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Encyclopedia / Gouramis & Bettas / Vaillant's chocolate gourami
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Variations

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Vaillant's chocolate gourami

Sphaerichthys vaillanti · Vaillant's gourami, Chocolate gourami (vaillanti)

Very shy and peaceful; keep with other very small, gentle fish.

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5.5 cmBody length, without tail ✓
21–25 °CTemperature ✓
4–6.5pH ✓
54 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • Giant gourami eats animals up to about 10 cm. Vaillant's chocolate gourami only grows to 5.5 cm.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 6.5.
Not recommended
  • They need different temperatures (21–25 °C vs 26–30 °C). No setting suits both.
Not recommended
  • Oscar eats animals up to about 12 cm. Vaillant's chocolate gourami only grows to 5.5 cm.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

193 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓0–3 dGH
Group size ✓6 or more
Temperament ✓Peaceful
Swims at ?Middle
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 2.5–4 cm
Growth Slow

Behavior

Very shy and peaceful; keep with other very small, gentle fish.

Food

Live foods such as daphnia, white worms and brine shrimp.

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Male or female

Reversed sexual dimorphism: once settled, females show alternating red and green vertical bars, while males stay brownish. Males have a slightly rounded lower jaw (stretchy throat skin used for mouthbrooding); females have a straight lower jaw and more pointed head.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Mouthbrooder ·

Paternal mouthbrooder: the male, not the female, carries the eggs. Eggs are laid on the substrate and the male picks them up; both parents defend the area. Can be bred in a group or a single pair in soft, acidic water with good live food.

Pairing

Keep a small group so pairs form.

Setup

60 L tank of soft acidic blackwater with leaf-litter and floating plants; stable temperature.

What starts it

Stable blackwater conditions and live foods.

Eggs

The male holds the eggs and fry for 7-20 days, then releases 10-40 free-swimming juveniles that can take microworm or Artemia nauplii at once.

Raising the fry

Fry are large enough for newly hatched brine shrimp.

Common mistakes
  • Hard water
  • Disturbance
  • Weak or ill parent fish
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionBorneo – Kalimantan, Indonesia
HabitatPeat-swamp forest streams
Native rangeAbout 400 km across
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The story of the vaillant's chocolate gourami

A rare relative of the chocolate gourami found only in the Kapuas basin of western Borneo, mostly in peat swamps and blackwater streams. Unlike its relatives the male mouthbroods and the female wears the bright red-and-green bars. Habitat loss has hit it hard and it is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

French ichthyologist Jacques Pellegrin described this gourami in 1930 from Borneo. It is a rarely seen, prized species for experienced keepers of blackwater fish.

First described by Jacques Pellegrin in 1930. Named for Named after French zoologist Léon Vaillant.

  • It is a mouthbrooder like the chocolate gourami.
  • It needs very soft, acidic, tea-coloured water.
  • It is known only from Borneo.

Sources

16 facts checked with sources