Giant Gourami
1 Giant Gourami Species Profile
The Giant Gourami is native to the rivers and lakes of the Greater Sunda Islands in Southeast Asia, where it is an important food fish and is widely farmed, making it common throughout the region. It is very easy to keep—hardy, fast-growing, and capable of reaching a large size in a short period.
Chinese name: Giant Gourami
Kingdom: Animalia
Genus: Osphronemus
Distribution: Southeast Asia
2 Giant Gourami Appearance
In its native Southeast Asia, the Giant Gourami is an extremely common food fish, but in China many aquarists also keep it as an ornamental fish. Because it is so common and widely farmed in Southeast Asia, aquarists need not worry about its availability.
I. Appearance
The Giant Gourami is an extremely robust species that grows very rapidly, reaching an enormous size in a short time. Therefore, never keep them in a small aquarium—the tank should be no smaller than 120 cm, otherwise it will adversely affect their growth.
II. Breeding Characteristics
The Giant Gourami breeds in the same way as the Siamese fighting fish, building a bubble nest, with the male guarding the eggs and fry. The fry are large upon hatching and can immediately take larger foods such as water fleas and tubifex worms, so they are not difficult to raise, though the juveniles are somewhat aggressive. They reach maturity and can breed at about two years of age. Because of their somewhat aggressive nature and large size, they can only be kept with other large fish. During cultivation, an albino variety known as the Golden Warship (also called the Fortune Fish) has appeared, and science has also identified two subspecies: the Red-finned Warship and the Seven-band Warship.
3 Giant Gourami Habitat and Care
The Giant Gourami is very easy to keep and requires almost no special attention. It can adapt to weakly acidic, neutral, or weakly alkaline water, though it prefers weakly acidic to neutral conditions.
The recommended temperature is 23 to 28 C. Because the Giant Gourami is robust and grows extremely large quickly, never keep it in a small aquarium—the tank should be at least 120 cm. It is generally not possible to breed them in a home aquarium, but you can try if you have a large pond.
4 Giant Gourami Feeding
Because the Giant Gourami grows very fast and can become large quickly, what to feed them is a common question among aquarists—how to ensure balanced nutrition during growth?
The Giant Gourami is omnivorous and has a particular fondness for green foods, but this does not stop it from swallowing small fish and shrimp, which it enjoys eating live. These high-protein foods aid its growth, so when feeding the Giant Gourami you must include both plant-based and animal-based foods.