The croaking gourami, Trichopsis vittata, is a species of small freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami

Gourami

Gouramis are a family, Osphronemidae, of freshwater perciform fishes. The fish are native to Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and north-easterly towards Korea. The name "gourami" is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. "Gouramis" is an example of...

 family. They are native to still waters in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 and are distributed worldwide via the aquarium trade

Fishkeeping

Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a fishkeeping industry, as a branch of agriculture.-Types of fishkeeping systems:...

. Croaking gouramis are capable of producing a "croaking" noise using their pectoral fins.

General

Croaking gouramis can reach an average size of about 5 centimeters, though some individuals can grow as large as 6 or 7 centimeters. Coloration is highly variable, ranging from pale brown and green to dark purple with black or red spots on the fins. 2-4 brown or black stripes or rows of spots are present on their sides. Median fins have a thin iridescent blue coloration on their edges. The iris of the eye is bright blue or purple. Females tend to be paler than males, have a slightly rounded dorsal fin and a shorter anal fin. Most croaking gouramis live for about 2 years but with proper care can live as long as 5 in an aquarium setting. They are native to stillwater habitats including ponds, canals and paddy fields in Java, Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, Malaya

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. A breeding population is known to exist in a series of drainage ditches in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, almost certainly introduced there through the aquarium industry.

As their name suggests, croaking gouramis are capable of producing an audible grunting or chirping noise, accomplished through the use of specialized adaptations of their pectoral fins. These noises are produced by both sexes during breeding displays and during the establishment of dominance hierarchies among males. A typical showdown between males consists of each fish circling the other, flaring fins, aggressively darting (though rarely making contact), and producing croaking noises. Well matched individuals may continue this behaviour for several hours at a time.

In aquaria

Croaking gouramis are fairly shy, peaceful fish that do well in most community aquaria

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 and do not cause problems with other tankmates. Males can be fairly territorial and aggressive with each other during breeding periods, but won't cause harm given a large enough aquarium, and usually males comfortably coexist. They require a tank no smaller than 40 litres (10 US gallon

Gallon

The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...

s), preferably larger, and each pair of males will need about 20 inches of space to feel comfortable with one another. Croaking gouramis will prowl about all areas of the aquarium, preferring to lurk among reeds and under large leaves close to the water surface. At night, they might be found "sleeping" at the bottom, even resting on the substrate (which is not normally a cause for concern), or hovering motionless at the water surface.

Like all gourami

Gourami

Gouramis are a family, Osphronemidae, of freshwater perciform fishes. The fish are native to Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and north-easterly towards Korea. The name "gourami" is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. "Gouramis" is an example of...

s, the croaking gourami can breathe atmospheric oxygen from above the water surface using a specialized labyrinth organ (like the Betta

Betta

Betta is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family . The type species is B. picta, the spotted betta.By far the best known Betta species, however, is B...

) if necessary. It is important, therefore, that the surface of the water be exposed to fresh air, usually accomplished by keeping them in an open-top tank or using a hood that allows air ventilation. If you are using good air pumps, this is not always needed, since the air pumps will refresh the air above the water. Very cold air temperatures at the water surface may lead to infections of the labyrinth organ.

The aquarium should be heavily planted and have at least part of the surface shaded by broad leaves or floating plants. Croaking gouramis will become severely stressed in bare tanks without various hiding places. A darker substrate will make them feel comfortable and help show off their subtle colors. Like most gouramis, these fish are susceptible to diseases and infections, so regular water changes are a must. They are tolerant of fairly high temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

s. This can be used to eliminate fish diseases such as ich

Ich

Ich may refer to:* Ich , an album by German rapper Sido.* Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, often shortened to ich, a disease of freshwater fish.** Cryptocaryon or marine ich, a similar disease of marine fish....

 from the aquarium. Temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C) are easily tolerated though 26 °C seems to be close to optimal. A pH of 6.8 is about right and peat

Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

 filtration is often recommended.

Croaking gouramis should not be kept with large, aggressive fish, but are compatible with other small, peaceful fish as well as with fellow gouramis. They will be targeted by male Bettas so they should not be kept with them. They are very sensitive to noise and the tank should be in a quiet area.

Diet

In the wild, croaking gouramis are mostly insectivorous, feeding on insects and insect larvae, however other food types, such as zooplankton, crustaceans,shrimp meat and occasionally plant matter, are eaten as well. In aquaria, a varied diet is important to their long-term health; standard flake foods along with regular supplements of freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex worms, brine shrimp

Brine shrimp

Artemia is a genus of aquatic crustaceans known as brine shrimp. Artemia, the only genus in the family Artemiidae, has changed little externally since the Triassic period...

, and some algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

-based flakes will provide these fish with proper nutrition. Occasional feedings of live brine shrimp offer the aquarist an opportunity to observe the natural hunting behaviour of croaking gouramis.

Breeding

Sex can be most reliably determined by candelling but the more common approach is to observe the shape of the dorsal fin: the male's dorsal fin is pointed, while the female's is rounded. The male croaking gourami is a bubblenest builder, creating a small nest from air bubbles and mucous under a leaf. The water level should be reduced to 8 inches during spawning, circulation kept minimal, and the temperature should be approximately 28 °C (82 °F). Spawning occurs under the nest, with the female responding to the male's dance by rolling over, followed by the typical gourami embrace. About 5 to 10 eggs are released in a quick burst. The male will grab the eggs and spit them into the nest, often adding a few more bubbles for good measure. This act may be repeated a dozen times or more, until about 100 eggs are laid. Some large females may lay more than 200. After spawning the female should be moved to a different tank. The male will keep the bubblenest maintained and tend to the eggs and fry, but when the fry are 2–3 days old the male should also be removed. When first hatched, the fry should be fed infusoria, and later, baby brine shrimp and finely ground flakes. Freeze-dried tablets may also be fed to older fry. It is important that the breeding and grow-out tanks be covered and protected from cool drafts, as low air temperatures above the water surface may cause damage to the developing labyrinth organs of the young fish when they begin to take gulps of air.