How to Feed a Gold Gourami

Gold gouramis are a color mutation of the three-spot gourami. These fish have, as their name implies, a gold-colored body with some white spots on their fins. Gold gouramis tend to be very hardy fish. They also often have remarkable personalities and can even become responsive to their owner. Gold gouramis can grow rather large, up to 6 inches in length. This striking appearance, combined with their health and temperament, makes them a common choice for many aquarists. Like all fish, though, it is easy to over- or underfeed a gold gourami, which can lead to health problems.

Things You'll Need

  • Omnivorous fish flakes or pellets
  • Live, frozen or freeze-dried fish foods
  • Lettuce
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Instructions

    • 1

      Offer the gold gourami an omnivorous prepared flake or pellet fish food. There are many fish foods available that are designed specifically for tropical fish, or even for gouramis. This type of food makes a good base for the fish's diet, because gold gouramis are omnivorous. This means they eat both meaty and leafy foods.

    • 2

      Supplement the gold gourami's normal diet with live foods, such as blood worms or brine shrimp. These foods can often be found frozen or freeze-dried as well, if you're uncomfortable feeding live foods. Thaw any frozen foods well before giving them to the fish.

    • 3

      Blanch small pieces of lettuce and offer these as a supplement to the gold gourami's main meals. Offering a variety of foods to the fish ensures it is receiving the correct nutrients and also ensures that the fish won't grow bored of its diet.

    • 4

      Feed your fish twice a day. Some fish do well with a single feeding per day, and this can be very convenient for an aquarist. But feeding very small meals several times a day mimics a more natural schedule. Feeding twice a day is a good balance between the two, allowing for convenience but also a somewhat natural feeding schedule.

    • 5

      Feed the fish at the same time every day. Gold gouramis can be become aware of when they are fed and often are able to consume a more appropriate amount of food if they know when it's about to be delivered.

    • 6

      Feed the gold gourami only as much food it can consume in about five minutes. After this amount of time, most fish have gotten enough to eat. Observe your fish, though. Some fish are slower feeders and may need a slightly longer time. Other fish gobble quickly and should be given less time.

    • 7

      Remove any food that wasn't eaten. Food that's left, after the fish have stopped eating, most likely will never be eaten and will rot in the aquarium. This pollutes the water and can jeopardize the water conditions, as well as the health of the gouramis.