Dwarf Gourami

The dwarf gourami (Trichogaster lalius) comes from slow, weed-choked water in northern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Males carry alternating diagonal bands of orange-red and turquoise across the body and into the fins; females are a plain silvery grey and are much less often sold. It is a labyrinth fish, so it breathes air at the surface as well as through its gills, and it spends a good deal of time hanging just below the waterline among plants.

Aquarium care

• Reaches around 7 cm.
• Shy rather than bold, and easily bullied by fast or pushy tankmates.
• Males are territorial with each other. Keep one male per tank, or a male with two or three females.
• Wants dense planting, floating cover and very gentle flow.
• Feeds and rests in the upper half of the tank.
• Omnivorous: flake, small pellets, frozen daphnia and bloodworm.

Best in a quiet planted community with rasboras, small peaceful tetras, corydoras and kuhli loaches. Avoid tiger barbs, other male dwarf gouramis and bettas, all of which cause trouble.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the current gourami list.