Chocolate gourami
Sphaerichthys osphromenoides
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 79–88°F
- 26–31°C
- pH
- 5.5–7.0
- Adult size
- 2 in
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 17 gal
- 65 L
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Mouthbrooder · Medium
- Rarity
- Common
- Family
- Osphronemidae
- Origin
- Sumatra, Borneo
Overview
The chocolate gourami is a small, shy and peaceful gourami for a dim blackwater tank. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.
Did you know
Many chocolate gourami losses come down to nitrate creep and unstable parameters rather than disease.
Caring for the chocolate gourami
Keep chocolate gouramis in a small group of their own kind, in at least 17 gal (65 L). Set up a dim, heavily planted tank with floating cover. Add leaf litter or botanicals to lower the pH and tint the water.
They need soft, acidic water to do well, at a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Keep it warm, at 79 to 88°F (26 to 31°C). Chocolate gouramis are sensitive to water quality, which is why they are considered tricky. Stable, clean blackwater conditions matter more for them than for most gouramis.
They can be fussy eaters, so offer small live and frozen foods such as daphnia and baby brine shrimp alongside fine prepared food. They are shy and peaceful and sit mostly in the middle of the tank. House them only with calm, quiet tank mates, since they are easily outcompeted and stressed.
Unusually for the family, the chocolate gourami is a maternal mouthbrooder rather than a bubble-nester, and the female carries the eggs. Breeding is moderately difficult.
Good to know
The chocolate gourami, Sphaerichthys osphromenoides, is a labyrinth fish in the family Osphronemidae. That means it can gulp air at the surface.
In the wild
Chocolate gouramis come from blackwater peat swamps and slow forest streams in Sumatra and Borneo. That water is soft, acidic and stained brown with tannins.
Common questions
What size tank does a chocolate gourami need?
A chocolate gourami needs at least 17 gal (65 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH does a chocolate gourami need?
A chocolate gourami is comfortable at 79–88°F (26–31°C) with a pH of 5.5–7.0.
What does a chocolate gourami eat?
A chocolate gourami eats small live and frozen foods such as daphnia and baby brine shrimp, alongside fine prepared food. It can be a fussy eater.
How big does a chocolate gourami get?
An adult chocolate gourami reaches about 2 in (5 cm).
How does a chocolate gourami breed?
A chocolate gourami is a maternal mouthbrooder, and the female carries the eggs. Breeding it is moderately difficult.
Related species
1.8 in (4.5 cm)16 gal (60 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)Crossband chocolate gourami
Sphaerichthys selatanensis
1.8 in (4.5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)
2.8 in (7 cm)24 gal (90 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)Sharpnose chocolate gourami
Sphaerichthys acrostoma
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2.2 in (5.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)70–77°F (21–25°C)Vaillant's chocolate gourami
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2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)Honey gourami
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2 in (5 cm)12 gal (45 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)Ornate paradisefish
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