Breeding them would be very cool.
The breeding itself isn't difficult to accomplish. It's the fry raising. The fry are extremely tiny and they need to be fed very small foods and great care must be taken to maintain proper humidity levels and air temperature when the labarynth organ is developing. By comparison, the cherry barb fry I raised were massive, even as wrigglers and were munching on BBS from day 1.
I have to confess I'm getting more into the fish these days, what with my biotope tanks and marine set up. It's what attracted me to the hobby originally before these pesky plants began to almost rule my life!!
You're talking to someone who's been very into fish for over 20 years! I'm also very much into plants!
When there is marriage between the two, it is extremely satisfying and my favorite scapes are usually ones where there is fish breeding. The 8g was a bonified Platy factory.
When you can create a semi-accurate biotope (Sorry, no one's going to win any competition with the "muddy ditch" or "muddy river" scape, and you have to be realistic that no biotope is entirely accurate), or really put some thought regarding the habits of the fish you're keeping, I find that the scapes become very interesting. Because the
fish then also form an integral part of the scape. So often now, they are an after thought and sometimes I wonder if the fish are comfortable in some of those very exposed scapes, especially if the fish species chosen is typically more reclusive, or prefer a less open environment. Gosh, for me, the fish are right up there with the plants! And I mull over fish choice for a long time or I won't go forward with a scape idea until I know that the fish in that scape will be comfortable. When planted tanks are schemed around the behavior of the fish being kept, the fish begin to exhibit more natural behavior and then there is usually some sort of fish porn.
And then the babies come, and then there's brine shrimp hatching and extra water changes. Finally, you are setting up another tank to accomodate the growing children and the cycle repeats itself. What a wonderful reason to buy a new tank!
It is so elemental really.
Happy plants = Happy fish = usually more fish.
Good luck, I hope the gouramis breed for you. It is fascinating to watch.
llj
