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Shy Sparkling Gourami

Myrtle

Myrtle

Member
Joined
21 Aug 2008
Messages
830
Location
Basingstoke
Hi,
I have a small, heavily planted tank with just 3 Sparkling Gourami who I almost never see. I temporarily (3 or 4 hours) added a couple of Killifish whilst sorting their tank and noticed the SG were out a lot more. Since the killis have gone to their own tank, the SG are back to permanently hiding again. I wondered about adding a couple of small, confident fish (guppies or endlers) to give the SG a bit more confidence. As it's a shallow tank I don't have space to add schooling fish. I thought they'd be happier in a species only setup but perhaps I was wrong?
Does anyone have any experience with increasing the confidence of shy SG?
 
You could also maybe add a few more SGs. I think they do better in larger groups. I had 6 and they were anything but shy and retiring.
 
I also kept them for a few years and had the same experience as Tim did with a larger group. I had a group of > 12. Even tho it seems relatively easy to determine the sex using a small flashlight, the belly is translucent and you can clearly see the ovary below the swim bladder shining a light through a female. They don't do this in most LFS and keep them together to sell them by batch. And with the other appearances, it's tricky to sex them properly. Then with small numbers, you'll never know what you get, maybe all same sex.

Trichopsis pumila – Sparkling Gourami (Ctenops pumilus, Trichopsis pumilus var. siamensis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com www.seriouslyfish.com

With a larger group, the chances of having a decent mix of males and females will be much higher and definitively triggers more natural behaviour.
Males are the nest builders and they like to show off and impress the females with bright colours and mock fighting other competitive males. If the living room is quiet enough you even might hear them croaking to lure the female in. They build the bubble nest in between small-leafed floating/surface vegetation preferably with hanging roots such as Salvinia sp. or even better Hygroryza aristata will provide sufficient cover and opportunity to build secure nests. Once a male decides it's time to build a nest they will become very bold and defensively territorial and will not shy away from chasing off larger intruders than themselves. This doesn't make them suitable to keep with other territorial and larger fish sp. in confined spaces.

Also, they are fanatic micro predators, so giving them a good diet of live food such as bloodworm, blackfly larvae and or daphnia will definitively bring them out in colour and behaviour. They will also hunt shrimp fry and won't shy away to harass adult shrimps.

Giving them all they need then they will change into very curious little mischievous and adorable croaking rascals... :)

Might add, the downside is, they do not have a very long lifespan... So if you can't get them to breed for whatever reason then keeping up the numbers for longer terms is keep buying new ones. In general, all you can buy is wild catch and then you can't know their age... In my experience, the lifespan is between 1 and 2 years. I had a few about 3 years born in my tank.
 
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Myrtle said:
Thanks all, I always start off with a group of 6+ and they either don't eat or get bullied until I'm left with a small group :confused: . I did have 3f 1m but I suspect the male is the one who has passed as I don't hear any croaking now, either.
Click to expand...

Yes! I also experienced them being very sensitive and picky eaters and a lot are prone to perish shortly after purchase. As said 99% of out there for sale is wild-caught fish and most likely already starving in the LFS. So they might need more time than they have to get used to dried foods. They are as said micro-predators and having a sufficient daily supply of live foods is a pré and an absolute challenge, especially during the winter months. Frozen foods might do as well which again if used a lot is a guarantee to get infested with loads of Planaria worms.

As lovely as they are it's a relatively difficult fish to keep and quite expensive to keep buying new ones, seeing the average price in the UK at £ 3 each. I also see information claiming they live up to 5 years, but in my experience that is not quite a realistic number. Especially if bought in adult size as a wild-caught fish. I always bought them at 10 individuals at one time and within a year half were gone then buy 10 new one's same story and when I stopped buying them within 2 years all gone. Also had a few babies born in captivity that took over a year to get to full size. The parents were already a few months dead before I noticed a few surviving tiny 5mm large pumila's venturing out of the dense vegetation. And they lived the longest but far from 5 years. Anyway, I suspect if bought in adult size they at least are a year old already if not (much) older.

My best guess is, best practice, make it an sp.-only tank and get them to breed and breed your own... In a community tank, it's rather difficult for the fry to survive with decent numbers.
 
Well, I popped up to my lfs earlier and picked up another 4 SG. I know these ones will eat dried food as they've been there long enough to have perished if they didn't! There are def at least 2 males as they've squared off already but as my lfs is good at sexing them they usually end up with a load of males as stocks dwindle so there may be 4 boys... The new 4 are out and about, but the OG 3 are still lurking in the undergrowth. I may glimpse an eye if I'm lucky!
 
Thanks to your advice, they're all out and about more now. The "safest" spot is still out of sight at the back of the tank, but I can't blame them for wanting to feel safe! I've made a few adjustments so there is a mossy overhang at the front from which to lurk whilst waiting for food which they all seem to enjoy! I also just heard croaking again for the first time :) Here's a rubbish photo of their home so you can see why the back is preferred, under the ferns!
20230414_181239.jpg
 
That's a lovely plant jumble for your sparklers to poke about in! I'm sure they will become more confident with time.
Oddly, my male is really interested in "outside" the tank (it's next to my work table) & he spends his time watching me work. If he realises I'm looking he rushes back to his corner to continue his observational duties!
 
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