Gourami - spawning aquarium fish, omnivorous, hardy, peaceful and curious. They are very popular with aquarists as they are very popular. cleanse the aquarium of small snails and hydra. They appeared in Europe in the 19th century. In Russia - in the second decade of the twentieth. Gourami are unpretentious in maintenance, and interspecies crossing provided their high decorative qualities.
Instructions
Step 1
Gourami, or trichogaster - labyrinth fish. To breathe, they need free access to the surface of the water. Floating up periodically, they capture an air bubble that remains in the labyrinth - a special organ located in the supragillary region. From this bubble, they receive oxygen for breathing. This quality was not immediately noticed. At first, fish caught in natural habitats - Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, died during transportation.
Step 2
In home aquariums, gourami can grow up to 12cm in length. They have an oval body strongly compressed from the sides, large anal and dorsal fins. The abdominal ones are strongly elongated and have the shape of a netei. They are used by fish as a kind of organs of touch - they touch objects by them.
Step 3
Without experience, it is quite difficult to distinguish between males and females. Sometimes this becomes possible only during spawning. Gourami females are larger than males. The dorsal fin is rounded. Males are brighter in color, the dorsal fin is pointed. In some species, such as the kissing gourami, these differences are even less noticeable, and they reach sexual maturity only by 3 years.
Step 4
A sexually mature male gourami, in the presence of favorable conditions, builds a nest of air bubbles at the surface of the water. The construction process lasts a day. The male is only occasionally distracted to shake his fins in front of the female. She does not take part in the construction of the nest, she just spins nearby.
Step 5
Then mating games begin. The male pursues the female, demonstrates all kinds of movements in front of her, accompanied by sounds and blows. They organize tournaments among themselves. For example, the male gourami of the kissing person sort things out, resting against each other with their elongated lips. Actually, this is where they got their name.
Step 6
After spawning and fertilization, the male places the eggs in the finished nest. He also takes care of future offspring. Vigilantly patrols the surroundings of the nest, corrects its shape, picks up and delivers back eggs that have accidentally dropped out. Immediately after the appearance of fry, the parental instinct of the male disappears, and he can even try his offspring "for a tooth".
