# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  Gourami's

## jerryC

Hi Guys,

Off late there seems to be a lot of variety of gourami's for sale. I have collected 3 species within the 3 months span.



The first was this Chocolate Gourami. They grow to 2.5" only



Then this marvelous electric blue eyed Sparkling Gourami.



The lastest in my collection is this ????? Gourami (anyone know what is the name of this Gourami)

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## stormhawk

Hi Jerry, the last gourami is Vaillant's Chocolate Gourami, or better known as the Samurai Chocolate in the hobby.

Scientific name is _Sphaerichthys vaillanti_. That's a colourful female.  :Wink: 

First gourami is the Chocolate Gourami, _Sphaerichthys osphromenoides_. Second gourami aka the Sparkling Gourami is _Trichopsis pumila_.

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## turaco

Jerry,

Nice pictures. Is the Samurai at LFS again? Their sales are known to be seasonal. And they are known to be difficult to keep  :Rolling Eyes:  ?

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## jerryC

Stormhawk,

Thanks for your the names.

Gan,

I saw one batch of the samurai Chocolate came in LFS and I grab 4. At RM15 each.

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## stormhawk

Glad to be of help Jerry.  :Wink:  

Gan, I don't think they're available locally in SG. Jerry's in Malaysia though. If the vaillanti are available there, it should appear locally quite soon I think.

And yes, their supply is seasonal. Only during the dry seasons are they collected for sale since their habitat is inaccessible during the rainy season.. if my information is correct.

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## A.Rashid

Azmi has them, I think there's a pair left. I bought 2 pair of them which is now in my pallidarium.

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## whuntley

That is a startling blue on the Sparkling Gourami. Mine never had that coloring. Nice fish, anyway, until they wake you at night. [Also known as Croaking Gourami, I think.]

The Chocolate Gourami has a hint of red on the belly. I once had several pairs that were brightly colored in red along the whole underside. I had never seen them before and not since. Do they ever show up in the shops, there? Mine were from a Burmese shopkeeper in San Francisco. [The shop was Ocean Aquarium on Cedar -- well worth a visit, in my opinion. Tell Justin I sent you.]

I understand from Robert Nhan, who tried in Viet Nam, that the wild Chocolates are very difficult to keep alive after capture. Does that mean those in the shops are the residue and many are lost in the process?

Wright

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## stormhawk

Not really that difficult. A small number do die off after capture if information is correct but most die from secondary infections while in quarantine.

The other problem with chocolates from my personal experience is that there is some sort of pecking order that is established in the shoal. The weakest usually get killed off by bullying. I had a trio once and one of them got beaten to such an extent that it died soon afterwards.

They do well in planted tanks and I can attest to that fact. Soft and acidic water are the order of the day but I've kept them in near neutral conditions.

Wright, those you saw with the red in the belly are showing signs of sexual maturity. I use these extra colours and also finnage to determine the sexes. Since its usually the males that do the mouthbrooding in the genus Sphaerichthys, the females are the ones that have the red in the belly and anal fin area. Males have a pointed dorsal but are not as colourful, if my thinking is correct.

For the sparkling gourami, yes they're also known as Dwarf Croaking Gourami. They do croak but not as audibly as their bigger cousins the Common Croaking and Schaller's Croaking Gouramis.

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## jerryC

Jian Yang,

I don't recall any of my Sparkling Croak at all. I have about 20 of them in 2 seperated tanks.

From my observation, the gourami's tends to color well in acidic condition. Ph 6.2 - 6.4.

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## stormhawk

The Sparkling are capable of croaking, but its not that we can hear them easily. I've never heard any of the croaking gouramis croak when I had them but if the scientists say they do croak, then probably they do.

Anyway, its a nice species, croaking or not.  :Laughing:

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## retro_gk

A friend has 6 _T. schalleri_ and he says they make a racket every night.  :Laughing:

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## MrTree

Chocolate gourami doesn't occur in Indochina. 

Cheers,

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## whuntley

Zhou Hang ,

Thanks. 

I may well have misunderstood where Robert tried to collect them , but I thought he said Viet Nam. I was more impressed by his tale of being asked to pay bribes so he just left most of what he collected in the hands of the government agents trying to blackmail him and got on the plane without them. This was several years ago, so I have no idea if the same problem is there today.

Wright

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## Yong Foo

Can anyone advise whether the Sparkling Gourami will attack shrimps?

Thanks & Regards
Yong Foo

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## budak

They won't harass adult shrimps, but might prey on newly-released shrimplets. If the tank has ample hiding places, it should be fine.

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## Yong Foo

Hi Budak,
Thanks for replying.
Will get a pair to try out.

Regards
Yong Foo

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## johannes

> Stormhawk,
> 
> Thanks for your the names.
> 
> Gan,
> 
> I saw one batch of the samurai Chocolate came in LFS and I grab 4. At RM15 each.


hey, jerry i suppose, where did you get your gouramies from? mind telling me the lfs? thanks  :Very Happy:  

johannes

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