Breeding Opaline Gourami
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Many of the Gourami family breed the same way. The male constucts a nest of air bubbles mixed in with plant leaves. He takes a bubble of air, coats it with mucous so it doesn't burst, and spits it out on the surface. He places hundreds of bubbles together. He entices the female under the nest, where they embrace, and she lays some eggs. He picks them up and spits them into the bubbles where they stick. |
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She comes back and lays more eggs. The process is repeated many times until she has laid all the eggs. The eggs hatch after a couple of days. The young are helpless. The male picks up any that drop and spits them back into the nest. |
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In this photo, the eggs have hatched. |
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The young are now free swimming. They need very small food. As brine shrimp is too large, it is necesssary to feed them the single celled creatures called paramecium(Infusoria) |
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If you have plenty of plants, a lot of the young should survive. However, to get a larger survival rate, I remove the parents. They are often ready to lay again in another tank in 7 to 14 days. |
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The young need to be larger than this before you start feeding them micro wormsand brine shrimp. |
Discus, Mexican Walking Fish, Ancistrus Catfish, Albino Corydoras Catfish, Goldfish, Mystery Snails