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It was not immediately possible to deliver these fish to Europe. They were caught in Thailand, and in Vietnam, and on islands in Malaysia, but the fish could not survive even a day and invariably perished. In those days, transportation of exotic fish was carried out in a traditional way - in wooden barrels filled to the top with water. Few knew about the peculiarities of the biology of labyrinthine fishes, although it was in these years in Paris that Carbonne studied and successfully developed the macropod. Not having access to atmospheric air, the prisoners survived only until the end of loading the barrels onto the ship. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, the fish were classified as problematic, and their distribution was suspended for a good twenty years.
Eyewitnesses were perplexed: in the nature of catching was made in rain bogs, sewers, abandoned quarries with incredibly dirty and muddy water - what did the fish lack during transportation? Only in the very end of the XIX century, a certain smart European, watching capricious creatures in the natural reservoir, noticed that the fish periodically rise to the surface of the water behind the air bubble. On the advice of the Indonesian conductor, he filled the transportation tanks with water only by two thirds and did not seal them. As a result, several thousand immigrants were delivered to their destination without a single loss.
For the first time and Europe was met by spotted gurus Trichogaster trichopterus (Pallas, 1977) in 1896 gol. Fish were widely spread and almost immediately were successfully divorced. In Russia, the first lots of fish, also subsequently successfully reproduced, were received in 1912 - 1915.
Actually, the generalized and very conventional concept of "gurami" includes fish of 12 species from 5 different genera (Osphronemus, Helostoma, Sphaerichtys, Trichopsis and Trichogaster), and the genus Helostoma is singled out by some researchers as an independent family. Strictly speaking, one of these gurus is a large (up to 75 cm) commercial fish Osphronemus goramy Lacepede, 1802, which is considered an exquisite delicacy by the inhabitants of the Sunda Islands. Fish of other genera are much smaller - from 30-centimeter kissing gouramis (Helostoma temminskii) to tiny (3 - 4 cm) dwarf gourami (Trichopsis pumilus).
The most popular among aquarists are representatives of the genus Trichogaster. At present, the nominal shape of spotted gourami in amateur water bodies is quite rare; Much more often are the so-called marble gouramis, obtained by crossing mottled gurus with the dwelling in the fresh waters of Fr. Sumatra subspecies T. trichooterus sumatranus, which has a bluish color. Subsequent selection allowed to obtain specimens of bright blue, silver and metallic color of the main background with bizarre stripes and spots on the back of the body.
The inherent unpretentiousness of the gurus, the simplicity of their content and breeding allow most aquarists to treat them as a passed stage, a kind of step on the path of acquiring personal experience. As a consequence - the decline in demand for them, especially against the backdrop of an influx of a large number of new exotic wonders from the world's water basins.
Of course, the peak of popularity of gurus like aquarium fish has long passed, but about the hopeless extinction of interest on the part of both beginners and lovers with experience, fortunately, to say so far do not have to. This is evidenced by the constant appearance of new selection forms by gourami with an unusual coloring, and the indispensable presence of habitual varieties in the assortment of zoological enterprises.
Contain trihogasterov simple and very exciting. Long-term observation of well-fed healthy fish is a real pleasure and never bothers; Their cheerfulness and "sociability", a kindly gaggle involuntarily fascinates. If such a parallel is possible, then the definition of "sanguine" is the most suitable of the four types of temperament for gurus. Mobility, constant interest in everything new - whether a neighbor in the aquarium, crawling along the wall of the snail or just placed on the bottom of the element of the scenery - all this makes them unlike the fish of many other species.
In all species of gourami (except for the gauntlet), the anterior rays of the pectoral fins are modified and have taken the form of thin long filaments serving as the organ of touch. These paired appendages of fish with comical seriousness examine unfamiliar objects. A few decades ago, the amateur name "Nitenosets" was used even more often than "gourami".
Fish like bright enough top lighting, temperature 24 - 26 degrees C, dGH 8 - 10, PH about 7. Water is preferable fresh, it is desirable to substitute it (up to 1/3 of the volume) once a week. Despite the ability of fish to exist in the presence of oxygen deficiency, they grow best and develop in normal aquarium conditions with an established aeration and filtration, with a minimum of dissolved and suspended organic matter. Good oxygen indices of the environment do not in any way affect the fish's need for independent direct "feeding" with atmospheric air - this should be remembered both with the content, and even more so during transportation. The lack of air access leads to irreversible changes in the vessels of the unique respiratory organ (labyrinth), and in a few hours the death of fish inevitably occurs.
In aquariums with nitenos, dense aquatic vegetation is desirable, but with mandatory free space for swimming and schooling games. In tanks without plants, the fish become somewhat shy and less contrasting in color. The capacity of the aquarium for the maintenance of several pairs of adult producers must be at least 100 liters.
All representatives of the genus Trichogaster are truly omnivorous, with the exception, perhaps, of the pearl gurus of T. leeri, slightly more legible in artificial feeds. If other mazes are easily accustomed to any animal and vegetable feed, these immediately take in all kinds of unfamiliar food, absorbing it with appetite and in large quantities. In nature, the fish are clearly not spoiled by the availability of food, which led to a wide food adaptation - insects, larvae, plant organics, food debris, bottom fauna - as they say, just fit in the mouth. In aquariums, nitenosans, in addition to traditional live food, equally eat scrambled beef, fish, poultry, heart, liver, oatmeal, white bread, cream cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, etc. Feelings in fish leave much to be desired, so it is important not to allow overfeeding; 1 - 2-week hunger strike, adult specimens are transferred without any consequences. There is no even noticeable weight loss in such cases, as well as an increase in intra- and interspecific aggressiveness.
It is interesting to note the special adherence of the gouramis to such a poorly-read kind of food, as dried daphnia and gammarus. Sensing the smell of delicacies, the fish literally satanize, push the neighbors, and, reaching the feeder, grab food from the surface together with air bubbles, which brings the effect of loud champing. Of course, it does not follow from this that fish should be fed with dry crustaceans; This can be done only from time to time, and even then only to observe an interesting "performance."
In nature, spotted and blue gouramis reach a length of 12 - 14 cm; In aquariums, they and marble subspecies usually grow no more than 8-10 cm. Sexual dimorphism in nitenosans of all species can be traced quite clearly - males are larger and more slender, their color is brighter, and fins are longer. The easiest way to determine the sex of the dorsal fin, larger and elongated in males, which usually eliminates errors in the selection of producers.
Sexually mature marble gurus are usually by the end of the first year of life. The preparation of producers for spawning practically reduces only to the increased feeding of various animal feeds. When breeding, we must remember several rules: firstly, spawning is strictly paired and the presence of other fish of one's own or another's "tribe" is completely excluded. Secondly, the water in the spawning (capacity 50 - 60 liters) should be softer than the aquarium, especially dKH, 4 - 5 degrees. Usually suited boiled water; It must be aerated for 3 to 4 hours before use. Well, and thirdly - a mandatory for all labyrinthine temperature increase to 29 - 30 degrees Celsius; This in nature is the impetus for the beginning of the marriage time.
Nest, the construction of which the male is engaged, consists of air bubbles, glued together with the secret of salivary glands to avoid bursting and spreading over the surface. It has uneven thickness and irregular shape. The support and the frame for the nest are floating plants floating on the surface of the water. For the entire period of spawning should refrain from aeration, filtration and intensive mixing of water in spawning. Caviar has a positive buoyancy, provided with 30 - 40% fat content in each egg. Postponed by the female to the very center of the nest, she is immediately fertilized by a male, to whom further care is taken for the offspring. After the termination of spawning, the female must be returned to the common aquarium. The male actively knits whitened unfertilized eggs, but to guarantee the protection of eggs from mycosis, methylene blue (3 mg per liter of water) is added to the water. If desired, caviar together with the nest can be transferred with a dense net in a separate incubator, providing similar conditions and dosage of disinfectants, but it is better and less insipid to leave it in the care of the male.
In an adult fertile pair of eggs there are many (in aquarium conditions 1 - 1,5 thousand pieces). At 28-30 degrees C, the larvae hatch through the day; After another 2 - 3 days they begin to actively swim and concentrate a dense cloud under the center of the nest. All this time the male tirelessly protects his offspring, returning to the place too mobile and inquisitive "nonsense". Practice shows that during this period, even at night, it is necessary to leave a incandescent lamp 15-25 W incandescent above the spawner, burning in the air. In total darkness, especially in young males, the parental instinct often wanes.
About a day after the transition of the larvae to active swimming, the male from the spawner is removed and the juveniles begin to feed.
The best starting food is "live dust", home cultures of freshwater and brackish rotifers: the first three to four days, no more, you can get by the infusoria-slipper Paramecium caudatum.
Fry grow quickly, but they need frequent and thorough sorting. At a month's age, they are already like two drops of water like parents and exactly copy their habits.
Labyrinth organ develops in gourami on the 10th - 14th day after birth and functions until the end of life. In the vascular vessels it is possible to follow all the stages of the transformation of fry into full-fledged representatives of the labyrinth family.
Teenagers become especially attractive when they reach the size and shape of a pumpkin seed. Some amateur-breeders even specially plant species aquariums with a flock (75-100 pcs.) Of juveniles of this size, periodically replacing the overgrown ones with new small fish.
In a large aquarium with an abundance of different (preferably small-leaved) plants, such a flock gathers in the most free area (it is better to organize it in the center of the reservoir). By tirelessly playing and pinching each other, the young fish, as if following a strict sequence, one after another with lightning throws to the surface grab the air bubbles and return to their seats. There is the impression of a real carousel with their short hilarious threads that the young feel, then push away each other, arranging at the same time amusing dumps and "hangouts".
Young fish are very jumpy, and the vessels with them must be covered with a cover slip, while ensuring a mandatory clearance between it and the surface of the water in a thickness of 1 - 1.5 cm.
The most colorful representative of the genus Trichogaster is considered to be the pearl gurus - T. leeri (Bleeker, 1852). Especially beautiful are males, which ideally have a blood-red abdomen, coffee-brown back and shiny fins scattered throughout the body, resembling beads of pearls. The females are painted more monotonously and not so expressively.
Conditions of maintenance and breeding are similar to those of spotted and marble gurus. True, pearls are somewhat more thermophilic, preferring a temperature of 26-28 degrees C under normal conditions and 30-32 degrees C during spawning. Spawning takes place as well as with other representatives of the genus, but the marriage games and the moment of laying eggs are much more spectacular. Being under the nest, the fish are bent by the whole body at unimaginable angles, "hugging" each other and demonstrating almost snake-like plasticity of the body. Then, frosting, then twitching with sharp spasmodic movements, the male helps the female to free itself from the caviar.
The larvae and fry T. leeri are much smaller than those of marble gourami, and their mouths are microscopic; "Picking up" and growing a large number of young people is a time-consuming task. Starting feed can only be paramecia or the smallest pond "dust". The larvae grow much more slowly and unevenly than those of the species described above.
In aquarium conditions pearl gouramis reach 8 - 10 cm, but even adult fish have very small mouths; Live food for them is better to choose small and medium sizes. To artificial and plant foods, T. leeri is cooler than bluish-spotted-marble brethren, but gradually it can also be used for all kinds of food common in aquariums.
Other representatives of the genus Trichogaster - the true lunar gurus T.microlepis and the reddish-brown T.pectoralis - are very rarely kept in pure form in aquariums. They are 5 - 6 cm larger than spotted gourami; The natural coloring of these "Indochinese" is not very expressive. But with their direct participation, the most beautiful selection forms were selected - gold, lemon, reddish (cosghi) and many others. Collectible hybrids do not exceed 10 cm in size, but they are as tenacious and prolific as the main species. They have taken a worthy place in amateur water reservoirs along with pearl and marble gurus.
It is advisable to acquire fish at 4 to 6 months of age, carefully selecting brightly colored, well-fed specimens. If mass breeding is planned, it is better to immediately pick up 12 to 15 conditioned individuals in different outlets and keep a flock of 150 to 200 liters in aquariums, ensuring comfortable conditions and abundant feeding.
It should be remembered that newly acquired by the gurus need all the traditional quarantine measures, otherwise the fish can present unexpected and treacherous surprises: the external absolutely healthy, well-groomed individuals often carry the whole bunch of bacterial infections. When planting them in a decorative aquarium with other fish, there is a massive infection of its inhabitants. The grim situation of the situation is that the carriers themselves do not even have light external signs of damage at the time when the remaining inhabitants of the reservoir died long ago, having demonstrated classical samples of perforated tongue, eye drop (exophthalmia) and extensive tissue necrosis. And the perpetrators of the tragedy know themselves to swim and have fun, well, unless occasionally they scratch their sides about something inanimate and lose some appetite. Unfortunately, such situations are very frequent, and are by no means isolated. Incidentally, the small susceptibility of gouramas to bacteriosis is "compensated" by their increased sensitivity to invasions of protozoa and flagellates; In such cases, the fish get sick on an equal basis with others.
Thus, all the newly arrived nitenosants need a full quarantine of an offensive nature - not to observe the appearance in a separate container, but intensive baths in "hard" solutions of NaCl, rivanol (ethacridine lactate), malachite greenery with methylene blue, and antibiotics (biomycin, Oxytetracycline). "Rest" the fish should be in fresh, well-kept water; During the quarantine, preferably not very abundant, but varied feeding.
But, finally, everything is conscientiously fulfilled, and "sterile" handsome teenagers gain weight and strength in a spacious warm pond. Having grown and multiplied them, you will never regret about lost time, nor about the spent efforts, because for all you will be rewarded with a daily miraculous spectacle, which simply can not get bored.


V. Chistyakov, N. Maxine, Moscow Aquarium No. 2, 2000.