Dwarf gouramis . Originally from Southeast Asia, its habitat is rice fields, foul-smelling stagnant water saturated with organic substrates that are toxic to other fish. Throughout history, these anabantids have evolved to create a secondary respiratory organ superior to the normal fish, said organ is called: Labyrinth , which gives the other name to this family, is behind the eyes and it has the ability to absorb atmospheric oxygen just by sticking out its mouth and in some cases its entire head .
Summary
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- 1 Features
- 2 Morphology
- 3 Coloring
- 4 Food
- 5 Behavior
- 6 Playback
- 7 sources
Features
It is a fish that lives naturally in Northwest India , in Ganges, Yamuna, Brahmaputra. It can be found in fresh waters with thick vegetation. They are often found together with other Colisa species .
In the river plains of northern India, they are one of the most common fish, and are sold dried or as fishmeal in many of the markets. The scientific name of these fish is Colisa lalia. It can also be called as Dwarf Colisa or Dwarf Gourami. Dwarf Gourami fish belong to the family Osphromenidae and the order Perciformes. They are calm fish with a longevity of about 4 years.
Morphology
- Body compacted by the lateral flanks with a rounded layout. It has a pair of tactile barbels at the base of the belly.
- They show sexual dimorphism. Males are slightly larger than females. The dorsal and anal fins in males are more developed, and their body is bright orange– red with turquoise blue vertical stripes extending into the fins. Dwarf Gourami females are duller, silvery blue- gray in color .
- Various hybrid goldfish exist.
- These fish have an upturned mouth and a prominent lower lip. They have a suprabranchial organ called the labyrinth through which they can trap oxygen directly from the atmosphere.
- They can measure up to 5 cm and in their natural habitat reaches 7 cm.
Coloration
It is very varied. The most common is characterized by electric blue stripes on a red background that covers the entire body, the fins are red with blue specks. The females generally have a silver color.
Feeding
They are omnivorous fish , they accept live food ( mosquito larvae and artemia ), and vegetable food ( algae ).
Behaviour
It is a very peaceful fish and sometimes shy, as in the other members of its family, the males fight for territory, so they must be kept in pairs or groups with a single male.
Reproduction
The male is always more beautiful than the female with very nice vivid colors. The female is discolored at first, she was a plain silver, but with breeding they have brought out more colorful females. The male’s antennae are orange – yellow .
Like most labyrinths, it is a bubble nest builder. Reproduction is possible in a community aquarium , although it is recommended that it be done in an aquarium predisposed for it, of at least 15 liters and with a water height of about 15 cm, with abundant floating plants and a hiding place for the female.
The male and female should be separated if possible and provided with good quality food (preferably live) at least during the week prior to reproduction, after this time, when the male has recognized the place and established his territory, he will begin to build a bubble nest of about 4 x 4 cm and it will be time to introduce the female, who will be courted in a not very gallant way, so a place where she will take refuge from harassment will be necessary. At the time of mating, the male will surround the female with her body and press her to release the spawn that will immediately be fertilized and placed in the nest. This operation will occur several times and when it is finished, after which the female must be taken out so that the male does not kill her.
The male will be left in this tank until the fry are swimming by themselves (approximately the fourth day after hatching) unless he eats the offspring, removing him immediately. As soon as the young are left alone, the water level should be lowered to 2-5 cm. The fry should be fed from the second day of life with recently hatched brine shrimp and/or infusoria.
