Blue Gourami

Blue Gourami is a variety of fish that hails from the southeastern Asia. This fish variety is of slight commercial significance as a food fish in its native variety and it is farmed, too. It is also an admired fish in the aquarium trade. This fish variety is a rather nonviolent that is extremely amusing to observe as a juvenile. These fish varieties have two spots, one in the middle part of their body, and a second spot at the starting point of the tail. The eye is, in fact, the third spot. Due to these three spots, this fish is also called the Three Spot Gourami.

Features

The Blue Gourami fish can grow to a maximum length of 6 inches. These fish varieties are recognized to change color and their blue-colored spots will become paler as they grow when these fish are not kept under good conditions or under high pressure. When these fish are healthy, they have two bright blue spots on both sides of their bodies. Furthermore, their blue spots also turn out to be paler with age.

Diet

The Blue Gourami fish is an omnivore and feeds on both meat-based and algae-based foods. An algae-based peel food, together with freeze-dehydrated bloodworms, brine shrimp and Tubifex worms, offers these fish the appropriate nutrition. Live foods like daphnia and mosquito larvae are also the favorite foods of these fish.

Breeding

The dorsal fin of the fish differentiates the male and female Blue Gourami varieties. The dorsal fin in the male breed is elongated and sharp and the anal fin is sharp, whereas the dorsal fin in the female breed is shorter and circular. However, some female fish may contain a longer dorsal fin than male ones. When prepared to breed, the male fish constructs a bubble nest and then starts attracting the female fish by swimming backward and forward, raising his tail and flaring his fins. The female fish may lay a maximum of 800 eggs.

The average lifespan of the Blue Gourami fish ranges from 4 years to 8 years.