The gourami family includes a variety of fish, including pearl gourami. Betta fish, paradise fish, and a slew of other popular aquarium pets are all related.
Bettas and gouramis can breathe air since they are labyrinth fish, which allows them to flourish even in poor water conditions. It’s only one of the numerous reasons the lovely pearl gourami is so popular!
Pearl Gourami
By the way, the pearl gourami has a new color morph that you could find at your local fish store! The golden pearl gourami is still rather uncommon, but it’s worth keeping a look out for.
Golden pearl gouramis are thought to be a cross between the bigger and more aggressive blue gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus) and the smaller and less aggressive pearl gourami. As a result, it’s probable that as an adult, it’ll be both bigger and meaner than regular pearl gouramis. The golden hues, on the other hand, look much better with the males’ ruby red and the ladies’ silver belies!
| Common Names | Pearl Gourami, Lace Gourami |
| Origin | Southeast Asia |
| Scientific Name | Trichopodus leerii |
| Length | 4 to 5 inches |
| Aquarium Size | 30+ gallons |
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Ease of Care | Easy |
Pearl gouramis, which are used to dense foliage in their native environment, will flourish in an aquarium with similar conditions. The combination of floating plants, dim illumination, and a dark substrate is excellent. Although they favour soft, acidic water, they may survive in a variety of environments. They are highly suited to community tanks because of their versatility and quiet temperament.
Pearl Gourami Tank Size
Because pearl gouramis are small, you don’t need a particularly huge tank to keep them. You also don’t want to go with an aquarium that is too tiny. Unfortunately, 10 and 20 gallon installations are too small for pearl gourami tanks.
For one or two pearl gouramis, you’ll need at least a 30 gallon tank, with larger being best whenever feasible. A fully developed pearl gourami will measure between 4 and 5 inches in length. They’re a good size for an aquarium fish; not too big, but not too little, either!
Pearl Gourami Lifespan
The pearl gourami, like many aquarium fish, will survive for a few years. However, they do not live as long as pacus, goldfish, and other world-record-holding fish. The usual lifespan of a pearl gourami is 4 to 6 years. You could have a special fish that lives to be eight years old, but that is really unusual.
Water Conditions
Because pearl gouramis are native to Southeast Asia, we can learn a lot about the kind of water they require. They live in very warm, acidic water that is generally soft in chemistry, as do other fish in this region. They thrive in a pH range of 5.5 (acidic) to 7.0 (neutral).
They’ve been tank-raised for a long time, so they’ll flourish in alkaline water (7.0+). In soft, acidic water, however, they have higher health, nicer colours, and are far more likely to reproduce. Even little changes in acidity, like as adding driftwood, peat, and other plant tannin sources to your aquarium, will assist!
Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate have no effect on pearl gouramis. They should not, however, be the first fish you add to a new fish tank. You can always fishless cycle with liquid ammonia if you don’t like fish-in cycling. However, using guppies and other hardy fish to cycle new tanks is still a proven and true practise.
The pearl gourami, like other labyrinth fish (bettas and gouramis), can breathe atmospheric air through its labyrinth organ. This is a modified gill structure that functions in a similar way as a rudimentary lung. Because gouramis dwell in shallow, hot water, dissolved oxygen levels can quickly drop to dangerously low levels.
These are, however, the same water conditions in which insect larvae, a preferred food source, are found. As a result, gouramis and bettas have evolved to flourish in these bodies of water.
Food & Diet
Pearl gouramis are omnivores, which means they can eat a wide variety of foods. Because they’ll eat almost anything, the most important thing to focus on is balance and a grasp of their required nutritional intake.
These fish eat a lot of insects and other protein-rich foods like eggs and algae in their native environment. They’re also quite happy chewing on plants if the mood strikes them.
When it comes to their nutrition in captivity, make sure they have a healthy foundation of pelle or flake fish food. Any reliable meal would suffice.
You should avoid overfeeding your pearl gourami since they will continue to eat anything you put in the tank. Two or three feedings each day are ideal.
Also, keep an eye on them while they eat (particularly early on) and reduce the quantity if you notice a lot of food is being missed. Uneaten food decomposes into organic waste, which has a detrimental influence on the quality of your water and can also elevate ammonia levels.
Pearl Gourami Tank Mates
The selection of compatible pearl gourami tank mates is rather vast because to their calm demeanour. They may live in the same aquarium as tiny or giant fish as long as their tankmates aren’t hostile.
Because pearl gourami don’t pick fights (until it’s spawning time), you won’t have to worry about them getting into mischief in your tank.
Rather than listing every single tank mate that is compatible with pearl gourami, we’ll focus on a few of the more popular options. This will provide you a solid starting place, and you may use the basic criteria to guide your selection if you have a species that isn’t on the list.
Here’s the list:
This is only a small sample of possible tank mates for your pearl gourami, but it’s a good start.
If you’re thinking of getting fish that aren’t on this list, there are two factors to bear in mind to assess compatibility.
The first is the issue of scale. Fish that are substantially larger than your pearl gourami might make them feel frightened and drive them to spend a lot of time hiding, even if they are calm. As a result, stress levels will rise and there will be a lack of richness. They’ll be terrified every time they have to go up to the surface to breathe!
Breeding Pearl Gourami
Is your pearl gourami a girl or a boy? It’s tough to tell when they’re young since they all have the same silvery tint when they’re just 1 or 2 inches long.
However, when your pearl gourami matures sexually, the variances become more apparent. Males have a yellow, orange, or red breast and stomach even when they are not ready to procreate. Even though a female pearl gourami’s anal fin is frequently orange or red, her belly is virtually always silver. She’ll also have a tendency to be a touch chubby all the time.
Male pearl gouramis have fin extensions on their anal fins, and their flanks are commonly blue, green, or purple.
Conclusion
Caring for pearl gouramis is enjoyable, gratifying, and not too difficult. These are some of our favourite freshwater fish, and we want to maintain a few of them for the foreseeable future.
You have to see this fish in person to believe how beautiful it can make your aquarium. They appear fantastic in pics, but they don’t do them justice!
We hope you gained a lot of knowledge from this care guide and are now confident in your abilities to keep these fish in your aquarium.