TankBud

Moonlight gourami

Trichopodus microlepis

FreshwaterFish

Moonlight gourami (Trichopodus microlepis)
H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
77–86°F
25–30°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
5.9 in
15 cm
Minimum tank
30 gal
115 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Bubble nester
Rarity
Rare
Family
Osphronemidae
Origin
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

Overview

The moonlight gourami is a calm, slow-moving fish for a quiet community tank. It does best with a keeper who has a little experience.

Did you know

The moonlight gourami is named for its soft, silvery sheen. The sheen comes from unusually fine scales that scatter light across the body.

Caring for the moonlight gourami

Keep moonlight gouramis as a pair or a small group in a quiet tank. A tank of at least 30 gal (115 L) gives a group room to settle. Dense planting with floating plants, calm water and a dark substrate shows off its silvery sheen and helps it feel secure.

It likes warmth, so keep the water at 77 to 86°F (25 to 30°C) with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Leave a warm air layer under the lid, as it breathes from the surface and dislikes cold drafts.

Feed a varied diet of flake or pellet, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and some vegetable matter. It favors the middle and upper water and explores with its long, thread-like pelvic fins. Avoid known fin-nippers, which will pester those fins. The moonlight gourami mixes well with other peaceful mid-sized community fish, though it can be a little shy at first.

In breeding condition, males develop orange to red pelvic fins and a slightly steeper forehead. They build a large bubble nest, often with plant fragments worked in, and guard the eggs. Home breeding is not commonly recorded.

Good to know

The moonlight gourami belongs to the gourami family Osphronemidae. Its scientific name, microlepis, means small-scaled.

In the wild

Trichopodus microlepis comes from the lowlands of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It lives in slow and still waters such as swamps, ponds and flooded fields thick with vegetation.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The moonlight gourami is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a moonlight gourami need?

A moonlight gourami needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a moonlight gourami need?

A moonlight gourami is comfortable at 77–86°F (25–30°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

What does a moonlight gourami eat?

A moonlight gourami eats a varied diet of flake or pellet, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, plus some vegetable matter.

How big does a moonlight gourami get?

An adult moonlight gourami reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).

How does a moonlight gourami breed?

Male moonlight gouramis build a large bubble nest, often with plant fragments worked in, and guard the eggs. Home breeding is not commonly recorded.

Related species