The pearl gourami is a relatively easy fish to breed and I highly recommend it for someone who wants to try to breed an egg laying fish for the first time.
The hardest part of breeding most fish is determining the sex of the fish. I say this is the hardest part because once you have a male/female pair the fish are pretty much capable of handling things on their own. For pearl gouramis determining sex is very easy. The males dorsal (the one on his back) fin in a good specimen is elongated and comes to a point at the end. The edges of the male’s dorsal and anal (the one on his belly) fin have a filamentous appearance to them as well. And when the male is in breeding condition his breast from directly under the mouth all the way to the anal fin turn a bright orange-red. The female has a shorter, rounded dorsal fin, no filament-like appendages on any of her fins, and does not turn orange.
Once you have a pair you need to isolate them. I use a 10 gallon rectangular tank with no gravel. Place the pair in the tank with a running sponge filter and (this will sound weird but works great) the lid from a small margarine container floating on top of the water. I punch 2 holes in the lid, cut a rubber band in half, and insert one end into each hole and tie a knot so that it stays and then tape the loop that was formed to the outside of the tank so that the lid can float but won’t leave the corner. You can leave the lid to float free if you prefer but I like to be able to look under it without having to first look for it. The lid serves as a place for the male to build the bubble nest.
After you have the tank set up and the pair in it you need to feed them on high quality flake and frozen foods for about a week. This is called conditioning and it brings the pair into breeding readiness. Once the female has swelled with eggs and the male breast area has turned orange. you need to turn off the filter because the motion of the water will disrupt the male’s bubble nest. Now the waiting begins.
Spawning
The male takes in air at the surface and will spit out bubbles at the underside of the margarine lid. After he is pleased with his nest he will position the female under it and wrap himself around her squeezing out the eggs and fertilizing them. He will pause between sessions to gather up the eggs and place them in the nest. The pair will probably mate 3 to 7 times, this depends on the size and age of the female as small, young females produce fewer eggs than older, larger ones. Once the female has run out of eggs the male will begin to chase her away from the nest and you need to remove her for her own safety. The male will guard the nest gathering up any eggs that have strayed and spitting them into the nest and also replacing bubbles as needed. Don’t feed the male at this time because he won’t eat, don’t worry about him starving because he’ll only be with the nest for about a week more.
Raising the Pearl Gourami fry
In a few days the eggs will hatch and soon after become free swimming. You need to check on them everyday and once you notice that the male can no longer keep up with his fry and that they leave the nest as soon as he puts them back into it, it is time to remove the male.
A week after the eggs have hatched the fry will have absorbed their yolk sacs and you need to start feeding them. I like Tetra’s food for egg layers because it is a powder and needs no refrigeration. You can also start feeding them baby brine shrimp or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs 2 weeks after hatching. At about 2 months I start giving mine Tetra’s growth food and I just crush the flakes up really fine.
Changing water
One thing you need to be sure to do while raising the fry is to stay on top of water changes. Make sure the uneaten food doesn’t have a chance to grow fungus, or you can have a massive fry die off. Also when you add new water be sure it is the same temperature or warmer than the water already there. Until the age of 3 months the fry are very susceptible to drafts and cooler temperatures, so you need to keep the tank well covered.
Turn the filter back on about 3 weeks after hatching to provide water circulation. Before then the fry aren’t strong enough to withstand the current.
Water parameters and breeding tank
I haven’t said much about water conditions in this article for a very good reason, Pearl gouramis are so easy to breed and raise that just about any conditions will work. I prefer to use conditions that are similar to or the same as the conditions in my main tank where the breeders spend the most of their time. This way the breeders aren’t shocked by any change, and the fry that I raise and sell will be used the water conditions in the area. If you’re concerned about your fish, try to find breeders that have been spawned in the water found in your area, then you’re sure to get fish capable of living and breeding for you. As for temperature, set the breeding tank to the same temperature as the tank that your breeders are usually kept at and during the conditioning period gradually turn it up to about 80 degrees F. The higher temperature will help protect the fry from drafts.
In other articles, you may read about people using plants to anchor the nest or keeping the water level in the tank at half full and gradually raising it as the fry grow. I don’t do either of these things with my pearls. Pearls really don’t care, unlike some other gouramis, what they use to anchor the nest, and I’ve had problems with plants bringing in fungus which attacks the eggs. And I keep the water level near the top of the tank so that when the male chases the female she has more room to get away from him. This saves her from being seriously injured or killed if they spawn while I’m asleep and can’t get to her. One other tip, I put the female into the breeding tank about 1 hour before the male, this fools the male into thinking he’s in her territory rather than the other way around and cools some of his aggression towards her.
That’s all I have to say about breeding Pearls. Happy Fishkeeping.
Source: Aquarticles (no longer available)
Thanks. Very informative