Moonlight Gourami - Fish Profile and Complete Care Guide [Trichopodus microlepis]

This is a Moonlight Gourami care guide video.

Hello everyone, it’s Pierre, The Fish Beast and welcome back to the channel!

In today’s video, we’re going to look at the beautiful and serene Moonlight Gourami. It’s a gentle and elegant fish that can be a great addition to your aquarium. I’ve really enjoyed keeping this fish and so I thought I’d put together this species profile and care guide from my first-hand experience.

The Moonlight Gourami, also known as Trichopodus microlepis, is a stunning freshwater fish from Southeast Asia. They get their name from the soft, silvery sheen that seems to glow from their bodies like moonlight, making them a captivating addition to any aquarium. Like other gouramis, they have a pair of long pelvic fins that are used as feelers.

The Moonlight Gourami is native to the slow-moving waters of Thailand and Cambodia. In the wild, they thrive in areas with dense vegetation and still water like ponds and swamps.

The ideal tank setup for the Moonlight Gourami is at least 20 gallons and ideally 40 gallons if you want to keep it in a community. These fish prefer a well-planted tank with plenty of hiding spots. Plants like Java Fern, Anubias, and floating plants like Duckweed work great. Moonlight Gouramis are labyrinth fish, which means they are able to surface for air if there isn’t enough oxygen in the water. Make sure your tank has a secure lid to prevent them from jumping out and also to keep the air that they breathe humid.

They thrive in tropical water temperatures between 75-85°F (24-29°C) and a pH range of 6.0 to 7.5.

Regular tank maintenance is crucial for keeping your Moonlight Gourami healthy. Check your water parameters weekly and perform water changes as needed. Thankfully, Moonlight Gouramis are hardy and forgiving.
Next up is their diet. Moonlight Gouramis are omnivores, so they enjoy a varied diet. High-quality flake or pellet food should be their staple, supplemented with live or frozen foods like brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms. You can also offer blanched vegetables like zucchini or peas as an occasional treat.

Feeding them a balanced diet ensures they get all the necessary nutrients to maintain their health and vibrant color.

Now let’s go over tankmates. Moonlight Gouramis are generally peaceful and can be kept with other non-aggressive fish. Good tank mates include small tetras, rasboras, corydoras, and other peaceful gouramis. Avoid keeping them with larger, aggressive species that might bully them.
If you keep more than one Moonlight Gourami, make sure your tank is big enough and has plenty of cover and structure to minimize territorial aggression.

To encourage breeding, set up a separate tank for an established pair with plenty of plants. The male will build a bubble nest at the surface, and after spawning, he will guard the eggs until they hatch. Remove the female after spawning to prevent aggression and provide infusoria or commercially prepared fry food for the fry once they hatch.

And that's it for our Moonlight Gourami care guide!

I hope you found this information helpful. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more fishkeeping tips and guides. If you have any questions or suggestions for future videos, leave a comment below.

Thanks for watching, and happy fishkeeping! See you next time.

#aquarium #gourami #fishbeast

Touchpoint by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/