Blue Gourami Fish Habitat in Nature
Learning the Blue Gourami fish habitat in nature is important. Their wellbeing depends on how you recreate the conditions of their natural habitat.
Blue gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus), known as three-spot gourami, is a freshwater fish accustomed to slow-moving currents. As the name suggests, there are three spots on its body, two on the sides and their eye as the third spot. What differentiates blue gourami and other three-spot gouramis is its hazy whitish-blue coat.
This fish is very well known and available in the market. They are currently not an endangered species, so it is allowed to be kept. Like any other fishes, blue gourami has their personal preference for the water conditions they can live in. This article provides information about blue gourami fish habitat—from its origin, distribution, and how they are in aquariums.
Origins
Blue gourami is native to the slow-streaming body of water in South-Eastern Asia. The origin is widespread from the River Mekong Basin in south china to Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan). It can also be found in other ASEAN countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Laos.
Blue gourami fish habitat in nature ranges from canals, swamps, lowland wetlands, and marshes, where there are many natural aquatic foods. These fish can migrate when there is a flood caused by the rainy season. During the flood, they will move from permanent to seasonal waters (such as flooded forests). They come back to their original permanent body of water when the dry season comes.
Distribution
Blue gourami has been introduced to at least 17 countries. They are easy to colonize new habitats because of their hardy nature and environmental tolerance. It has widespread distribution starting from Florida, USA in the 1970s, which was later introduced in Canada. Nowadays, blue gourami can be found in parts of Africa (Namibia, Réunion and Seychelles), Asia as mentioned before as their origin, North America, South America, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.
In Aquariums
Fishkeeping blue gouramis in aquariums is doable. As mentioned before, blue gourami fish habitat is a slow-moving freshwater with vegetations. Keep in mind that these fishes are surface dwellers and not bottom feeders, therefore having vegetation that floats are not recommended.
You can mix them with other similar size fishes because these species are known for being tolerant. However, it is best to avoid keeping male blue gouramis in one tank with fishes that have long flowing fins, such as male goldfish, guppies, etc., as it can make the blue gouramis feel competitive and turning aggressive.
In conclusion, learning the blue gourami fish habitat in nature will certainly help you set up the aquarium. Usually, you will use 20 gallons or 76 liters for young blue gouramis and 35 gallons 132 liters for adult blue gouramis. These tank size will be definitely able to make room for them to swim freely.
As for the water condition, the places mentioned above are most likely to be tropical freshwater. Therefore, the temperature should be stable around 74 °F – 82 °F or 23 °C – 28 °C with a neutral pH. You can recreate many aspects for your aquarium just by learning the fish’s natural habitat!
Source:
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/973/?pcatid=973
https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/121020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_spot_gourami