Identity and search names
- Common name
- Honey gourami
- Scientific name
- Trichogaster chuna
- Other names
- Colisa chuna, Honey dwarf gourami
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Bettas and gouramis
- Origin
- Slow and vegetated lowland waters of the Ganges–Brahmaputra region in India and Bangladesh
- Review outcome
- PASSED
Environment and housing
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Care level
- Beginner to intermediate
- Adult size
- Usually 4–5 cm total length
- Expected lifespan
- About 4–7 years
- Minimum housing
- At least 75 L with quiet surface cover and broken sight lines
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Hardness or minerals
- Soft to moderately hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater
- Lighting
- Subdued to moderate with floating plants and shaded refuge
- Social structure
- Keep a compatible pair or one male with females only where space and cover prevent persistent pursuit
- Placement or swimming zone
- Upper and middle water
- Temperament
- Generally peaceful but males become territorial around nests
- Compatibility
- Choose quiet peaceful tankmates; avoid boisterous gouramis, fin-nippers and fast feeders
- Habitat structure
- Warm, gently filtered aquarium with floating plants, calm surface areas, dense side cover and secure access to atmospheric air
Feeding and nutrition
- Diet
- Small invertebrates and varied fine prepared foods
- Feeding frequency
- Feed small portions once or twice daily and verify shy fish are not outcompeted
Breeding and reproduction
- Breeding or reproduction
- The male builds a surface bubble nest, tends eggs and guards the nest until fry become free-swimming; remove the female if she is attacked
- Parental care
- Male guards the nest, eggs and early larvae
System demands
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
Detailed husbandry
- Identity scope
- This profile applies to Trichogaster chuna. Red or sunset trade fish may be Trichogaster labiosa, hybrids or domestic lines and must not be assigned to T. chuna from colour alone.
- Adult size and space
- Usually 4–5 cm total length. At least 75 L with quiet surface cover and broken sight lines. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression and waste production rather than sale size.
- Social structure
- Keep a compatible pair or one male with females only where space and cover prevent persistent pursuit
- Placement or swimming zone
- Primary zone: Upper and middle water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding and refuge.
- Feeding ecology
- Small invertebrates and varied fine prepared foods
- Feeding plan
- Feed small portions once or twice daily and verify shy fish are not outcompeted
- Water stability
- Maintain 24–28 °C; pH 6.0–7.5; hardness/minerals: Soft to moderately hard. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact number.
- Adult projected load
- Plan capacity for Keep a compatible pair or one male with females only where space and cover prevent persistent pursuit at the documented adult size (Usually 4–5 cm total length) in At least 75 L with quiet surface cover and broken sight lines. Include feeding intensity, territorial behaviour and breeding growth rather than counting sale-size juveniles.
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
- Habitat structure
- Warm, gently filtered aquarium with floating plants, calm surface areas, dense side cover and secure access to atmospheric air
- Compatibility plan
- Choose quiet peaceful tankmates; avoid boisterous gouramis, fin-nippers and fast feeders
- Breeding plan
- The male builds a surface bubble nest, tends eggs and guards the nest until fry become free-swimming; remove the female if she is attacked Parental care: Male guards the nest, eggs and early larvae.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine new fish in a separate cycled aquarium with dedicated equipment. Match temperature and mineral chemistry gradually, confirm feeding and normal respiration, and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. “Red honey gourami” is often applied to thick-lipped gouramis, hybrids or colour strains. Confirm body shape and provenance instead of relying on the label.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Main risk
- “Red honey gourami” is often applied to thick-lipped gouramis, hybrids or colour strains. Confirm body shape and provenance instead of relying on the label.
- Overridable warnings
- “Red honey gourami” is often applied to thick-lipped gouramis, hybrids or colour strains. Confirm body shape and provenance instead of relying on the label. Any override must still preserve adult space, social welfare, stable chemistry, oxygen and filter capacity.
Welfare and risk
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. “Red honey gourami” is often applied to thick-lipped gouramis, hybrids or colour strains. Confirm body shape and provenance instead of relying on the label.
- Main warning
- “Red honey gourami” is often applied to thick-lipped gouramis, hybrids or colour strains. Confirm body shape and provenance instead of relying on the label.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Sources
Source note
Current identity or scope, husbandry, system-demand, welfare and Australian biosecurity evidence checked; active retired-source links removed; all AquaNexus wording is original.
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Trichogaster chuna — Current accepted-name, synonym, family and habitat check
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Trichogaster chuna — Accepted-name, synonym and taxonomic-placement cross-check
- Seriously Fish — Trichogaster chuna — Identity, adult size, surface habitat, social behaviour and bubble-nest breeding cross-check
- IUCN Red List search — Trichogaster chuna — Conservation-status and wild-provenance cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list — Current South Australian possession and trade restriction cross-check
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Current Australian live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning