Thick lipped gourami
Encyclopedia
The thick-lipped gourami Trichogaster labiosa (also known as Colisa labiosa) is a small freshwater fish of the gourami
family
Osphronemidae and like other members of this group is noted for being able to breathe air using its labyrinth organ. It reaches a maximum length of 9 cm and is sexually dimorphic
, the female being silvery but the male marked with oblique, thin red and blue strips along its flanks. The thick-lipped gourami is a popular aquarium
fish.
in the tropics
. It has also been introduced into Colombia
.
into which the eggs are placed. The male guards the eggs but ignores the fry.
fish industry. Thick-lipped gouramis are generally peaceful, easy to keep fish well suited to the tropical community aquarium. Like other Trichogaster species, it tends to be a bit shy and would appreciate plant life to hide under if it feels threatened. They eat a variety of foods including flake
, bloodworms, and brine shrimp
. These fish should not be maintained with fish such as barbs or their thread-like ventral fins may be nipped to stumps. C. labiosus is one of the easiest species of gourami to breed. The male likes to build bubble nests and is not as likely as other species to bully the female if the female is not yet ready to spawn.
The thick-lipped gourami has been deliberately crossbred with the Indian gourami
and the dwarf gourami
to produce hydrids with new colour patters; these colours include: gold, red and green. The red hybrid is called the "robin 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
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Osphronemidae and like other members of this group is noted for being able to breathe air using its labyrinth organ. It reaches a maximum length of 9 cm and is sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, the female being silvery but the male marked with oblique, thin red and blue strips along its flanks. The thick-lipped gourami is a popular aquarium
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:...
fish.
Distribution
This fish originates from south MyanmarMyanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
in the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
. It has also been introduced into Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Reproduction
Like most other gouramis, the thick-lipped gourami builds a bubble nestBubble nest
Bubblenests, also spelled bubble nests or bubble-nests, created by some fish species, are floating masses of bubbles blown with an oral secretion, saliva bubbles, and occasionally aquatic plants, or an area for egg deposit attached at the bottom. Fish that build and guard bubble nests are known as...
into which the eggs are placed. The male guards the eggs but ignores the fry.
In the aquarium
This fish is widely transported around the world for the aquariumAquarium
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...
fish industry. Thick-lipped gouramis are generally peaceful, easy to keep fish well suited to the tropical community aquarium. Like other Trichogaster species, it tends to be a bit shy and would appreciate plant life to hide under if it feels threatened. They eat a variety of foods including flake
Fish food
Aquarium fish feed is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pet fish kept in aquariums or ponds. Fish foods normally contain macro nutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep captive fish in good health. Approximately 80% of fishkeeping hobbyists feed their fish...
, bloodworms, and 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...
. These fish should not be maintained with fish such as barbs or their thread-like ventral fins may be nipped to stumps. C. labiosus is one of the easiest species of gourami to breed. The male likes to build bubble nests and is not as likely as other species to bully the female if the female is not yet ready to spawn.
The thick-lipped gourami has been deliberately crossbred with the Indian 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...
and the dwarf gourami
Dwarf gourami
The dwarf gourami, Trichogaster lalius , has an almost translucent blue color, with vertical red to dark orange stripes. In its native range it is dried for food, and it is also kept as an aquarium fish. It has become highly popular for aquaria.Dwarf gouramis from Singapore may carry dwarf gourami...
to produce hydrids with new colour patters; these colours include: gold, red and green. The red hybrid is called the "robin gourami".