Bring a touch of brilliant shimmer and unique behavior to your aquarium with the Sparkling Pygmy Gourami(Trichopsis pumila). Also known simply as the Sparkling Gourami or Pygmy Gourami, this miniature marvel is a favorite for nano tanks and heavily planted aquascapes. Under the right aquarium lighting, their bodies radiate a stunning kaleidoscope of iridescent blues, greens, and reds, perfectly accented by their vibrant blue eyes.

An amazing bonus? They are one of the few vocal fish in the hobby! When courting or defending territory, they produce an audible, fascinating "croaking" or "clicking" sound using their pectoral fins.

Place of Origin

The Sparkling Pygmy Gourami is native to the warm, sluggish waters of Southeast Asia, specifically across Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. They thrive in the lower Mekong River basin, inhabiting slow-moving rivers, shallow rice paddies, floodplains, and dense peat swamps where aquatic vegetation is thick.

Optimal Environment & Tank Requirements

To bring out their best colors and minimize stress, mimic their natural blackwater and heavily vegetated habitats.

• Aquascape: Pack the tank with live aquarium plants (such as Java Fern, Anubias, and Cryptocoryne) alongside floating plants (like Amazon Frogbit or Salvinia) to diffuse light and provide security.

• Decor: Use dark substrate, driftwood branch structures, and leaf litter (like Indian Almond Leaves) to create natural hiding spots and release beneficial tannins.

• Filtration: Because they possess a labyrinth organ—allowing them to breathe atmospheric air directly from the water's surface—they despise strong currents. Use a gentle sponge filter or an adjustable hang-on-back filter with low water flow. Ensure there is always a gap of open air between the water's surface and your tank lid.

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 76°F to 82°F (24°C to 28°C)

• pH Range: 6.0 – 7.5 (Prefers slightly acidic to neutral)

• Water Hardness: 4–10 dKH; 5–19 dGH

Minimum Tank Size

A single pair can be comfortably housed in a 10-gallon aquarium. If you wish to keep a small harem or harem group (one male to multiple females), a 15 to 20-gallon long tank is highly recommended. This extra space ensures subdominant fish can easily retreat from a territorial male's sightline.

Diet & Feeding

Sparkling Gouramis are micro-predators. While they will accept high-quality crushed flakes or micropellets over time, they truly thrive on a varied diet of live and frozen foods. Feed them baby brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, and micro-worms to maximize their health, lifespan, and radiant coloration.

Ideal Tank Mates

Because of their diminutive max size of just 1.5 inches, they should only be kept with peaceful, small community tank mates. Fast-moving or aggressive fish will easily outcompete or stress them.

• Great choices: Neon Tetras, Ember Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Pygygmy Corydoras, Kuhli Loaches, and Otocinclus catfish.

• Invertebrate Warning: While they do great with larger snails and adult Amano shrimp, Sparkling Gouramis are relentless, skilled hunters of dwarf shrimp. They will quickly decimate baby Neocaridina (Cherry Shrimp) colonies.

Breeding the Sparkling Gourami

Breeding Trichopsis pumila is a highly rewarding experience for hobbyists. They are bubble nesters. When ready to spawn, the male will construct a delicate, small bubble nest beneath a broad plant leaf or floating vegetation.

1. Conditioning: Feed the pair heavy amounts of live or frozen foods and bump the tank temperature up slightly (around 80°F–82°F).

2. The Embrace: The male will entice the female under the nest, wrapping his body around hers in a classic anabantid embrace to fertilize the eggs. This is when their "croaking" sound is most frequently heard!

3. Post-Spawning Care: The male takes sole responsibility for guarding the nest. It is best to remove the female at this point to protect her from his territorial defense.

4. Raising Fry: Eggs hatch in roughly 48 hours. Once the fry are free-swimming (usually 2 days later), remove the male. Because the fry are microscopically small, they must be fed microscopic live foods like infusoria or green water before graduating to vinegar eels and baby brine shrimp.

PLEASE READ BEFORE ORDERING

• The photos shown on fish product pages are representations of adult fish and are NOT the actual fish that you will be receiving. 
• Please visit our “Ordering/Shipping fish” page prior to checking out to familiarize yourself with our process.

• ⁃ We ship fish exclusively using overnight shipping with either FedEx or UPS. We will not ship fish with lesser expensive shipping services like “Ground” or “Priority Mail”. This is to ensure the safety of the fish.