gourami's

Hi all! I have noticed a bubble nest three times in three days in the corner of my lg aquarium. It is the gourami's for sure because the three of them are fighting. Someone keeps destroying it but I don't catch them in the act. I have been trying to sex them for a while and I thought they were all males but apparently I am incorrect. Where can I find some good info on bubble nests and breeding gourami's? How can I protect the nest? How do I know who the female is? None of them look plumper yet, so why would they be making a nest? Any info or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanx! 8)

 

What kind of gouramis are they?

If they're dwarf gouramis, males will have a pointed dorsal fin & females will have a rounded one.

If they're anything like bettas, they'll build a bubble nest just for the heck of it. I have a betta that has never been around other fish (let alone a female betta) and he always has a nice big bubble nest in his tank.

-Chelle

 

Thanks Chelle. I have one "opaline" gourami and two "dwarf blue _____ gourami"(I had them in Fla. too labelled "dwarf sunset gouramis"). The opaline has a dorsal fin sort of hook shaped. I always thought it was a male. It is more agressive and killed a long time ago when I got him one mate. With two this time it has been much better after they figured out he is the boss. The one is a little bigger than the other and tried harder to beat the opaline at first, but the smaller one has almost exactly the same shape fins. Their dorsal fins start much farther up to their heads. The larger of the two is a touch rounder (not even a touch, a pinch, a hair). I have had them for a long time and have never seen them build a bubble nest before. I too have a betta that has never had a female and he always builds a bubble nest when he's happy which started to be all the time when I moved him from the top of the aquarium to the coffee table! L.O.L. He likes the attention! 8) Do you know what kind of plant it is that you see the bettas in the stores in the oversized flower vases? I have one and I want to try it but I won't make him live on it like they say it can! He'll continue to get his Hikari Betta Bio-Gold floating pellets and the occasional blood worm. Thanks! :mrgreen:

 

The plants on the tops of the vases are peace lillies, also called brazilian swords when sold for aquariums. They can get nice big flowers but do become HUGE plants when kept just as houseplants. The scientific name is spathyllium (or something, I suck at scientific names!)

 

Thanks Tina1!

 

If it helps any, this is a male dwarf gourami:


And this is a female:


I did some looking around and sexing is the same for opaline gouramis as well.

-Chelle

 

O.K. so I'm pretty darn sure that both of my dwarfs are female! So could the opaline and the dwarfs be mating? Mine both look exactly like your female by the way! So is it the male or the female that make the nest? It's the male betta so is it the same for gouramis? :?

 

Yes, males make the nest. And I don't think opaline & dwarf gouramis can interbreed. I could be wrong, but they're different species and I've never heard of it before.

-Chelle

 

O.K. so when I get my digital camera going I will try to take two good pic's Chelle like yours and show you how close mine look! I can totally tell yours apart! Mine are not that obvious! Unless all three are male and one of them is making a nest for the heck of it! :?