1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Very peaceful and timid; needs very quiet tankmates and cannot compete for food with greedy fish.
136 species in our list are a good match.
Very peaceful and timid; needs very quiet tankmates and cannot compete for food with greedy fish.
Live and frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp and mosquito larvae; many refuse dry food.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males have a straight lower jaw and a more pointed head; females have a slightly rounded lower jaw (stretchy skin used for mouthbrooding). Longer fins and brighter colour in males are not reliable in every population.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Mouthbrooder ·
Maternal mouthbrooder: eggs are laid on the bottom and the female collects them in her mouth. It and S. selatanensis are the only anabantoids in which the female broods.
Keep a group so a pair forms naturally.
60 L tank with soft, acidic water, dim light, floating plants and leaf litter; stable 26-28 C.
Stable soft acidic water, quiet conditions and plenty of live foods.
The female broods for 7-20 days and releases 10-40 fully formed fry that can eat microworm or Artemia nauplii at once.
The female releases fully developed fry able to eat newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms.
A small chocolate-brown and gold gourami from Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. It lives mostly in peat swamps and blackwater streams where the pH can fall to 3-4, is slow and easily outcompeted, and is unusual as a mouthbrooder in which the female holds the eggs.
Italian naturalist Giovanni Canestrini described this delicate gourami in 1860. It is famous among aquarists as a challenging fish that needs very soft, acidic water.
First described by Giovanni Canestrini in 1860.
16 facts checked with sources
Often confused with S. selatanensis (an extra light bar on the flank; it can hybridise with S. osphromenoides). The name S. malayanus is an uncertain synonym.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Sphaerichthys · FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summaryLegacy has no family field. FishBase places the order as Anabantiformes.
FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summarySeriously Fish gives 5 cm SL (standard length); FishBase 6 cm TL (total length). These describe about the same size; legacy 6 cm matches the TL figure.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides · FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summarySources disagree; Seriously Fish (preferred for husbandry) is warmer than legacy 24-28, FishBase cooler.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides · FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summaryLegacy has no hardness. 0-3 dGH for wild fish; captive-bred fish tolerate up to 10.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides · FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summary60 x 30 cm base x 30 cm height = 54 L (Seriously Fish states ~54 litres), for a group.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesLegacy suggested it can be kept singly; Seriously Fish says it needs interaction with its own kind.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesTimid and slow; groups form hierarchies and dominant fish chase rivals at feeding time.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesNo source names a swimming level.
FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summarySeriously Fish's difficulty panel rates it Moderate; legacy rated it 3 (hard).
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesLegacy has no range field.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesLegacy relied on dorsal-fin length and body shape; the jaw profile is the reliable cue.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesFishBase says 'Male broods eggs in the mouth', which Seriously Fish describes as an old error; Seriously Fish (with a detailed account) is followed.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoidesLegacy 10-40 eggs held about 2 weeks agrees (FishBase gives 20-40 eggs).
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides · FishBase: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides summary"Often sold in poor condition" is not stated in the sources and is left out.
Seriously Fish: Sphaerichthys osphromenoides