To the untrained eye, seeing a Honey Gourami (Trichogaster chuna) might make people think it’s just another ordinary ‘goldfish.’ That may appear true in the stores when there’s a lot of golden coloring out there, but what many don’t see is what their color will develop into once settled in the perfect environment.
Honey Gourami are beautiful freshwater fish to look at, peaceful in nature and evenly tempered, and they sure can get along with a whole host of tank mates, making them ideal for adding to your community.
They can also be called Sunset Gourami, Red Honey Gourami, or Red Flame Gourami, which is a clue to their color development. They can also get confused with Dwarf Gourami, so selective breeding does often take place to distinguish the two for trade.
Found in the slow-moving and poorly oxygenated waters of India, this member of fish is a part of the family that possesses a labyrinth organ. More on that later; it’s a real talking point!
Let’s take a look and see why so many people choose this sweet-natured fish with their tank communities.
Honey Gourami Behavior
Honey Gouramis have the much-lauded labyrinth organ, which is like a hybrid lung, allowing them to take in air at the water surface.
This is a key reason why Honey Gouramis like to patrol and occupy the middle to higher layers in your tank because they need to surface regularly for air.
They are peaceful fish who are eager to play a role in an active tank community and like to get their noses into everything that is going on, as long as it isn’t aggressive!
While fairly bold in their pursuits for their size, they can be a little bit chicken when it comes to dealing with other fish. They will retreat and hide, but before you know it, they’ll be back in the thick of things trying to see what is happening in every corner of the tank.
Honey Gouramis prefer safety in numbers and love to shoal amongst themselves, so if you plan on getting a Honey Gourami, why not consider getting a small shoal? It improves their lifespan immeasurably by reducing stress and letting them have their own social scene.
It’s all about the comfort level you provide. If they are happy fish, you’ll be able to observe lots of activity and enjoy their beautiful, rich, yellow-orange-red hues.
Once your Honey Gouramis get settled into their new community, the males will develop richer coloration than the females, just like most Gourami species.
In addition to having a fish that will regularly surface to breathe, Honeys will squirt water at prey above the waterline, typically insects, who will then drop into the water and get gobbled up.
In a shoal, they will establish a hierarchy, and usually, a dominant male takes the alpha role when it comes to first pickings at feeding time.
Honey Gourami Lifespan
If you cater to the needs of your Honey Gouramis, you could expect them to live anywhere from 4 – 8 years.
We will discuss more on tank requirements a little later in this article.
Honey Gourami Appearance
For this species, it’s all about the prized coloring of the males.
Females will be silvery grey and light yellow with a horizontal brown stripe along the length of the mid-body. They don’t change color and are always this muted mix of shades.
Males, on the other hand, develop into a stunningly bright golden yellow and can have reddish areas on the lower body. The only exception to this color is the face, throat, and belly, which can be a dark blackish-blue tone.
Honey Gouramis are the smallest Gouramis in existence and max out at a diminutive 1.5 inches for males and about 2 for females.
Typical Gourami shaping of the body and fins are present. Slim build fish and body length dorsal and anal fins. Their caudal fin is compact and gently rounded.
They possess barely detectable pectoral fins and thin, dangling ventral fins that trail as they investigate their habitat.
Honey Gourami Habitat And Tank Requirements
As always, we want to achieve optimum health for fish we keep in captivity by closely mimicking their natural habitat.
In the wild, they enjoy the slowly flowing waters of the river systems they inhabit, so we want to keep water flow and disturbance to a minimum.
An important point that often gets overlooked for potential owners of fish with a labyrinth organ is that drastic differences between water and air temperature can be damaging to that organ. So some maintenance of similar temperature in the home needs to be considered; you can’t rely on just keeping the tank heated.
Let’s look at some specifics that are needed to provide these bottom dwellers with a great quality of life that best suits them for optimum health.
Tank Conditions
Honey Gouramis are not keen on much active water flow, so water movement should be minimal, and you want to keep filtration from creating unnecessary movement.
They need lots of lush vegetation to feel happy and secure, given that they originated in densely planted rivers with little circulation and disturbance.
They don’t like a ton of light, so plants will help provide some cover and offer some dimmer areas for them to relax into.
Some great plant options to include in your landscape would be Hornwort and Water Wisteria, but avoid floating plants that might obscure their regular trips for air. You’ll also need to ensure that you leave enough of a gap from the waterline to the lid if you have a lid on your tank.
Rocks, driftwood, caves, and all manner of decor works for these guys. The options are endless for the hobbyist to get creative with the landscape.
These fish are playful when content and will often put on a real show if you allow them enough space, but do ensure there is plenty for them to explore as they can get bored and less energetic if there isn’t.
Substrates are not a huge concern for Honey Gouramis as they aren’t hanging around the bottom layer much. You can use any kind of substrate, but darker colors will show off their coloring best.
For filtration, nothing too robust is best. A canister or hang-on back filter is usually sufficient, and you can include air stones for added interest that they can play around with.
Lids are advisable as Honey Gouramis can jump too!
Water changes will need to be weekly, and at least 25 – 30% changed over.
Water conditions should be noted and maintained as follows:
- pH of 6 – 7.5
- Water hardness between 4 -15 dGH
- Temperature between 72 – 82ºF (22 – 28ºC)
- Lighting is usually standard levels
Tank Size
The minimum tank size needed for a single Honey Gourami is 10 gallons. Being air breathers, you want a long, not tall-shaped tank, too. If you choose to have a pair, go for 20 gallons and then add another 5 gallons for each additional Honey Gourami after that.
This will allow your Honey Gouramis to have enough turf and can reduce squabbling within the shoal. Room for everyone!
Choosing Tank Mates For Honey Gouramis
When it comes to finding friendly species for your peaceful Honey Gouramis to cohabit with, there are a lot of options.
Any tropical freshwater fish that are suitably non-aggressive will do well, but remember that these guys are small, so size will definitely matter.
You’ll definitely want to keep tank mates to a similar-sized fish as anything bigger will assume its potential food up for grabs.
Some excellent tank mate pairings would include:
- Cory Catfish
- Sparkling Gouramis
- Guppies
- Mollies
- Zebra Danios
- Smaller Barb species
- Neon Tetras
- Ember Tetras
- Otocinclus
- Rasboras
- Snails
- Rainbowfish
Fish to avoid are anything highly aggressive which will stress them out. Avoid Oscars and aggressive Cichlids, anything too large overall.
While we have included snails, we would say avoid other invertebrates like shrimp, who will likely be eaten.
How To Feed Honey Gouramis
Honey Gouramis are omnivores and are happy eating dry and live or frozen foods, flakes, and pellets, which means they aren’t too picky.
Pellets and flakes should be their main source of food, but keep an eye on your plants in the tank as they are prone to be nibbled.
For live or frozen protein supplements, they love Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, and Tubifex.
They need diverse diets to give them their needed plant nutrition, so vegetable tablets are another good source to add into the mix.
Just be sure to remove any uneaten food offered to avoid fouling the water.
Honey Gourami Common Health Issues
Just like most freshwater fish, Honey Gouramis are susceptible to Ich (White Spot Disease), which, as the name implies, is easily distinguished by white spots on the body due to a parasitic infection.
Ich is treatable when caught early and suitably medicated. If left untreated, Ich is usually fatal.
Honey Gouramis are also prone to Velvet Disease with is another parasite that lives in the skin, mouth, and gills and makes a browny-yellow dust-like substance that sits on the body.
All of these issues are a good reminder of why maintaining good water quality is important and knowing where your water sources are coming from when doing tank changes.
Quarantining new fish is a good idea before introduction to a community to ensure you’re not going to wipe out the tank with a highly infectious condition.
How To Breed Honey Gourami
These fish are bubble nest builders, and they make breeding fairly easy even for a novice as long as you know what you’re doing and what to look out for.
It’s best to have a breeding tank for this journey. 15 gallons or more is ideal and have a slightly elevated water temperature to encourage spawning behaviors.
Bubble nesting means that you need plants in the breeding tank. The male will build a nest under a leaf usually and then do displays to attract the female. A lot of bumping into the female will happen!
If you successfully achieve spawning, the female will release eggs and allow the male to fertilize them; after that, the female needs to go back to the big tank. Males will pick up the fertilized eggs and load them into the bubble nest after each spawning session until there are up to 300 eggs.
In a refreshing change of lead parenting, the male is the one who will defend the nest, and they have been known to attack the female right after reproduction.
Eggs will hatch quickly, in about 24 – 36 hours, and when this happens, the male must be removed; otherwise, he is likely to consume the fry.
Free-swimming fry will be seen about three days after hatching, so you should be able to spot them leaving the nest. Being smaller fish, the fry are tiny, so a sponge filter tends to be best in this tank setup.
Are Honey Gouramis A Good Idea For Your Tank?
We think after seeing some in-person in a settled tank, you would never call one a basic or boring goldfish.
Their sparkling personalities, inquisitive yet peaceful behavior, and brilliant coloring make them a real treasure of the aquarium community.
It’s no wonder they’re popular. They don’t take up a huge amount of space and will get on happily with most other smaller hobby fish species. This makes them a treat for beginners but still admired by experienced fish keepers for the flash of color they can provide.
With some unique behaviors on display, they make a great talking point too.
Honey Gouramis are indeed a sweet fish you’ll get stuck on.
