Sparkling Gourami eating habits

[Kazenouta]

Hey everyone,
I've had a Sparkling Gourami in my 10g for almost 4 days now. It seems to be doing well accept for the fact that it doesn't seem to notice food too well. So far I've tried TetraMin flakes, Wardley Advanced Tropical Pellets, Freeze Dried Blood Worms, and Hikari frozen spirulina brine shrimp. The brine shrimp is the only thing I've ever seen the little guy eat. Even then he takes the brine shrimp into his mouth, keeps it there, spits it out, and then eventually bites it again only to repeat the process. I'm a little worried about its eating habits as I don't want it to starve. It's obviously interested in eating but, it doesn't hang around the top enough to notice foods which float such as flakes, pellets, and freeze dried worms.

I have never kept one of these fish before so, I'd like some advice of those more experienced with these beautiful little fish. Should I be worried? Will they eat a blanch bit of zucchini or cuke like the Dwarf and Pink kissing gouramis?

Thanks for any and all help. :ssmile:

[Little Embers]

I have kept them and they can be very shy/slow eaters (that is one of the problems with them if kept with other species), they also have very tiny mouths and you have to accommodate for that.

They are more carnivores, so won't be that interested in the veggies imo/ime! I always crushed up any flakes/pellets I gave them, also fed frozen baby brine shrimp (much smaller than adult frozen shrimp), sometimes I fed them powdered food. Sinking pellets also worked, may take them some time to get to it and eat it. A lot of fish will spit food out a few times before eating it.

They are still settling in and it can take them some time to feel secure, particularly if other larger fish are in the tank.

[Kazenouta]

Thanks for the reply, Little Embers. Currently the stock of my 10g is the single Sparkler and 2 Ghost Shrimp. I plan on adding only a few more Sparkling Gourami to the tank as 1) I think they are absolutely gorgeous fish and 2) they are such shy eaters and I don't want more aggressive fish to starve them. I've got some Hikari Micro Wafers which I'll drop in tomorrow. As you said the little fellow is probably still getting used to his new environment.

Thanks again for the reply.

[Little Embers]

OH! Being the only one in there, I'm sure he will be fine.

Sounds like you have a good plan there Kazenouta...They are definitely adorable little fish!

[Kazenouta]

Thanks a lot, Embers! I'm going to try to stick some more Anacharis in the tank tomorrow, too, so that I can provide the little guy with more places to hide! I appreciate all of your input thumbs2:

[Zilla]

I feed my entire tank frozen cubes. I buy "The Lunchbox" Variety Packs from Pet Smart. It's cheaper to buy them this way instead of buying the small packs even though the cubes are smaller.

In the pack I buy, there are vegetable cubes, bloodworm cubes and brine shrimp cubes. I put 3 cubes ( one of each) in a small dish filled with hotwater so they thaw out before I feed. If I didn't, I think there would be food battles so I don't bother to go there.

When I first put the Gourami's in, they were not sure what the deal was as they were used to being fed flakes or pellets. After a day or two they figured it out and now eat with no problem. They eat the stuff from the veggie cubes just as well as the brine shimp and bloodworms. When the food spreads throughout the tank, they just follow the food. Since the Rainbows tend to be mid layer feeders, the Gourami's chase the food around to the bottom and eat mostly from that bottom layer.

I'd say continue to offer frozen and if you want to feed veggies, see if you can find it in frozen form. The pieces are the same size as brine shrimp or smaller in some cases, so Gourami's can handle it in terms of the size of their mouths. In the frozen I buy, the veggies cubes consist of squash, spinach and Romaine lettuce along with vitamins and minerals. Thawing them out first may help.

[Kazenouta]

Thanks for your reply, Zilla. When you say that they eat from the bottom layer do you mean they'll also eat leftovers from the substrate? If this is the case I'll feel a lot better

[VoidParadigm]

I've never dealt with Sparkling Gouramis, but whenever I've owned a shy Gourami I've dropped sinking pellets near where they spend most of their time. They weren't like catfish, who suck on them to eat them, but would wait until the pellet fell apart then sucked up the pieces.

[Zilla]

Thanks for your reply, Zilla. When you say that they eat from the bottom layer do you mean they'll also eat leftovers from the substrate? If this is the case I'll feel a lot better

They pick around in the gravel, but they also grab food that floats a inch or so over the gravel as well. They just chase it around and until they catch watever it is what they wanted.

I wouldn't call them shy feeders,( mine are not anyway) they just can't be bothered with the Rainbows going from one side of the tank to the other. It's easier and more peaceful just to stay out of their way as otherwise it just becomes a fishy traffic jam. LOL

[Kazenouta]

Thanks for the replies! I, too, have owned a shy Gourami who didn't mind picking a bit at food left in the gravel. After sitting in front of this tank for literally 2 hours and observing the Sparkling Gourami's behavior it appears that he, too, doesn't mind being a bottom feeder so to speak. However, I've also noticed he's taken to eating tiny snails off of the newly imported anacharis so, at least for now he's found something more accessible.

[dawguy]

If you still have issues with the sparkler only eatting brine shrimp.Try putting a raw shrimp in a food processor,and mulch the heck out of it.My sparklers just go nuts on this shrimp.But only feed them a little at a time.
thumbs2:
Dawguy