Honey gourami

Water parameters

Tolerated range for this species. Aim for the middle of each band rather than the extremes.

Tank and habitat

Substrate: any.

Behavior

Plant interaction: plant safe.

Feeding

Takes flake food, micro pellets, frozen daphnia, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworm without fuss. Small mouth means large flake pieces and whole bloodworms are difficult to eat; crush or chop. Live food (baby brine shrimp, microworms, fruit flies) triggers the strongest feeding response and is useful for conditioning breeding pairs. Honeys are deliberate, slow feeders that get outcompeted at the surface by faster species. If keeping them with active surface feeders like danios, drop food at multiple spots or use a feeding ring to ensure the gouramis get their share. Feed twice daily in small amounts. They'll sometimes spit at the surface to knock small insects or food particles within reach, a hunting behavior shared with other anabantoids.

Compatibility

• Possibly the most community-safe gourami available. Gentle, slow-moving, and non-territorial except when a male is guarding a bubble nest. Even then, the aggression is half-hearted compared to other gourami species.
• Pairs well with small, peaceful fish: neon tetras, ember tetras, rasboras, corydoras, and small loaches. Avoid anything nippy or overly active; tiger barbs and serpae tetras stress honeys to the point of persistent hiding and color loss.
• Males sometimes harass females during breeding attempts. Keep a ratio of one male to two females, or provide dense planting so the female can escape line of sight. A lone pair in a sparsely decorated tank leads to relentless chasing.
• Often confused with the thick-lipped gourami (Trichogaster labiosa) in stores. The honey gourami is smaller (5 cm vs 8 cm), more timid, and has a different body shape. "Sunset" and "red flame" honey gouramis in the trade are usually dyed or hormone-treated T. labiosa, not true Trichogaster chuna.

Origin and habitat

Native to India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Known from the Ganges River including its floodplain and delta, plus the Brahmaputra system in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh. Inhabits heavily vegetated, sluggish waters: ponds, ditches, beels, flooded rice and jute fields. Described by Hamilton in 1822. Hamilton mistakenly described the male and female as two separate species due to the striking color difference: the male as Trichopodus chuna and the female as Trichopodus sota. Reclassified to Trichogaster by Kottelat in 2013. Frequently mislabeled as dwarf gouramis at chain stores. The red flame gourami (a dwarf gourami variety) is often mis-named as honey gourami. This matters: honey gouramis do NOT carry Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus (DGIV), making them far healthier than commercially bred dwarf gouramis. A labyrinth fish with air-breathing capability; the genus name Trichogaster combines Greek for "hair" and "belly" for the thread-like pelvic fins used as tactile feelers. Max lengths of 4.2–7 cm depending on source. Males develop a vibrant honey-gold to orange-red color with blue-black marking on the underside when breeding. Males build bubble nests. Wild examples are rare in the trade; virtually all are commercially bred.

Breeding

Bubble nest builder. The male constructs a nest of saliva-coated air bubbles among floating plants at the water surface. He then displays to the female with intensified coloring and lateral fin-flaring. When the female is receptive, the pair wraps in the typical anabantoid embrace under the nest, and the female releases a small batch of eggs (10-20 per embrace). The male catches the eggs and places them in the nest. Multiple embraces occur over several hours, producing 50-300 eggs total. After spawning, the male guards the nest aggressively and the female should be removed to avoid harassment. Eggs hatch in 24-36 hours. Fry hang from the nest for another 2-3 days absorbing the yolk sac, then become free-swimming. The male should be removed once fry are free-swimming, as his parental instinct fades and he may eat them. Fry are tiny and need infusoria or paramecium culture for the first 5-7 days, then baby brine shrimp. Growth is slow compared to other gouramis. Breeding is achievable for a moderately experienced keeper with a dedicated breeding tank.

Common problems

Dwarf gourami iridovirus (DGIV) is often cited as a concern for honey gouramis, but honeys are a different species (Trichogaster chuna, not T. lalius) and are far less affected. DGIV hits dwarf gouramis at devastating rates but honey gouramis rarely contract it. This distinction gets lost in forum advice that lumps all small gouramis together. The more relevant health issue for honeys is stress-related color loss and appetite suppression. A honey gourami that's washed out and hiding is almost always stressed by tankmates or environment, not sick. Fix the stressor and color returns within days. Bacterial infections (fin rot, columnaris) appear when water quality slips. Honeys are labyrinth fish and tolerate low-oxygen conditions, but they don't tolerate ammonia or nitrite any better than other species. Overly strong current is a common setup mistake; honeys are from still water and struggle in tanks with powerheads or strong filter outflow.

Bioload

Further reading

• Stocking ideas by tank size