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| Golden Giant Gourami (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
This feature of Labyrinth family is very unique and it helps them to take oxygen from the air if the water is not having a sufficient level of oxygen. So fish in this family can breathe even by coming out of the water for some time.
Gourami fish originated from Asia and Africa are there are about 15 different species of Gourami which are available for the fish keepers. The original amongst them is called 'Goramy' and it originated from Indonesia and China.
This 'Goramy' fish is also called 'Giant Gourami' because it grows very big and its length can exceed two feet! If you want to keep this 'Goramys' in your aquarium, you must have a very large area or you should create a big pond outside your house to keep them. They can live up to 25 years or even longer so once you keep them; they will be with you for a long time.
Then there is another species called the kissing Gourami. They are somehow opposed to the giant 'Goramy' because they grow up to 8 inches. Another species called 'talking Gourami' is even smaller. They can grow only up to 2 inches. They are called 'Talking Gourami' because they make a sound when they come to the surface to take oxygen from the air.
There is one more type available to fish keepers, which is called the Moonlight Gourami. They are silvery blue in color and their fins are like a thread.
Most of the Gourami species require similar conditions for their living. They are comfortable in the range of 75-80° F. They love to live in slightly acidic water with a pH level of around 6.0 to 6.5
You should have a lot of plants in the aquarium when you keep Gourami fish. The plants should be sturdy because the size of the fish is big. You can use fine or medium substrate at the bottom of the tank.
Gouramis should be provided with a well-balanced nutrition. They will eat whatever is offered to them and they can survive with any type of food but you should plan their food well to keep them healthy. Keeping dry food as a base, you can feed them with live food occasionally. You should also provide fresh vegetables and all sorts of worms. In the absence of appropriate food, they will not look healthy and they will not live for a long time.
All the species of Gourami fish are peaceful in nature and they can get along with other members of the community quite well. You should keep them with other fish of the same size so that they will not be any fights. You can also keep same species of Gourami in the aquarium but as they are bigger in size, they will not be able to live comfortably with the growth in their numbers.
One more important characteristic about Gourami is - if they are of the same species, they may have territorial ambitions. So they will fight with each other for their territories. If you have sufficient plants in your aquarium, these plants can act both as a barrier and a boundary which can keep the fish contended with one area.
Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way. Article Source: EzineArticles |
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