Description
The blue gourami, or three-spot gourami, is one of the best-selling and hardiest fish in the trade. The wild form is silvery blue with two dark spots on the flank — the eye counts as the third — and it has given rise to bred varieties such as the gold, opaline and cosby gouramis.
It shares with the pearl gourami the ventral filaments it uses to feel everything and the labyrinth organ for breathing air. What it does not share is the temperament: adult males can be fairly quarrelsome, with their own kind and with similar fish.
So it is best thought of as what it is: a 15 cm fish, tough and with presence, that needs a long tank and tank mates able to keep out of its way.
Behavior
Territorial, especially the male. One male with one or two females in a metre-long tank is the most stable arrangement; two males together end badly.
It lives well with sturdy mid-sized fish: barbs, danios, larger tetras, corydoras, bristlenose, Siamese algae eaters.
Avoid housing it with bettas, pearl, dwarf or honey gouramis and other shyer labyrinth fish, which it bullies; tiny fish and shrimp, which get eaten; and fin nippers, because of its filaments.
Habitat
Trichopodus trichopterus ranges across Southeast Asia: the Mekong basin, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It lives in swamps, rice paddies, canals and the margins of slow rivers with plenty of vegetation, in warm and often oxygen-poor water.
That is why it tolerates almost any tap water. What it appreciates in the aquarium is tall and floating plants and a calm surface.
Habitats
Fish sharing this habitat
These fish appear in one or more habitats linked to this profile. It doesn't mean they are directly compatible in an aquarium.
Details
🌊 Water parameters
🐠 Minimum tank size
Breeding
The male builds a bubble nest at the surface, courts the female beneath it and tends the spawn alone. During those days he becomes very aggressive towards everything, the female included, who should be removed after spawning.
One spawn yields hundreds of very small fry, which need infusoria and warm, humid air above the water while the labyrinth develops.
Diet
Omnivorous and greedy.
- Staple: quality flake or pellets.
- Supplement: frozen mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and daphnia.
- Plant matter: spirulina or some blanched vegetables.
Like the pearl gourami it eats hydra and planaria, which can be handy if they show up in the tank.
What about your tank?
Enter your tank's values to see only the compatible species that fit them. Litres apply to fish.
Compatible fish
General guidance based on water parameters, behaviour and known exceptions; always review the individual animals' and aquarium's specific needs.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–8 and 24–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–8 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–25 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 27–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 25–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 24–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5–8 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5–8 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.2 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–8 and 22 °C. They only meet at the very edge, so the tank has to hold that value.
They share water: pH 6.5–8 and 22–24 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 26–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–6.5 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 23–27 °C.
They share water: pH 6–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
Compatible invertebrates
General guidance based on water parameters, behaviour and known exceptions; always review the individual animals' and aquarium's specific needs.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6–6.5 and 22–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–25 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5–8 and 24–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6–6.8 and 22–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6–6.8 and 22–24 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–27 °C.
They share water: pH 7.5–8 and 27–28 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–7.5 and 22–26 °C.
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
They share water: pH 6.5–8 and 22–28 °C.
.jpg){kind=link}
.JPG){kind=link}
_02.jpg){kind=link}
_-_360070513.jpeg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
_1.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
They share water: pH 7–8 and 22–28 °C.
Sources
- FishBaseFroese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2026. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
- Seriously FishSeriously Fish. Trichopodus trichopterus. Ficha de especie; consultada 2026-08.
Temperature: FishBase gives 22-28 °C and Seriously Fish 24-30. The profile uses FishBase.
Plan your next aquarium
Is this fish right for you? Plan a suitable aquarium before setting it up.