Kaix
07-28-2006, 10:29 AM
Giant gourami
Scientific name: Osphronemus goramy
Country: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand
Continent: Asia
Diet: Water weeds, crustaceans - crustacivore, fish - piscivore, frogs - ranivore,
Food & feeding: Omnivore
Habitats: Freshwater
Conservation status: Not Threatened
Relatives: Kissing gourami, Siamese fighting fish
Description: Males of this species have more pointed dorsal and anal fins than females and when mature, a distinctive swelling of the forehead known as the 'nuchal hump'. Like all other gouramis, this fish can breath air using a special 'labyrinth organ' which acts like a lung, enabling them to survive in oxygen-depleted waters. Giant gouramis can grow to 70 cm length.
Lifestyle: Gouramis live in shallow weed-choked pools, where oxygen is sometimes in short supply. Being able to breathe mouthfuls of air is very useful in these conditions. They feed on the weed itself and almost anything that lives amongst it.
Family & friends: The males are usually aggressive towards each other. They may engage in violent fights as seen in Siamese fighting fish, or highly ritualised aggression, with the so-called 'kiss' of a kissing gourami.
Growing up: When gourami's are ready to breed, they build a nest of plants at the surface of the water suspended with bubbles. The eggs are guided in, then after about two weeks the fry leave the nest.
Scientific name: Osphronemus goramy
Country: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand
Continent: Asia
Diet: Water weeds, crustaceans - crustacivore, fish - piscivore, frogs - ranivore,
Food & feeding: Omnivore
Habitats: Freshwater
Conservation status: Not Threatened
Relatives: Kissing gourami, Siamese fighting fish
Description: Males of this species have more pointed dorsal and anal fins than females and when mature, a distinctive swelling of the forehead known as the 'nuchal hump'. Like all other gouramis, this fish can breath air using a special 'labyrinth organ' which acts like a lung, enabling them to survive in oxygen-depleted waters. Giant gouramis can grow to 70 cm length.
Lifestyle: Gouramis live in shallow weed-choked pools, where oxygen is sometimes in short supply. Being able to breathe mouthfuls of air is very useful in these conditions. They feed on the weed itself and almost anything that lives amongst it.
Family & friends: The males are usually aggressive towards each other. They may engage in violent fights as seen in Siamese fighting fish, or highly ritualised aggression, with the so-called 'kiss' of a kissing gourami.
Growing up: When gourami's are ready to breed, they build a nest of plants at the surface of the water suspended with bubbles. The eggs are guided in, then after about two weeks the fry leave the nest.