We had several Gouramis with us since the start of our hobby, but unfortunately they did not last very long. For our Orange Gourami Guai Guai, he died soon after being trapped in one of our ornaments (see R.I.P Guai Guai and Fish Rescue…). As for our other Gourami Fiesty, he died soon after too)(see Farewell, Fiesty).
Gouramis are known to be vulnerable to infections so we have been wary to introduce new Gouramis into our tank. Still, seeing that our tank were pretty empty after the guppy’s epidemic (see Guppies’ Epidemic), we decided to put our experience with Gouramis in good use and believe that they would be able to make it through this time round.
So while we were shopping for Goldfishes at Qian Hu (see A New Beginning…), we had also bought three Gouramis, one male and two females. This is because male Gouramis are territorial in nature and so it is advisable to get only one male in one tank. As for why two females are preferred, this is because the male Gouramis are often aggressive when mating season comes, and at least the females can share the ‘burden’.
After we placed the three Gouramis into our main Planted Tank, the male Gourami soon started building a bubblenest, probably due to the suitable environment we had provided him, such a abundance shading and plants, and the presence of female Gouramis, while him being the only male.
He soon started his aggressive behaviour and chased after the female Gouramis, wanting them to mate with him below the bubblenest so that eggs could be deposited into the nest. However, he hasn’t been successful yet in our opinion, as we have yet seen the mating dance itself, where the male will curl up around the female.
One of the two female Gouramis:
Our observation continues while he continuously reinforcing the nest and protecting it.
Filed under: Newcomer | Tagged: bubble nest, bubblenest, gourami, mating
