THE SPOTTED GOURAMI 



DR. L. M. KEARNS 



The spotted gourami, Osphromenus 

 trichopteris, is a native of the East In- 

 dies, being reported from Cochin China, 

 Siam and Java, where it is very abund- 

 ant. I find it a peaceful, shy and harm- 

 less fish except during breeding activi- 

 ties, when the male become quite fero- 

 cious while attending the nest and young. 

 It is known to grow as long as six inches, 

 but those bred in captivity seldom get 

 beyond three to four inches. 



The body is flat (compressed from 

 side to side), the depth being contained 

 about three times in the length. The 

 general color is dusky silver, darker on 

 the back and light on the sides and belly, 

 crossed by numerous vertical dark lines. 

 In the center of the body is a prominent 

 round black spot and another at the 

 base of the caudal ; hence the common 

 name of spotted gourami. The ventral 

 fins are thread-like and often swayed 

 about like the antennae of an insect, 

 making one think they are feeling their 

 way about the aquarium. The anal is 

 large, beginning almost at the ventrals 

 and extending to the tail. Usually the 

 fins are light, almost colorless, but dur- 

 ing mating and spawning they become 

 dark with numerous light spots, these 

 in the anal are red, merging into chrome 

 yellow at the margin. The sexes art 

 easily distinguished. In the male the 

 dorsal is pointed and long, extending in 

 old examples well over the caudal fin. 

 The dorsal of the female is small and 

 rounded, the anal smaller. Viewed from 

 above the female is thicker through the 

 chest. 



The spotted gourami is a very modest 

 feeder. It will eat almost anything, 



such as live food, lettuce, crushed worms 

 and the various kinds of prepared foods. 

 Breeding is not difficult, but 4 the aquar- 

 ium should be of good size, that is, from 

 17 to 24 inches in length. A particular 

 depth is not essential, as they will breed 

 in water from 4 inches up. I get best 

 results in 10 to 12 inches, as this gives 

 the young plenty of room. The tank 



Osphromenus trichopteris 



Photograph by Dr. E. Bade 



should be an old established one, and 

 well planted to give the young a chance 

 to hide. The male gets vicious during 

 breeding activities, so it is often neces- 

 sary to remove the female after spawn- 

 ■ng. 



The male builds a bubble nest on the 

 surface, which is not very durable. Then 

 when he succeeds in driving or coaxing 

 his mate under the nest, within a few 

 inches of the top, Jove-making begins. 

 They swim back and forth rubbing sides 

 until the male wraps his body around 

 the female and squeezes the eggs from 

 her. These rise to the nest, but should 

 any fall, he gathers them in his mouth 

 and expells them into the mass of bub- 

 bles. The operation lasts from three to 

 five hours during which from 300 to 600 

 eggs will be expelled. Now the female 



