The spotted gourami is one of the most important ornamental fish of all and is one of the top 100 worldwide. The species is extremely widespread in Southeast Asia. Despite its relatively small size (usually 8-10, rarely up to 15 cm), this gourami is used as a food fish and can survive for a long time out of the water due to its labyrinth breathing. This means that Trichogaster trichopterus was already widely introduced by humans in early history and today it is found almost worldwide where the climate permits.
Nevertheless, the golden-brown wild form of the spotted gourami is extremely rare in the trade. Yet it is not as inconspicuous as you might think. The blue, golden, marble and silver gourami (all cultivated forms of T. trichopterus that do not occur in the wild) are beautiful fish, but so are the wild ones!
For our customers: the fish have code 470033 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
