All fish / Osphronemidae

Thick-lipped gourami

Trichogaster labiosa

Also known as thick lip gourami, thicklip gourami, thick lipped gourami, golden honey gourami, colisa labiosa, red flame gourami, sunset thick-lipped gourami, ปลากริมไทย, シック・リップド・グラミー, sepat bibir tebal, 厚唇丽丽, 厚唇攀鲈

A sturdy gourami with an oval, compressed body, thickened lips and long thread-like pelvic fins. Males show a rich orange-brown body crossed by faint bluish bars, with a turquoise edge to the anal fin, and golden or orange cultivated forms are widely sold. It is valued as a calm, hardy centrepiece for planted community tanks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

8 cm

Temperature

22 to 28 °C

pH

6 to 7.5

Smallest tank

80 litres

Keep as

A pair or one male with two or three females

Diet

Omnivore: quality flakes and small pellets, plus bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia and some vegetable matter

Swims

Top of the tank

Lifespan

4 to 6 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Myanmar (Irrawaddy and Sittang basins)

Breeding

Males build a bubble nest among floating plants and guard the eggs and larvae after an embrace beneath the nest. Breeding is fairly easy in warm, soft, still water with floating cover; remove the female after spawning and the male once fry swim freely, then feed the fry infusoria.

Good to know

Males can bicker with each other, so avoid keeping more than one in a small tank and avoid fin-nipping tankmates. It is often confused with the dwarf gourami and the honey gourami, and golden strains are sometimes sold under the wrong name.