Aquarium gourami: how to distinguish a male from a female. How to distinguish a female gourami from a male? Reproduction of aquarium gouramis

Beginning aquarium fish lovers always pay attention to cute gouramis, which attract not only their beauty, but also their calm, peaceful disposition. Having seriously thought about breeding such fish, many people have a question about how to distinguish gourami by gender. But in fact, it turns out that determining the sex of a fish is quite easy. Now we will tell you about everything in more detail.

External differences

The question of whether this is a boy or a girl becomes especially relevant at the moment when the breeding season of these cute creatures begins. While the fish are still small, it can be very difficult to distinguish a female from a male. But already at 6-7 months of age, gouramis exhibit obvious signs differences by gender.

You can distinguish a female from a male by several characteristics. Let's start with external differences. Take a close look at your pet. If he has a long dorsal fin that reaches almost to the very tail, then this indicates that this is a male. In addition, in boys this fin has a more pointed shape. In girls, the dorsal fin is much shorter and has an even, rounded shape.

You can also distinguish them by their anal fin. If the anal fin of the fish is round in shape and small in size, then this indicates that this is a girl. In males it is slightly longer and its tip also has a pointed shape, as is the case with the dorsal fin.

You can also distinguish a male from a female by size. Boys are many times larger than females. But it should be noted that they can be distinguished by size only after the pets are at least 6 months old.

Color

Next, you should pay attention to the color of the fish. As a rule, the characteristic color appears in gourami immediately before spawning. Pay attention to the color of your fish's belly. In males it is painted bright scarlet or orange. This applies to those fish that initially have a bright color.

If in front of you is a pearl-colored pet, then a barely noticeable red stripe appears on its abdomen during this period. In males of a different color, for example, “honey” ones, either a red stripe appears or the abdomen becomes a darker shade. In spotted males, small spots on the fins become more saturated and bright in color, and the body is slightly darker than usual. The stripes become almost black.

It is worth noting that It is possible to distinguish a female from a male by color not only during the breeding season.

All boy fish have a brighter and more saturated color than girls.

Other differences

During the period of their active growth, females gain weight much faster. As a result, the female’s body becomes denser and fuller. Males, while growing up, remain more “slender”.

If you still doubt whether the bird in front of you is a male or a female, you can find other differences between them. For example, they also differ in character. If you carefully observe the behavior of your aquarium fish, you will soon understand that gouramis also differ in character. Males are much more active and mobile.

Boy gourami can show real male character if you carefully observe their behavior. And although they are peaceful and friendly fish, when an opponent approaches, they begin to behave very aggressively and actively defend their territory. That is why experts recommend purchasing a large aquarium to provide them with more comfortable conditions. If several males live in a small aquarium, they will constantly fight for territory.

Before spawning, not only the color changes, but also the behavior of the fish. If you notice that your pets have begun to chase each other in the aquarium, then pay attention to who exactly is trying to catch up. As a rule, It is the males who chase the females, thereby attracting their attention.

It is worth noting that the boys do not show any aggression towards the females at all. During this "race" males often find themselves in top layer water and actively release bubbles.

If such a “race” does not occur during the spawning period, then, most likely, these are males chasing each other. Usually this behavior indicates that they cannot divide the territory.

How to determine the gender of gourami is described in the following video.

Beautiful aquarium fish Gourami are prominent representatives of the large family of labyrinth fish. They appeared in our aquariums relatively recently, only about 50 years ago. These amazing creatures, called threadworms, are found naturally in fresh water bodies of Southeast Asia, on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In such a short period of time, thanks to the attractive appearance and unpretentiousness, they deserve special love aquarists all over the world.

Description of the types of aquarium fish Gourami

Agile and nimble Gourami video, which you can see here, there are different sizes and types. Depending on the species, individuals can be small - from 3 cm in length, and quite large - up to 12 cm. In all of them, without exception, the body shape resembles a spindle, flattened laterally, with short dorsal and long anal fins. Special attention The pelvic fins are worth considering, the length of which is equal to the length of the body of the fish itself, and their shape resembles threads.

In fact, the ventral thread-like fins of the Gourami aquarium fish are organs of touch. They help these representatives navigate in space. With their help, Gourami feel everything that comes their way. At the same time, when kept in the same aquarium with cichlids, barbs and swordtails, these fins can become a target for them.

Most often, domestic aquarists encounter the following: Gourami species:

Silver;
Spotted;
Blue;
Marble.

Silver or pearl Gourami fish are quite attractive. They have a characteristic color with specks randomly scattered throughout the body. Moreover, this coloring is also observed on the fins of this species. During the mating season, males acquire a bright and expressive orange color. From the border of the individual’s head to the border of the caudal fin, a dark stripe is clearly visible across the entire body. The eye circles (irises) are also colored orange.

Spotted Gourami fish photo, which you could see on this page are not much different from pearl ones. Basic distinctive feature is body color. It has a purple color with pronounced dark brown stripes. In the center, on the surface of the body, and on the edges of the fins, small dark and orange spots can be seen, respectively. The anal fin and eye irises are also orange. With the onset of the mating season, males transform due to the fact that their color becomes expressive and attractive.

Marble and Blue fish Gourami genera are not much different from each other. Historically, the former were bred by crossing the latter with other species. Like other fish of this genus, they have recognizable body shapes. They have the same shaped fins. The fish differ only in their original color.

Features of keeping Gourami in a home aquarium

For a long time, the Gourami fish was considered very difficult to keep. And the reason for this opinion was improper transportation from distant Asia to the European part of the mainland. Not all transported individuals survived the long journey. Most of them died from lack of oxygen, which was sorely lacking in containers completely filled with water. Because of this, gouramis were not imported to Europe for more than 20 years.

Having found out the reason for the death of the fish during transportation, gourami began to be regularly supplied to pet markets in many countries around the world. With proper maintenance, this type of labyrinthine falls into the category of long-livers. On average, regardless of the type of fish, they live in an aquarium for about 7-8 years. If we take the content more seriously and provide proper care, Gourami can live up to 10-12 years. Agree that this is a lot for a fish that does not live that long in natural conditions.

Generally contain Gourami in an aquarium is not as difficult as it seems. To do this, it is necessary to recreate conditions as close to natural as possible in an artificial home pond. In nature, fish prefer reservoirs depleted in oxygen. As a rule, the water there is muddy, with dense vegetation and quite warm. Traditionally these are rice fields and large puddles. Here are the basic rules, following which you can significantly increase the life expectancy of your pets:

Medium-sized aquarium from 20 liters;
The water level should not exceed 35 centimeters;
The water is clean with frequent changes of a quarter of the volume;
Temperature- 26 o C…28 o C;
Sufficient lighting;
The presence of vegetation and decorative elements;
12 hours bright lighting.

How do gouramis reproduce?

Gourami Reproduction a very interesting process. When pairs are formed in mating season the male begins to build a nest of foam at the surface of the water. In just 24 hours he makes a cradle for the eggs. At the same time, the female does not take any part in construction. After spawning occurs, the male carefully collects all the eggs with his mouth and transfers them to the nest, where fertilization occurs. In the future, all care of the eggs and larvae falls exclusively on the male. However, with the appearance of the fry, it becomes necessary to remove the father in order to protect the hatched offspring.

To breed Gourami, it is best to have a separate spawning aquarium, where the process of reproduction of these wonderful fish will take place. In many ways it should resemble a community aquarium. The same 35 cm of water. To stimulate reproduction, it is necessary to raise the water temperature to 28 o C. To successfully build a nest, you will need. The female Gourami will also need dense vegetation so that she can hide there from the annoying male. During this period, it is best to feed the fish with live food: bark and bloodworms. However, they should not be too small.

How to determine the sex of a Gourami fish

For aquarists on the initial path of their development, the question Gourami sex determination is the most relevant. But there is nothing complicated here either. Males and females of this fish species have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Male Gourami are larger than females. They have bright and expressive body coloring. In females, the dorsal fin is much shorter and smaller than in males. In addition, females are not so expressive and attractive in their appearance.

As you can see, caring for Gourami is not that difficult. The same can be said about feeding fish. All that an aquarist needs to know and take into account in this matter is the structure of the mouth of fish of this species. Food should not be too large. As such, Gourami can be given: tubifex, bloodworm, coretra, daphnia. Fish will not refuse dry and canned food. For fry, all food will need to be thoroughly chopped. They can be given live dust, rubbed egg yolk, finely chop plant foods. Adult Gourami can easily tolerate a short fast (usually up to 11-14 days).

Gourami are freshwater labyrinth fish, whose “trademark” is their pelvic fins in the form of long threads. These very threads are their organ of touch. Homeland of gourami - Southeast Asia and Indochina. You can often see gourami using them to feel the walls and decorations of the aquarium.

Like all representatives of labyrinths, gourami breathe atmospheric air, therefore the aquarium should not be closed tightly - there should always be water flowing under the lid fresh air. Gourami are one of the most unpretentious aquarium fish, and breeding them is as easy as keeping them.

The body size of all types of gourami is from 5 to 10 cm, only the serpentine gourami can grow up to 20 cm.

The gender differences of this fish are quite clearly expressed: males are larger than females, brighter in color, their fins are longer (the dorsal fin is large and elongated).

What to feed gourami

Gouramis feed mainly on small live food: daphnia, coretra, tubifex, bloodworms. If live food is not available, you can feed them dry granules and flakes. Many aquarists are pleased with one gastronomic addiction of all gourami - coil and fisa snails. Hungry fish are happy to rid the aquarium of small shellfish.

The water temperature for keeping these labyrinths is 23-26 degrees, hardness up to 16 degrees, pH 6-7, filtration and water change weekly by 15-20% of the volume are required. Gourami are kept in low aquariums with a water level of 35-40 cm, bright lighting and a large number plants, including floating ones. You can place driftwood in the aquarium, which will bring the habitat closer to natural.

Gourami compatibility

Gourami are peaceful fish and they need the same neighbors. They get along well with irises, lalius, macropods, neons, rasboras, minors, apistograms, corydoras, ancistrus.

Gourami breeding

Gourami are very beautiful during the spawning period. The coloring of the fish becomes brighter and more interesting. For breeding, use a 40-50 liter aquarium with a water level of 25-30 cm.

The water must be settled and fresh. It is necessary to feed during this period. You need to add a bunch of Riccia to the aquarium; when gourami spawn, it is preferable to other plants.

The male himself builds a nest of foam (between floating plants), and the female lays eggs at this time, up to 2000 eggs.

The eggs float to the surface and the male collects them in the nest. He drives away the female; it is better to remove her immediately. The male continues to care for the eggs for another 2-3 days. When the fry begin to swim, the male must also be removed, otherwise he may destroy the offspring. Food for fry – ciliates, nematodes. After only 2-3 weeks, producers can reproduce again. This period can last up to 6 months.

The pearl gourami differs from the usual spotted gourami in its more flattened and tall body.

The color is silvery-violet, with shiny spots resembling pearls evenly distributed throughout the body.

The dorsal fin is elongated and reaches the caudal fin. In the female it is shorter and has a round shape. These fish prefer very clean water.

The blue gourami does not have spots on its body like the spotted gourami. Living conditions are similar to other types of gourami.

Marbled gourami was obtained by breeding from blue gourami. It is distinguished by the presence of black spots irregular shape in the back of the body.

Predominant in color green more than blue. Keeping temperature is 26 degrees, when diluted to 28 degrees.

gourami sunny or golden

Sunny gourami is very beautiful. Its body color is yellow-orange. There are barely noticeable dark stripes on it. The fins are dotted with red and yellow dots.

The body length usually does not exceed 8 cm. The caudal fin has a red or dark border.

Fiery…

Opal

Dwarf

There are several other types of gourami. Their conditions of keeping and reproduction are very similar. The fish differ only in color and body size.

Chocolate

Kissing

Video: gourami breeding.

Many aquarists prefer gourami. This is a fairly popular fish that is not very picky about its conditions. not viviparous, i.e. they lay eggs and do not immediately give birth to offspring. But male gourami take care of the fry.

As you can see, there are interesting features during reproduction, so we will consider them in more detail.

To select fish for breeding, it is important to be able to distinguish the different sexes from each other.

You can determine gender by appearance:

Boys are different in that they are larger and more active. Females are slightly smaller, their body is dense, and the tummy of mature individuals becomes rounded.
The female is also distinguished from the male by the species dorsal fin. She has a rounded shape, while in males it is pointed.
There are also differences in color: males are bright, females are duller. Before spawning, pigmentation intensifies, and males become even more recognizable - this helps determine the sex of gourami with high accuracy.

Reproduction

Reproduction of gourami at home occurs quite in an unusual way: takes on the main role future father.

If you decide to breed fish of this species in your aquarium, then get one male and several females.

Their cultivation requires the presence of algae on the surface of the water. During gourami spawning, the male makes a nest there from eggs, so plants help him a lot with this.

You can also breed fish not in community aquarium, and with the help of a spawning tank (a separate container), where future parents are placed. To speed up the process, the water temperature should be slightly increased - about 25–28 degrees.

If you decide to choose a community aquarium for breeding, its size should be large enough for the fish to share the space. Be careful: male gourami always defend their territory, entering into confrontation with rivals of the same or similar species.

Gouramis have the ability to breathe oxygen, for which they sometimes swim to the surface of the aquarium. That is why for their maintenance it is important that the difference between the temperatures of water and air is small.

When the fish are ripe for reproduction, a foam nest appears in the algae, which the male builds for the female. Until it is ready, it is better to keep the partner separately, otherwise the future father may behave aggressively towards her.

After building the nest, the female is placed in the aquarium. It is important that she is ready for spawning - her abdomen should be thick with eggs.

The future father invites his partner to the nest, where she lays eggs, which he immediately fertilizes. At the same time, he carefully lifts the eggs that have fallen to the bottom to the surface, returning them to the nest.

When the female finishes spawning, she should be placed in another aquarium. Incubation period lasts up to two days (the time depends on the water temperature), during which the male jealously guards the nest, preventing it from collapsing and the eggs from sinking. Then the young begin to appear, the nest is destroyed. After this, the father needs to be put away.

What to feed the fry

The fry do not need food for another 3–4 days, feeding on the contents yolk sac. They will then require external feeding. Meals can be provided 5–6 times a day, and portions should be small.

Food for gourami fry can be as follows:

Rotifer.
Ciliates.
Liquid food for fry.
Hard-boiled egg yolk, pureed through cheesecloth.

After just a few weeks, the fish can be transplanted into a common aquarium, while adding protein-rich food to their diet - it will help the scales develop correctly and add brightness to the color.

Conclusion

So, to help your gourami reproduce, you need to:

In the spawning tank or in the general aquarium, set the water temperature to 25–28 degrees.
Provide enough algae near the surface to create a nest.
Add a female with plump barrels that is ripe for spawning.
After spawning, remove the female and let the male take care of the nest.
Then remove the father and organize the correct diet for the emerging fry.

Any aquarist, when buying new fish, tries to purchase animals of different sexes so that he can breed them. Sometimes males and females are so similar that only experienced specialists are able to discern them. distinctive features which have fish of different sexes.

Male gourami Regardless of the type, it always has quite impressive sizes. But it must be said that this sign should be paid attention to when the fish approaches the age of puberty, since before this period the male lags behind the fish of the opposite sex in growth. In addition, the male gourami has a bright color, which intensifies even more immediately before spawning. Thus, most aquarists note the appearance of very bright, saturated colors in the anal fin area, which can become bright orange or scarlet, and also take on a darkened shade. As for the fins, they also have large sizes and always a pointed shape.

Female gourami during the period of active growth, it is characterized by a rapid gain of body weight, which, however, during puberty is always less than that of males. As for the color, it is somewhat paler than that of the male representatives. And even during the spawning period, the color of the female, although it changes, but not much. Also, aquarists distinguish female gouramis by the shape of their fins, which are rounded and fairly small in size in relation to the length of the body.

On the left is a male gourami. On the right is a female

The first thing you should pay attention to is their external differences. Male gouramis are slightly larger than females, but this trait should only be used when the fish reach the age of puberty. This is due to the fact that when the fish are still fry, females grow faster than representatives of the opposite sex. Then you should look at the color of the animals, since males always look much brighter than their companions, and this does not depend on the period in which they are compared - immediately before spawning or long before it. And another important distinguishing feature is that in male gourami the fin is always longer, reaching almost to the tail, and pointed, while in the female gourami it is rounded and not so long.

Conclusions website

The body of a male during puberty is always more body females;
The color of a male gourami is always brighter and more intense than that of a female, and before spawning his abdomen becomes bright orange or deep red, but can also be dark, and spots throughout the body become more pronounced;
The fin of a female gourami is small and round in shape, while in a male it often reaches the tail and is always pointed at the end.