Fishes / Habitat
The moonlight gourami carries a plain, pale silvery green to blue-green body with an understated, almost luminous sheen, and lacks the bold patterning seen in the pearl or three spot gourami. It reach
The moonlight gourami carries a plain, pale silvery green to blue-green body with an understated, almost luminous sheen, and lacks the bold patterning seen in the pearl or three spot gourami. It reaches around twelve to fifteen centimetres and is prized more for its calm, elegant presence than for flashy colour.
Its threadlike, elongated ventral fins, used to feel out its surroundings, are a distinctive feature shared with several other gourami species and are worth watching for, since a gourami using these fins to explore is a sign of a settled, comfortable fish rather than an anxious one.
Given its adult size, a single moonlight gourami or a calm pair needs a tank of at least a hundred litres, with floating plants and open swimming space. It adapts well to typical Indian tap water and is generally an easy-going fish from a water chemistry standpoint.
A lid with an air gap above the water suits its labyrinth breathing, as with the other gouramis on this list.
A varied diet of good-quality flakes or pellets, supplemented with occasional live or frozen food, suits it well. It is one of the calmer, less territorial larger gouramis, making it a good fit for a peaceful community tank alongside similarly sized fish.
Its subtle colouring shows best against a darker substrate and background, which prevents the fish from looking washed out under bright lighting.
Article content © Ravi Teja. All rights reserved.
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