Threestripe croaking gourami

Care at a glance

Overview

The threestripe croaking gourami is a small labyrinth fish for a planted tank with floating cover. It is easy to keep, even for a beginner.

Caring for the threestripe croaking gourami

Keep a group of threestripe croaking gouramis in a planted tank of at least 12 gal (45 L). Add floating plants and keep the water calm. Hold it at 72 to 82°F (22 to 28°C) with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

Feed small live and frozen foods such as daphnia, artemia and micro worm. Once the fish settle, move them on to fine dried foods.

Threestripe croaking gouramis are peaceful, and they work in a nano community with small rasboras and pygmy corydoras. The floating plants and calm water let them build bubble nests. Breeding them is of medium difficulty.

Good to know

The threestripe croaking gourami, Trichopsis schalleri, was described by Ladiges in 1962 and belongs to the family Osphronemidae. It is the middle-sized croaking gourami, larger than the pygmy Trichopsis pumila but smaller than Trichopsis vittata. Both sexes can croak, using specialized pectoral fin tendons.

In the wild

The threestripe croaking gourami comes from the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins of Thailand and Laos. It lives in sluggish ditches, marshes and floodplain pools that are warm, still and rich in vegetation. It stays among plant stems and floating cover, and the water is usually soft and slightly acidic. Like other labyrinth fish, it gulps air, so it copes in low-oxygen conditions.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Pygmy gourami

  Trichopsis pumila

  1.6 in (4 cm) · 10 gal (38 L)

  1.6 in (4 cm)10 gal (38 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Croaking gourami

  Trichopsis vittata

  2.8 in (7 cm) · 18 gal (67 L)

  2.8 in (7 cm)18 gal (67 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Balunga betta

  Betta balunga

  2 in (5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)

  2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Chocolate gourami

  Sphaerichthys osphromenoides

  2 in (5 cm) · 17 gal (65 L)

  2 in (5 cm)17 gal (65 L)79–88°F (26–31°C)

• 

  Honey gourami

  Trichogaster chuna

  2 in (5 cm) · 14 gal (54 L)

  2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Ornate paradisefish

  Malpulutta kretseri

  2 in (5 cm) · 12 gal (45 L)

  2 in (5 cm)12 gal (45 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)