 10 days, the fry
are big enough to eat bbs. A lot of fry are produced, about 300-400
on average for me, and the growth rates are terribly irregular.
Within 2 weeks cannibalism will be the law of the tank and there
must be some sort of intervention if you want to maximize the yield,
however, I don’t believe it benefits the fish as a species
nor the fellow hobbyist to save every fish as the weaker fish may
be naturally culled through this process.
Overall, the "true" Honey Gourami is a must for any labyrinth
enthusiast. It is relatively common, easy to care for, easy to spawn
and a challenge to raise the fry. |
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