AquaNexus verified profile
Three-spot gourami
Trichopodus trichopterus
Three-spot gourami is Trichopodus trichopterus, including blue, gold and opaline colour forms, and requires adult aggression control, floating cover and a secure warm-air lid.
Outcome: PASSED Permanent ID: 680
Profile overview
- Scientific Name
- Trichopodus trichopterus
- Identity and search names
- blue gourami, gold gourami, opaline gourami
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Subgroup
- Bettas and gouramis
- Environment
- Freshwater aquarium
- Origin
- Mekong and Chao Phraya basins and other parts of mainland Southeast Asia
- Care
- Intermediate
- Adult Size
- About 12–15 cm total length
- Lifespan
- 4–6 years
- Tank
- At least 180 L for one male with several females or a carefully structured group
- Temp
- 23–28 °C
- pH
- 6.0–8.0
- Hardness
- Soft to hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater; no routine salt addition
- Lighting
- Normal aquarium lighting
- Placement
- Upper and mid water
- Diet
- Omnivore taking insects, crustaceans, algae, plant matter and prepared foods
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
- Aeration
- Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
- Maintenance
- Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
- Welfare
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Blue, gold, opaline and three-spot gouramis are colour forms of the same assertive species. Adult male aggression and aquarium-release risk are routinely underestimated.
- 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.
- Review Status
- PASSED
- Source Status
- CURRENT — accepted identity or explicitly bounded species profile; husbandry, welfare, sources and Australian/South Australian biosecurity rechecked. CURRENT
App-ready care, welfare and biosecurity details
Identity Scope
Single-species profile for Trichopodus trichopterus. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 680, slug three-spot-gourami and route /species/three-spot-gourami/; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.
Adult Size And Space
Expected adult size: About 12–15 cm total length. Minimum permanent housing: At least 180 L for one male with several females or a carefully structured group. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression, oxygen demand and waste production rather than sale size.
Social Structure
Keep one male with multiple females or a carefully managed group with dense cover and broken sightlines; adult males may become highly aggressive
Swimming Zone
Primary zone: Upper and mid water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
Feeding Ecology
Omnivore taking insects, crustaceans, algae, plant matter and prepared foods
Feeding Plan
Offer varied prepared foods and small live or frozen prey once or twice daily; prevent dominant adults excluding timid fish
Water Stability
Maintain 23–28 °C; pH 6.0–8.0; hardness or minerals: Soft to hard; salinity: Freshwater; no routine salt addition. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact value.
Habitat Structure
Tightly covered warm aquarium with floating plants, dense side cover, calm surface areas, open swimming room and access to warm humid air above the water
Compatibility Plan
Avoid slow long-finned fish, smaller gouramis and other labyrinth fish that cannot escape a dominant male
Breeding Plan
Surface bubble-nest spawner; the male builds and guards the nest, eggs and newly hatched larvae Parental care: Male guards the bubble nest and early brood; remove or protect the female if attacked after spawning.
Quarantine
Quarantine new fish in a separate cycled aquarium with dedicated equipment. Match temperature and mineral chemistry gradually, confirm feeding, respiration, skin, fins and waste, 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. Blue, gold, opaline and three-spot gouramis are colour forms of the same assertive species. Adult male aggression and aquarium-release risk are routinely underestimated.
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
Blue, gold, opaline and three-spot gouramis are colour forms of the same assertive species. Adult male aggression and aquarium-release risk are routinely underestimated.
Adult Projected Load
Plan filtration and stocking for the full adult size (About 12–15 cm total length), the complete social group and peak feeding waste, not the current shop size. Permanent housing remains At least 180 L for one male with several females or a carefully structured group.
Filtration
Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
Aeration
Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
Maintenance
Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
Overridable Warnings
Warnings are decision support, not permission to ignore welfare limits. Override only with specimen-specific evidence, equivalent risk controls and a recorded reason; never override legal, biosecurity, provenance or no-release requirements.
Sources and review basis
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Trichopodus trichopterus: Taxonomy — accepted name, former combinations, synonyms and identity cross-check
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — ecological risk summary for Trichopodus trichopterus: Distribution and biosecurity — broad introduced range and aquarium-release risk
- IUCN Red List search — Trichopodus trichopterus: Conservation and provenance — wild-status, locality and collection-risk cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list: Australian biosecurity — current South Australian possession, trade and movement restrictions
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia: Australian biosecurity — national live-fish import pathways and permitted-species warning
AquaNexus uses original editorial synthesis. Exact import, possession, movement and disposal requirements must be rechecked with the current authority before acquisition or transfer.