Moon Gourami (Trichopodus Microlepis)

Moonlight gourami, or lunar trihogastr (Moonlight gourami) - amazing fish native to Thailand and Cambodia, distinguished elegance and fragility. Unpretentious in keeping and feeding. Shy, peaceful fish that shows territoriality during the breeding season. A couple will need an aquarium from 70 liters. In large aquariums can be kept with any peaceful fish. Paired spawning.

Habitat: Thailand, Cambodia.

Habitat: reservoirs with stagnant or slowly flowing water. They prefer to stay in shallow water along the shores overgrown with vegetation.

Description: the body is high, slightly elongated and compressed at the sides. Big eyes, reddish. The mouth is small and slightly elongated upward. The anal fin is long, the pelvic fins are elongated, filiform (the length of which can exceed twenty centimeters). Young fish are zealous cleaners of aquarium plants. Like all labyrinth fish, the lunar gourami breathes atmospheric air, from time to time, rising to the surface of the water.

Related article Spotted gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus)

Color:the main body color is silvery, often with a bluish tint. During spawning, the male's breast turns reddish-yellow. The leading edge of the male's anal fin is orange in color. The filiform pelvic fins are orange-red in the male, yellow-orange in the female. Females are of an even silver color, without red-orange tints.

Size: in nature they grow up to 18 cm, in aquariums up to 12-15 cm. The male is 1-2 cm larger than the female.

Life expectancy: up to 4-6 years.

Aquarium: top closed with a lid.

Sizes: from 70-100 liters per steam, the minimum size of the aquarium is 90x30x30 cm.Water

: pH 6-8, dH 5-20 °, aeration (using a fine spray that creates a slow flow), filtration, weekly change up to 20-30 water.

Temperature: 22-28 ° C.

Lighting: moderate.

Substrate: dark.

Plants: thickets of hard-leaved plants growing in bunches; floating plants on the surface of the water.

Decoration: driftwood, grottoes, various shelters, thickets of plants. Free swimming space required.

Feeding: in nature they feed on zooplankton, crustaceans and aquatic insects. Any food can be taken in aquariums. It is advisable to use flakes with plant components as a top dressing. Gouramis are prone to overeating.

Behavior: the moon gourami is a shy, peaceful fish that displays territoriality during the breeding season. Prefers to hide behind shelters or behind bushes of plants. They successfully live both in pairs and in small groups.

Temperament: males can be aggressive and offend other labyrinth fish.

Water zone: upper and middle water layers.

Can be kept: in large aquariums with any peaceful fish of the same size (lalius, other gourami, battles, corridors, scalars, loricaria).

Not to be kept with: small or aggressive fish.

Breeding fish: paired spawning in a spawning aquarium (from 100 l, water level 15-20 cm, T 28 ° C, thickets of long-stemmed plants, several ricia or duckweed bushes are thrown onto the surface). Before spawning, the producers are abundantly fed with live food, the female ready for spawning becomes significantly fat. Spawning is stimulated by an increase in temperature to 26-30 ° C and a decrease in dH 2-5 °, pH 6-7. The male builds a nest from foam (up to 30 cm in diameter, up to 15 cm high in the center), which is strengthened by plant debris. Spawning usually lasts about three hours. The male takes care of the eggs and larvae, and the female is deposited after spawning.

Sex differences: the dorsal fin of the male is longer and sharper than that of the female.

Puberty: occurs at 6-8 months.

Number of caviar:up to 2000 eggs.

Incubation period: 2 days.

Related article Kissing gourami (Helostoma temminkii)

Offspring: fry swim on the second day. At this time, the water level is lowered to 5-10 cm. The fry of the lunar gourami are very sensitive to the purity of the water, so regular changes and cleaning up of the remains of food are important. It is recommended to plant a kabomba or fern in a nursery aquarium (these plants purify water well). As soon as a labyrinth organ is formed in the fry (they do not begin to grab air with their mouths at the surface), the water level can be increased.

Growth rate: uneven, fry must be sorted periodically by size.

Feeding juveniles: starter feed - nauplii of brine shrimp, ciliates, microworms, egg yolk is possible.

Jumping from parents: The male is set aside when the fry begin to feed on their own.

Comments: with the participation of lunar and spotted gourami, golden, lemon, marble and other breeding forms of gourami were bred.