Blue Gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus)

The Blue Gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus) is the big, bulletproof gourami. A silvery blue body carries faint darker banding and two dark spots along the flank, which is where the older hobby name Three Spot Gourami comes from, counting the eye as the third. This is one of the hardiest fish in the freshwater trade, and at five inches it patrols the tank with real presence. The one thing to plan for is temperament. A juvenile is mild, a mature adult is territorial, so this is a fish you stock deliberately rather than drop into a peaceful nano community. Browse the rest of our freshwater livestock and supplies to build the tank around it.

Care Guide

• Tank size: 30 gallons for a single fish, 40 gallons or more once you add a community. Floor space matters more than height, because an adult claims territory horizontally.
• Plan for the attitude. Expect a peaceful juvenile to turn assertive somewhere around the four inch mark. Keep one per tank unless you have a 55 gallon or larger with broken sight lines, and be ready to rehome a bully rather than hope it settles.
• Break up the line of sight. Dense planting along the back and sides plus driftwood gives smaller fish places to leave the territory. Anubias Barteri and Java Moss both handle a boisterous fish without being uprooted.
• Keep the flow low. Labyrinth fish come from still, weedy water. A hard filter outflow pushes them around and disturbs the calm surface they need.
• Surface access is required. Like bettas, they gulp atmospheric air through a labyrinth organ. Leave an air gap under the lid and keep that air warm and humid so they are not breathing cold room air.
• Water parameters: 72 to 82°F, pH 6.0 to 8.0, hardness 5 to 20 dGH. Genuinely undemanding, and forgiving of ordinary tap water.
• Feeding: omnivore with a big appetite and no fussiness at all. A quality flake or slow sinking pellet such as Ocean Nutrition Community Formula Flake or Xtreme Community PeeWee Pellets as the staple, with frozen foods a couple of times a week.
• Lid: required. Surface breathers jump, and this one is large enough to clear an open rim.

Specifications

Compatibility

Stock robust, fast, average sized fish that can hold their own and get out of the way. Boesemani Rainbowfish, Zebra Danios, Black Skirt Tetras, and White Hifin Tetras are all good midwater company. Down below, Yo Yo Loaches, Sterbai Corys, Spotted Raphael Catfish, and a Bushynose Pleco stay out of the argument entirely. Nerite snails such as the Racetrack Nerite are safe.

What to avoid. Anything slow, long finned, or small enough to look like food. Skip bettas, guppies, angelfish, and fancy finned livebearers, all of which get their trailing fins shredded. Skip Tiger Barbs too, since that pairing tends to go badly in both directions. Dwarf shrimp are a food item to an adult, not a tank mate.

Other gouramis. One male per tank is the rule, and mixing this species with the gentler gouramis is usually a mistake. Our Honey Gourami, Dwarf Gourami, and Pearl Gourami are all calmer fish that this one will push around. If you want a large centerpiece gourami for a peaceful community, the Pearl is the better choice.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Ocean Nutrition Freshwater Community Formula Flake as the daily staple
• Xtreme Community PeeWee Slow-Sinking Pellets
• Hikari Vibra Bites, which trigger a strong feeding response
• SFBB Bloodworms or Frozen Brine Shrimp Plus as a treat
• Anubias Barteri and Java Moss for cover and broken sight lines
• Seachem StressGuard for the settling-in period

FAQ

Is this the same fish as the Opaline, Gold, or Platinum Gourami?
Yes. Opaline, Gold, Platinum, and Blue are all selectively bred color forms of Trichopodus trichopterus, and they behave identically. Blue is closest to the wild type. If you already keep one of the other color forms, treat a second one as the same species for stocking purposes, which means one per tank.

Mine was fine for months and now it chases everything. What changed?
It grew up. This species is genuinely mild as a juvenile and develops territorial behavior as it matures, usually somewhere past four inches. More floor space, denser planting, and broken sight lines all help, but a determined adult sometimes just needs its own tank. Plan the stocking around the adult fish rather than the one in the bag.

Will it eat my shrimp?
An adult will hunt dwarf shrimp, and shrimplets have no chance at all. The flip side is that this is one of the better fish for clearing hydra and planaria out of a tank, so if a pest bloom is the problem, a Blue Gourami is a real solution.

Blue Gourami or Pearl Gourami?
Both reach about five inches and both work as a centerpiece, but the Pearl is far calmer and fits a mixed community much more easily. Choose the Blue if you want a tough, characterful fish for a robust tank, or if you specifically want a hydra eater. Choose the Pearl if peace matters more.