# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  Sexing my Sparkling gourami

## beetroot

hi all

would be grateful if someone could tell me it's a male or female  :Wink: .

four pictures of the same fish! 




thank you!  :Smile:

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## benny

Very nice and healthy looking specimen!! I can't quite remember how to sex it, but I'm sure some of the other members here may have an idea.

Cheers,

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## beetroot

Thanks Benny.
It is a lovely fish, but I think it is too fat!  :Laughing:   :Opps: 

Anyone can tell me please, boy or girl?

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## Mez

This fish is a male.  :Smile:

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## beetroot

Thanks Mez.
After reading about how to differentiate it.. "shining light"... "look for triangle"... I still don't know how...  :Embarassed: 

Hopefully someone can show me a female please? Hehe.

Thanks.

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## Mez

To be honest, i've gone more off colouration and finnage. Females tend to be a bit duller..

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## naturalmystic

I have about 20 sparkling gouramis in my tank and I do agree with Mez that the female is duller in colour and the finnage is lower.
Looking at individuals, I cannot tell them apart. Only when they do their mating "dance", can I see the difference.
I provide them with floating plants for their eggs but so far the fries all became food for my 20 scarlet badis  :Grin:

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## beetroot

Thanks for the replies. Will look out for colouration then.

Is it normal for it to have an "extended" tail, like mine (not rounded tail)?




> I provide them with floating plants for their eggs but so far the fries all became food for my 20 scarlet badis


 :Shocked:   :Shocked:  
Can pass the fries to me, haha  :Grin: ! Hardly see this fish in the west LFS. Now I should look for a female or two.

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## fighting fish

> Thanks for the replies. Will look out for colouration then.
> 
> Is it normal for it to have an "extended" tail, like mine (not rounded tail)?
> 
> 
>   
> Can pass the fries to me, haha ! Hardly see this fish in the west LFS. Now I should look for a female or two.


the LFS at sunshine place have quite alot of them...i got my pair there. very interesting fish

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## naturalmystic

Hi beetroot,

I think it is normal for it to have an "extended" tail fin.
Most of mine have it but in different patterns, some obvious while others not.
The female will lay the eggs on the roots and leaves of my Frogbits and Salvinias and the male will guard them fiercely.
The fries are too small and easily gobbled up by my Scarlet Badis.
I did try to separate them but with 0 survival rate, I decided to let Nature takes its own course.

As they are territorial, I think they should be happy in my tank.
422 housing only 20 Scarlet Badis, 20 Sparkling Gouramis, 20 Otos, 15 Yamatos, 3 Cory Hasborus and lots of hiding places  :Grin: 

By the way, how big is your Sparkling Gourami?
Mine are all about 5cm.
I was surprised to see the ones at Seaview (on display) that are double the size  :Shocked:

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## beetroot

Hi naturalmystic, fighting fish

Indeed an interesting fish! Has character and makes me laugh at times  :Laughing: . 

Wow, 5 cm thats double the size of mine. What do you feed it? Mine is about 2.5cm (1 inch) and I read that the max size is normally 1.5 inch. If you say Seaviews are double the size  :Shocked:  they have giants!

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...ng-gourami.htm
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...62&pcatid=1562
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/gourami/sparkling.php

I used to have 4 but 3 left me  :Crying:   :Embarassed:  This is the strongest and naughtiest from its behaviour. Do yours always chase each other around? Male are territorial, aren't they?

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## ahhua

Anyone can tell where can I get it now since Sea View and Y618 have no stock currently. I have one lonely pcs now :Sad: .

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## Mez

Try posting in the LFS sightings forum.

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## naturalmystic

Just wanted to share a photo of my Sparkling Gourami fries. I can spot a few of my Scarlet Badis with torn tailfins  :Smile: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3420563612/

The fierce father is smaller than the rest of the gang.
I suspect he is the sole survivor, and one and only success so far, of previous batches.
Apologies for the blurry image , the surface-water movement, coupled with poor photography skill, made it difficult to focus.

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## beetroot

congrats! wow... a lot. looks like about 30 fries there  ::smt038:

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## mobile2007

Very nice sight of the sparkling gourami fries. 

Is this also called the croaking gourami? I have 2 or 3 of this , but never heard them croaking.

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## Mez

Different fish, same family.

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## beetroot

Have i found a female?

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## stormhawk

At first glance, I would say yes, just based on the short dorsal fin.

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## beetroot

Thanks, Stormhawk.

Further pictures for your confirmation of the "female" (rather hard to take a good picture)?
(A)


I am guessing based on colouration as mentioned by Mez.

And as compared to this - is this a male? This is a different fish, NOT the one i posted in May'09 above: 
(B)


Thank you!

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## stormhawk

Yes, A is most likely female and B is a young male perhaps.

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## beetroot

Thanks Stormhawk, i have moved both to a larger tank - hope they are happy as a pair!

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## stormhawk

Good luck! These small guys are highly territorial. If you kept them as a sexed pair, you should be fine. They do great in tanks with very little movement at the water's surface. 

I found that keeping them in small groups almost always ends up with 1 or more deaths. The dominant fish will beat up any weaker ones, so only in a pair, or in a bigger group in a much larger tank.

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## Tact

Mind if i ask how do i determine the gender of flame morph colisa lalia? I will like to breed them... Any tips for breeding?  :Opps: 

Thanks in advance!!

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## stormhawk

Males have pointed dorsal fin at the end nearest to the tail. Females have rounded edge for the dorsal. Almost always you will only get males at the LFS. I haven't seen any female lalia in ages.

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## Tact

Thank you so much! guess it seems rather impossible to create a mating pair then  :Crying:

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## stormhawk

Yup usually that is the case with local stores. It's the suppliers, not the LFSes that are doing this. However, it is occasionally possible to come across female C. lalia at LFS. So don't give up.  :Smile:

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## Tact

Thank you stormhawk  :Smile:

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## apistomaster

I have raised Pygmy Sparkling Gouramis many times and my favorite method is to raise them in a colony style tank. They do not eat their fry so over time you will have specimens of every size. Just keep the tank well planted.
They will build bubble nests under leaves, inside empty plastic film canisters and small clay pots. The fry may be started off on microworms then I feed Artemia nauplii to older fry and the adults although they eat flakes and also frozen blood worms.
They are a very enjoyable fish to keep. That is why I revisit them every few years. One display colony I liked was one that included cherry shrimp and Boraras maculata.

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## schent781

Is anyone interested in buying 4 sparkling gouramis? I know for sure one of them is a female cuz she has spawned with one of the males. There are three other smaller ones that are vibrantly colored, my guess is they are males. It was weird, the female actually bullies the males in this case. I'm making bio-load space for some clown killies. Sad to see them go, but I've been dying to rear some clown killies

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## schent781

I wouldn't mind trading them for some crystal shrimp either  :Smile:

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## Puffer

I rear and spawn Trichopsis pumila (unintentionally) in a densely 3ft planted tank with cardinals, pencils and C pygmaeus. Now I have this species of various sizes. I notice that the adults are territorial and creepy. They dart into hiding when threatened. That's why I find the adults almost impossible to net, especially in thick mass of jungle. I don't really bother about the fry - many could have been food for my bigger fish, but those survive probably get micro-organisms in moss as food source. It's a joy to watch a fry or two popping out into the open.

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## beetroot

I hope I'll have as much luck as you guys trying to breed them  :Smile: .

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