🧴Water care for a Gourami: 24 to 28°C, pH 6 to 7.5
Gourami : Soft to moderately hard, slightly acidic to neutral water with a 20 to 25 percent weekly change. A lid keeps the air above the water warm and humid, essential for its labyrinth organ.
🩺 The health watchpoints on this page are for information only: only a veterinarian can examine your animal and make a diagnosis.
In short: 8 to 12 cm as an adult depending on the species, 100 L minimum, water between 24 and 28 °C. Calm and composed but territorial between males, it enjoys a still surface and quiet tankmates. A labyrinth fish breathing air at the surface: a lid keeping warm, humid air above the water protects its breathing organ.
The Gourami’s water: its real parameters
The Gourami’s water contract has four clauses: 24 to 28°C, pH between 6 to 7.5, zero detectable nitrite, nitrates capped at 25 mg/L. A drop-test kit (NO2, NO3, GH, KH, pH) beats any strip — and the nitrogen cycle, three to four weeks before any fish, is non-negotiable.
Water changes and tank upkeep
10 to 20% of the volume weekly, with water pre-heated to tank temperature: thermal shock stresses more than imperfect water, gentle substrate siphoning as you go and filter media rinsed in tank water, never under the tap: chlorine sterilises your filter.
Health: what stalks the Gourami
The Gourami watch-sheet: white spot disease in stressed fish and gourami disease (Iridovirus) in fragile strains. Before any treatment, the reflex is a water test — pouring medicine into loaded water is treating the fever by breaking the thermometer. Well kept, a Gourami lives 4 to 6 years.
Frequently asked questions
What water parameters for a Gourami?
24 to 28°C, pH 6 to 7.5, zero nitrites and nitrates under 25 mg/L — checked with drop tests, not by eye.
How often should a Gourami tank get water changes?
10 to 20% weekly, water brought to temperature, filter rinsed only in tank water. Consistency beats volume.
The guides that apply to you
- Changing filter media too often: the mistake that wrecks your aquarium's cycle
Why you should never replace all your filter media at once: nitrifying bacteria, replacement frequency and the right habits.
- Mixing goldfish and tropical fish: the temperature mistake you should never make
Goldfish and tropical fish don't share the same temperature or the same needs: why this common beginner mix puts both at risk.
- Goldfish Floating Upside Down or Stuck at the Bottom: Swim Bladder Disorder, Symptoms and Treatment
A goldfish swimming on its side or stuck at the surface is almost always dealing with a digestive swim bladder disorder. Causes, at-risk varieties, and treatment without medication.
- Low oxygen in summer: why warm water suffocates fish
The warmer the water, the less oxygen it holds, while fish need more of it. How to recognise summer oxygen shortage and prevent it.