Marble gourami. Gourami marble fish. Reproduction and maintenance

An aquarium in a house is not only a rather exquisite decoration (if, of course, it is artistically equipped and carefully cared for). Fish as pets are a spectacle that never gets boring to watch. And doctors advise buying an aquarium for medicinal purposes:

• Those who are prone to depression or have heart disease;
• Hyperactive children;
• An autistic child or a patient with cerebral palsy;
• Allergy sufferers with a reaction to animal hair.

Fish – a worthy alternative to the same turtle, which is not too active and gives much less emotional impact when living in the house.

Most often novice aquarists populate glass houses with guppies or swordsmen; the bravest of the newcomers dare to buy a scalar. But all these are small fish. If you wanted something bigger, but with a beautiful coloring, but so that the care was not too difficult, pay attention to the fish called marble gourami.

Origin

These fish come from Indochina. They are freshwater, and they live either in stagnant waters – fresh lakes, dams and stakes - or in rivers with a slow current. Europeans brought gourami in 1896, so he has quite a long "experience" of living in aquariums. The unusual appearance of the fish prompted breeders to work on a variety of appearance, and now these inhabitants of aquariums flaunt colors that nature has not endowed them with. However, it is the aquarium fish gourami marble that is naturally painted: it is quite common in its homeland, although there may be differences in color - the shades depend on specific living conditions.

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Unusual appearance

All species of these fish have an elongated, oblong body, flat on the sides. The lower fin begins near the pectoral, and ends already near the tail. And the pectoral fins are modified into something similar to long, full-body length threads, and this is not an ornament, like, for example, veils in some goldfish, but an additional tactile organ.

In nature, gourami rarely grow more than 10-11 cm, but there are specimens up to 15 cm in the aquarium. The coloring can be, as already mentioned, several shades, but the presence of spots or stripes is mandatory. No wonder this particular gourami is marble. The photo well demonstrates the divorces peculiar to this stone.

The key to a successful purchase

If you have not yet encountered such aquarium inhabitants, be careful when purchasing them. Many refuse to buy, focusing on the fading color of the fish. This is not quite the right criterion: in the places of sale of gourami, the marble loses its colorfulness somewhat, because it is in a stressful state. It is necessary to look closely at the fins: they should not look shabby or torn, they should be well straightened, and the whiskers should be long. If they are less than the length of the fish's body or are broken off - gourami either suffers from poisoning with poor-quality food (and constantly), or experiences vitamin deficiency. Of course, you can get out of such fish, but it will take time and effort; and if they are carriers of some kind of infection, then they will infect the rest of the inhabitants of the home pond.

Quarantine overexposure

Fundamentally, it is not only right to buy, it is also important to properly plant. The marble gourami itself resists almost all bacterioses very successfully, but it can be their carrier. And without temporary isolation, it will reinfect other, less stable inhabitants. So it's better to keep a new fish in a separate container for seven days, arranging antiseptic "baths" every day. They add antibiotics (biomycin or oxytetracycline), a little pharmacy green, methylene blue or rivanol. The new marble gourami should be in the solution for 10 to 20 minutes, and in between – to rest in warm, fresh and clean water.

The right glass house

Since the marble gourami is a fairly large fish, the aquarium will not need too tight. Two or three individuals need at least 40 liters of water. The soil at the bottom of the "house" should be dark; plants are required not only bottom, but also floating. For good development and increased resistance to diseases, the marble gourami fish needs sunlight – at least in the morning.

These water inhabitants are labyrinthine, that is, they need ordinary air. In order to swallow it, they rise to the surface of the water. So experienced aquarists advise to equip the home of trichogasters (this is the scientific name of gourami) with a special lid that will protect them from cold air. Glass is no good: it completely blocks the access of oxygen, and the fish can suffocate. If there is no lid, just put the aquarium away from the window.

The marble gourami is not capricious in food either. He uses both dry food and live; he eats ordinary semolina porridge well (only it must be scalded) and for some reason likes canned green peas (naturally, crushed).

Additional bonuses

In nature, the marble gourami chooses standing water for life, therefore, it is very picky in home breeding. Trichogasters do not have any special claims to water quality (oxidizability, hardness, pH, presence of nitrates). Of course, you should not pour them water from the tap, but you will not have to "bother" too much. It is only necessary to make sure that the water in the aquarium does not lower the temperature below 20 degrees – after all, the fish are tropical and need some warmth.

Another nice feature of these fish is the lack of need for constant aeration. So you don't have to buy a pump, and the aquarium can be located even in the bedroom, even in the nursery – the noise of the motor will not interfere at night.

The maintenance of gurus is greatly facilitated by their natural struggle with intrusive "neighbors". So, small snails, which multiply very quickly and can eat all the plants in the aquarium, are readily eaten by trichogasters. If they are hungry, they can also destroy the hydra that accidentally got into the aquarium along with the food.

The neighborhood is pleasant and unpleasant

One of the most important questions when buying trichogasters is the question of which fish the gourami get along with. In principle, they are very peaceful and calm, you can combine them with small species, and with quite large ones. Of course, predators are excluded. But still there are more favorable combinations, there are less. Gourami get along very well with neons, the same scalars, rasbori, ancistruses, minors, apistograms and corridors. But trichogasters get along rather poorly with aggressive species - pseudotropheus, parrots, cichlids, goldfish and labidochromis. It probably won't come to murder, but everyone will feel uncomfortable.

Specifics of behavior

Trichogasters are curious fish. Best of all, they study the surroundings with their whiskers, so they touch every new object in the aquarium with them. The same applies to the new "settlers", who at first can react quite nervously to this.

A funny feature of the marble gourami, which is very interesting to follow - the simultaneous lifting of all fish of this species to the top of the aquarium for a breath of air, and then the same friendly descent. In some ways, it resembles the performance of the synchronized swimming team. Even the reproduction of marble gourami takes place quite peacefully. Several males organize their "nests" at a fairly close distance, and this does not end with injuries. They have some border disputes, but they do not lead to injury (and even more death).

If you want more of them

We'll have to get a separate "pool". In terms of volume, in principle, you can take the same in which you usually keep them, and you can not put the soil, but plants are necessary. Males build a nest from their scraps and foam. To "spur" the reproduction of marble gourami, the water must be heated by five degrees. Children are usually nursed by the father, but if the female is not planted, she will also take part in the feasible. After the deposition of caviar, the fry appear in a couple of days, and adults can (and should) be left for a week, for a maximum of ten days. Then parental feelings disappear, gourami can eat their offspring, so it's better to transplant them into a normal dwelling. Part of the water from the aquarium is removed at the same time (the total level needs to be lowered by at least 10 cm) until the labyrinth gills of the small ones are finally formed so that they can capture air from the surface. At this time, they are fed with infusoria and live dust; the yolk of boiled eggs will be useful.

What are these fish sick with

Despite the fact that marble gourami is resistant to ill health, diseases sometimes overtake him. This happens especially often if the nutrition of fish worsens, they are improperly kept or already sick individuals have been planted. Lymphocytosis is the most common. It is accompanied by the appearance of open wounds, nodules or flat swellings, sometimes the diseased fish seems to be sprinkled with rolled flour. The second place among painful lesions is occupied by pseudomonosis, which causes the appearance of dark spots, from which ulcers are then formed. Aeromonosis is also not uncommon. They suffer from fish living in too small and densely populated containers, as a result of which they are weakened. Such inhabitants stop eating, their scales lift up, their belly swells and begins to bleed, they lie on the bottom.

All diseased fish should be deposited in a separate aquarium; most of them will die, but uninfected individuals will remain healthy, and the sick have a good chance of recovery.

However, if you monitor the "pool" and the quality of feed, you are unlikely to encounter such problems. And the rest of the gourami will only please you – both beauty and peculiar habits.