Description
Moonlight Gourami (Trichopodus microlepis)
Overview
The Moonlight Gourami (Trichopodus microlepis), sometimes called the Moonbeam Gourami, is a peaceful, elegant freshwater labyrinth fish native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins in Southeast Asia (primarily Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam).
- Appearance: Features an elongated, compressed body covered in extremely fine, small scales that give it a unique, glowing silvery-blue or opalescent appearance reminiscent of moonlight. Like other gouramis, it possesses long, thread-like pelvic fins equipped with sensory organs.
- Size: Grows to approximately 11 to 15 cm (4.5 to 6 inches) in length, making it slightly larger than some of its relatives.
- Lifespan: Typically 4 to 8 years when provided with proper care and stable conditions.
Care Requirements
- Aquarium Size: Because of their adult size and active nature, a minimum aquarium size of 120 to 150 liters (approx. 3 feet in length) is recommended for a pair or small group.
- Water Parameters:
- Temperature: 25°C to 30°C
- pH: 6.0 to 7.0 (prefers slightly acidic to neutral water)
- General Hardness (GH): 2 to 15°H (soft to moderately hard water)
- Filtration & Flow: Gentle filtration with minimal surface turbulence is ideal. Because they are labyrinth fish, they utilize a specialized labyrinth organ to breathe atmospheric air, meaning they require access to warm, humid air at the water surface. A tightly fitting lid is essential.
Maintenance
- Aquascaping: They thrive best in a well-planted, tranquil aquarium. Use dense background and side vegetation (such as Cryptocorynes, broad-leaved Amazon swords, or stem plants) alongside floating plants to diffuse bright lighting, which helps them feel secure and brings out their shimmering colors. Driftwood and dark substrates complete the natural aesthetic.
- Water Quality & Changes: Perform routine partial water changes (20% weekly) to maintain pristine water conditions, as they can be sensitive to poor water quality and high organic buildup.
Diet
- Nature: Omnivorous and generally unfussy feeders.
- Staple Diet: High-quality flakes, micro-pellets, or granules.
- Enhancing Health & Color: Supplement their diet regularly with live or frozen foods such as bloodworms, daphnia, glassworms, and brine shrimp. Including vegetable matter, spirulina flakes, or blanched vegetables is also beneficial for their digestive system.
Behaviour and Compatibility
- Temperament: Exceptionally peaceful, shy, and gentle—making them one of the calmest of the larger gouramis. They occupy the middle and upper levels of the water column.
- Social Needs: Can be kept singly, as a bonded pair, or in small peaceful groups. Because they are timid, they should not be housed with boisterous or aggressive tank mates that might outcompete them for food.
- Tank Mates: Ideal for peaceful community setups. Good companions include small to medium peaceful tetras, rasboras, livebearers, peaceful barbs, and bottom-dwellers like Corydoras catfish or loaches. Avoid housing them with fin-nippers, highly aggressive cichlids, or fast, boisterous species that will startle them.
Breeding Behaviour
- Spawning Setup: Set up a separate breeding tank with shallow water, gentle sponge filtration, dim lighting, and plenty of floating plants or fine vegetation to anchor a bubble nest.
- Conditioning: Condition a bonded pair with frequent, high-protein feedings of live and frozen foods. The male will develop brighter, deeper orange-red coloration on his throat and pectoral fins and begin building a foam bubble nest at the surface.
- The Process: During spawning, the male entices the female beneath the nest, embracing her as she releases hundreds of clear, buoyant eggs. The male collects the eggs and places them carefully into the bubble nest.
- Raising Fry: Once spawning concludes, remove the female, as the male will aggressively guard the nest. The tiny fry hatch in 24 to 48 hours and become free-swimming a few days later, at which point the male should also be removed. The fry require infusoria or liquid food initially before graduating to newly hatched brine shrimp.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Either come in store to view available stock or request pictures to be sent to you.
Please Note: Due to variations within species resulting from age, region, sex, etc., the actual livestock may not look identical to the image. Approximate size range may also vary between individual specimens.
