Indian Banded Gourami

A beautiful peaceful species suitable for community aquariums and a good choice for those seeking a contrast to small, shoaling tank mates. In the wild, these fish would be found amongst areas of slow-moving waters with heavy vegetation, and so to emulate this, the aquarium should be well-planted and with a gentle water flow. At first sight, this fish may seem rather plain compared to its smaller relatives but once settled into a well-planted aquarium the males will start to develop some beautiful barring reminiscent of wild Dwarf gouramis. Perhaps it was in regard to this that they earned the common name of Giant gourami – probably from people who hadn’t encountered the enormous Osphronemus that really deserve this epithet. In order to avoid ending up with a fish over 60cm long, we try to stick to the alternative. There seems to be a little confusion between this fish and the closely related Thick-lipped gourami T. labiosa, with imported fish sometimes showing intermediate characteristics. Time will tell if there are undescribed species involved, a massive amount of regional variation or even natural hybridisation at pla

• Species – richogaster fasciata
• Common Name – Indian Banded Gourami
• Origin – India, West Bengal, Assam, and Bangladesh
• Diet – Omnivore, eats algae
• PH Range – 6.0 – 7.5
• Water Type – Soft
• Temperature – Tropical 22°c – 28°c
• Breed Type – Egglayer, bubble nest
• max Size – approximately 6cm
• Sex – Un-sexed