Flame Dwarf Gourami

Gourami Scientific Family: Osphronemidae
Gourami Common Name: Gourami
Gourami Size: 8-10cm 
Gourami Diet: Omnivore
Gourami Water Type: Fresh
Gourami Optimum pH Level: 6.8- 8.0
Gourami Life Span: 5-8 years

The Gourami is a popular aquarium fish. It is sturdy and the males display a striking colouration.
The Gourami is a freshwater species that originates from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

The typical Gourami habitat is a lake or a slow moving stream. The habitat is usually densely grown with aquatic plants and you can find many different members of the genus Colisa living together.

The recommended minimum aquarium size is 60 cm (24 inches). Place the aquarium in a quite spot of your home, since Gouramis sometimes become very skittish when subjected to a lot of noise. Gouramis inhabit the middle and top region of the aquarium. Floating plants that cover a part of the surface are highly appreciated.

Gouramis are generally peaceful towards other fish species and is therefore often kept in community aquariums with other non-aggressive fish species. If you place several Gourami males together, they can become quite territorial but this can usually be solved by keeping them in a large enough aquarium and including a lot of plants in the set up that creates natural borders.

Gourami Environment:

Caring for Gouramis is not very difficult, and this species is therefore recommended for beginner aquarists. Keep the pH around 7 and never let it drop below 6 or rise above 8. The recommended dH range is 5 – 19. The recommended water temperature is 25 – 28° C.

Gourami Food:

The Gourami is an omnivore species that need meaty food as well as plant and algae to do well. In the wild, it eats insects and larvae from the water’s surface and clean stones and similar surfaces from algae growth. In captivity, the Gouramis will accept most food types, including flake food, frozen food, freeze dried food and live food. Keeping them on nothing but flake food can however cause them to loose their brilliant colouration. You can use a high-quality tropical flake food as a base, but it is strongly recommended to also offer your Gouramis plankton and live food, e.g. brine shrimp. Freeze dried blood worms are also known to bring back the colour in Gouramis. Leave some algae in the aquarium for the Gourami to graze.