Honey Gourami

Looks how to spot one

Small, deep-bodied labyrinth fish (gourami)

A compact, oval little gourami with long dorsal and anal fins and the thread-like pelvic fins typical of its family. Females and non-breeding fish are a soft honey or ochre brown with a darker stripe along the side. When ready to breed, males glow a rich orange-gold over the body and fins, while the throat and belly turn a deep blue-black. Males also have slightly longer, more pointed dorsal fins; females grow a little larger.243

Personality what they are like

Quiet, slow-moving and peaceful, often a little shy until it settles among plants. It is a good match for other calm fish such as small tetras, peaceful rasboras and barbs, corydoras and gentle loaches. Males can claim a patch of the tank and squabble with each other, especially in a small aquarium, so give them room and plenty of cover.24

Daily activity how busy a day looks

A leisurely swimmer that spends most of its time in the upper and middle water layers and regularly visits the surface to gulp air. It prefers calm water, so filtration should be gentle.421

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Keep the water clean with regular partial water changes and gentle filtration. Typical ranges: temperature 22 to 28 °C, pH 6.0 to 7.5 (FishBase allows up to 8.0), hardness about 2 to 15 dGH (FishBase 5 to 19 dH). A tight-fitting lid is important because it can jump, and leaving a little air gap under the lid lets it breathe from the surface comfortably.214

Home where they are happiest

In the wild it lives in slow, heavily vegetated waters such as ponds, ditches, oxbow lakes and flooded fields that rise and fall with the monsoon. In the aquarium, aim for a tank with a base of at least 60 x 30 cm (around 54 litres), lots of plants, floating cover at the surface and some driftwood for shelter.21

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Naturally eats insects and other small invertebrates. Offer a good-quality small flake or granule food together with regular small live or frozen foods such as Daphnia, brine shrimp (Artemia) and bloodworm.23

Company who they like around

Not a tight schooler, but it enjoys the company of its own kind and forms loose groups outside the breeding season. A group of at least 4 to 6 is recommended, ideally with more females than males.234

The story where it all began

Scottish naturalist Francis Hamilton described the honey gourami in 1822 from the Ganges, working from drawings and measurements rather than a preserved type specimen. Because males and females look so different, he unknowingly named it twice: the female as Trichopodus chuna and the male as Trichopodus sota. Later the Indian ichthyologist Menon settled on a single name, and for many years it was known as Colisa chuna before being placed in the genus Trichogaster. The species reached European aquarists in 1962 and quickly became a favourite small gourami. Breeders have since developed a golden form with yellow tones and, from the late 2000s, a deeper red form often sold as 'FireRed' or 'sunset'.3421

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List

Least Concern (assessed 2009)1

FishBase

Listed as Trichogaster chuna (Hamilton, 1822); commercial in the aquarium trade1

Aquarium strains

Wild form plus bred gold and red (sometimes sold as 'sunset' or 'FireRed') colour forms; care is the same as for the wild type2