Giant Gourami

COMMON NAME: Giant Gourami, Goramy.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Osphronernus goramy.

DESIGNATION: Tropical, but will tolerateupper end of the coldwater range.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Originally fromBorneo but now widely distributed as a foodfish in the Far East.

SIZE: Up to around 60 cm (24 in).

WATER PREFERENCES: Not critical. Temperature: 19-26°C (66-79°F) or evenhigher.

DIET: All foods, which should include regularplant and animal components.

BREEDING: Large bubblenest, incorporatingvegetation, built by the male, often underwater. No aquarium spawnings havebeen reported.

DESCRIPTION: Owing to its largesize, only small specimens can be kept in theaverage aquarium. Juveniles have pointedsnouts and look quite different from adults.

Giant Gourami Information

• The male fish can be easily identified with the female fish breeds. The dorsal and anal fins are more pointed and longer in size than females. When the male fish gets matured it develops a distinctive nuchal hump on the forehead. The nuchal hump is more prominent in the male fish than the female. Like the other species of the gourami the fish has the special ability to breathe through air as they have a labyrinth organ. This organ in fact helps the fish to live in waters holding very less percentage of oxygen.
• The Giant Gourami can grow quite big in size. They can grow up till 70 cms in length.
• The fish stays in very shallow regions that have ample of weeds. Due to the presence of overcrowded weeds there can be very less amount of oxygen. But the fish is able to survive well due to the existence of the special breathing organs of the fish.
• The natural diet of the fish mainly consists of the weeds and other edible objects that are found in between the weeds.
• The male fish are quite aggressive in nature. During the time of breeding they get aggressive towards one another. They have the habit of involving in violent fights that are also common among Siamese fighting fish. They also have a typical ritualistic aggressive nature that leads to a certain formation and act of kissing. The act of kissing has actually earned the name for the specie as the kissing gourami.
• When the giant gourami is about to lay its eggs they build a nest of leaves on the surface of the water. The nests are suspended with bubbles. The eggs get guarded by the leaves of the nest. After hatching and the fry leaves the nest.

Since the fish is commercially cultured, it faces no threat of extinction. However, its introduction to a new pond may lead to the destruction of other fish breeds that already reside in the pond.