gourami

Gouramis
Dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Anabantoidei
Family:	Osphronemidae Bleeker, 1859
Subfamilies
Belontiinae Macropodinae Osphroneminae Luciocephalinae See text for genera and species.

The gourami or gouramis are a family, Osphronemidae, of freshwater perciform fishes. The fish are native to Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and north-easterly towards Korea. The name "gourami" is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. "Gouramis" is an example of a redundant plural. Gourami is already plural, in its original language.

Many gouramis have an elongated ray at the front of their pelvic fins. Many species show parental care: some are mouthbrooders, and others, like the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), build bubble nests. Currently, about 90 species are recognised, placed in 4 subfamilies and about 15 genera.

The name Polyacanthidae has also been used for this family. Some fish now classified as gouramis were previously placed in family Anabantidae. The subfamily Belontiinae was recently demoted from the family Belontiidae. As labyrinth fishes, gouramis have a lung-like labyrinth organ that allows them to gulp air and use atmospheric oxygen. This organ is a vital innovation for fishes that often inhabit warm, shallow, oxygen-poor water.

As food

Canned, fried gourami are available in China, and throughout the world in oriental supermarkets. Which species the can contains is uncertain, however, the illustration on the lid of the can depicts the moonlight gourami, Trichogaster microlepis.

In the aquarium

Gouramis, particularly the tri-spot and dwarf, are often kept in home aquariums. Though often considered peaceful, they can kill almost all other smaller or long-finned fish. However, this usually does not apply to the common types as mentioned above. When they are aggressive, they shred other fishes' fins to the point that the victim can not swim and thus dies. The males of many members of this family like to spar, thus caution must be taken when keeping males together. Aggression can also occur when the fish are too crowded, and they compete for the available space.

Compatibility

Depending on the species, male gouramis may be fin nippers and may bother other fish in the tank.

In some species, when two males are put in a tank together they will fight constantly. Other, more peaceful, gouramis may show mild to moderate signs of aggression, but are usually able to live together. Male gouramis will ignore many species, such as danios, mollies, silver dollars, and plecostomus catfish, but will often show aggression toward species with long, flowing fins like male guppies and bettas, because they display a long tail and bright colors, presenting competition for impressing a female gourami. Female gouramis do not bother other fish and usually keep to themselves.

Species

There are about 96 species in 15 genera.

• Subfamily Belontiinae (combtail gouramis)
  • Genus Belontia
    • Malay combtail, Belontia hasselti (Cuvier, 1831).
    • Ceylonese combtail, Belontia signata (Günther, 1861).
• Subfamily Macropodinae (paradise fish)(pink and blue)
  • Genus Betta
    • Akar betta, Betta akarensis Regan, 1910.
    • Betta albimarginata Kottelat & Ng, 1994.
    • Giant betta, Betta anabatoides Bleeker, 1851.
    • Betta antoni Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Betta balunga Herre, 1940.
    • Slim betta, Betta bellica Sauvage, 1884.
    • Betta breviobesus Tan & Kottelat, 1998.
    • Betta brownorum Witte & Schmidt, 1992.
    • Betta burdigala Kottelat & Ng, 1994.
    • Betta channoides Kottelat & Ng, 1994.
    • Betta chini Ng, 1993.
    • Betta chloropharynx Kottelat & Ng, 1994.
    • Betta coccina Vierke, 1979.
    • Betta compuncta Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Betta dimidiata Roberts, 1989.
    • Betta edithae Vierke, 1984.
    • Betta enisae Kottelat, 1995.
    • Betta falx Tan & Kottelat, 1998.
    • Betta foerschi Vierke, 1979.
    • Dusky betta, Betta fusca Regan, 1910.
    • Betta hipposideros Ng & Kottelat, 1994.
    • Betta ibanorum Tan & Ng, 2004.
    • Betta ideii Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Crescent betta, Betta imbellis Ladiges, 1975.
    • Betta krataios Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Betta livida Ng & Kottelat, 1992.
    • Spotfin betta, Betta macrostoma Regan, 1910.
    • Betta mandor Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Betta miniopinna Tan & Tan, 1994.
    • Betta patoti Weber & de Beaufort, 1922.
    • Betta persephone Schaller, 1986.
    • Elephant betta, Betta pi Tan, 1998.
    • Spotted betta, Betta picta (Valenciennes, 1846).
    • Betta pinguis Tan & Kottelat, 1998.
    • Big head betta, Betta prima Kottelat, 1994.
    • Forest betta, Betta pugnax (Cantor, 1849).
    • Betta pulchra Tan & Tan, 1996.
    • Betta renata Tan, 1998.
    • Toba betta, Betta rubra Perugia, 1893.
    • Betta rutilans Witte & Kottelat, 1991.
    • Betta schalleri Kottelat & Ng, 1994.
    • Krabi betta, Betta simplex Kottelat, 1994.
    • Blue betta, Betta smaragdina Ladiges, 1972.
    • Betta spilotogena Ng & Kottelat, 1994.
    • Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens Regan, 1910.
    • Betta strohi Schaller & Kottelat, 1989.
    • Borneo betta, Betta taeniata Regan, 1910.
    • Betta tomi Ng & Kottelat, 1994.
    • Betta tussyae Schaller, 1985.
    • Betta uberis Tan & Ng, 2006.
    • Howong betta, Betta unimaculata (Popta, 1905).
    • Betta waseri Krummenacher, 1986.
  • Genus Macropodus
    • Macropodus erythropterus Freyhof & Herder, 2002.
    • Macropodus hongkongensis Freyhof & Herder, 2002.
    • Roundtail paradisefish, Macropodus ocellatus (de Beaufort, 1933).
    • Paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758).
    • Macropodus spechti Schreitmüller, 1936.
  • Genus Malpulutta
    • Spotted gourami, Malpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937.
  • Genus Parosphromenus
    • Parosphromenus allani Brown, 1987.
    • Parosphromenus anjunganensis Kottelat, 1991.
    • Parosphromenus bintan Kottelat & Ng, 1998.
    • Licorice gourami, Parosphromenus deissneri (Bleeker, 1859).
    • Spiketail gourami, Parosphromenus filamentosus (Oshima, 1919).
    • Parosphromenus linkei Kottelat, 1991.
    • Parosphromenus nagyi Schaller, 1985.
    • Parosphromenus ornaticauda Kottelat, 1991.
    • Parosphromenus paludicola Tweedie, 1952.
    • Parosphromenus parvulus Vierke, 1979.
  • Genus Pseudosphromenus
    • Spiketail paradisefish, Pseudosphromenus cupanus (Cuvier, 1831).
    • Pseudosphromenus dayi (Engmann, 1909).
  • Genus Trichopsis
    • Pygmy gourami, Trichopsis pumila (Arnold, 1936).
    • Threestripe gourami, Trichopsis schalleri (Kottelat & Ng, 1994).
    • Croaking gourami, Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831).
• Subfamily Luciocephalinae (Trichogastrinae)
  • Genus Colisa
    • Dwarf gourami, Colisa lalia (Hamilton, 1822).
    • Thick-Lipped Gourami, Colisa labiosa Day, 1877
    • Indian Gourami, Colisa fasciata
  • Genus Ctenops
    • Frail gourami, Ctenops nobilis McClelland, 1845.
  • Genus Luciocephalus
    • Gold Spotted Pikehead, Luciocephalus aura (Tan & Ng, 2005)
    • Pikehead, Luciocephalus pulcher (Gray, 1830).
  • Genus Parasphaerichthys
    • Parasphaerichthys lineatus Britz & Kottelat, 2002.
    • Eyespot gourami, Parasphaerichthys ocellatus (de Beaufort, 1933).
  • Genus Sphaerichthys
    • Sphaerichthys acrostoma Vierke, 1979.
    • Chocolate gourami, Sphaerichthys osphromenoides Canestrini, 1860.
    • Sphaerichthys selatanensis Vierke, 1979.
    • Sphaerichthys vaillanti Pellegrin, 1930.
  • Genus Trichogaster
    • Honey gourami, Trichogaster chuna (Hamilton, 1822).
    • Pearl gourami, Trichogaster leerii (Bleeker, 1852).
    • Moonlight gourami, Trichogaster microlepis (Günther, 1861).
    • Snakeskin gourami, Trichogaster pectoralis (Regan, 1910).
    • Three spot gourami (aka blue gourami, opaline gourami, and gold gourami), Trichogaster trichopterus (Pallas, 1770).
• Subfamily Osphroneminae (giant gouramis)
  • Genus Osphronemus
    • Elephant ear gourami, Osphronemus exodon Roberts, 1994.
    • Giant gourami, Osphronemus goramy Lacépède, 1801.
    • Giant red tail gourami, Osphronemus laticlavius Roberts, 1992.
    • Osphronemus septemfasciatus Roberts, 1992.

See also

The name "gourami" is used of several other related fish that are now placed in different families:

• Kissing gouramies (the sole species in the family Helostomatidae)
• Climbing gouramies (family Anabantidae)

References

• "Osphronemidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. October 2004 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2004.
• Osphronemidae (TSN 172678). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on May 21 2007.
• Goldstein, Howard (September 2005). "Searching for the Pygmy Gourami". Tropical Fish Hobbiest 54 (1): 93. 0041-3259. 
• Tan, HH and P Ng (2006). "Six new species of fighting fish (Telestei: Osphronemidae: Betta) from Borneo". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 17 (2): 97–114. 

Gallery

Betta albimarginata	Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)	Female and male dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalia) showing sexual dimorphism	Macropodus erythropterus
Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis)	Giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy)	Gold Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)