# My new chocolate gouramis!



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I know they're not cichlids, but they're REALLY cute.


























And this is their tank:

















FTS never looks quite right, so I didn't want to post it. Too much reflection and fuzziness.

I hope you like the fish!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

They are beautiful!! Chocolates are my favorite gouramis. Well Valanti chocolates, but regular chocolates are a close second!! What is your temp at? They like warmer water while your celestial danios prefer cooler water ...


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Oh no! I didn't know that! Temp is at 80...


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

80 is perfect for the gouramis. I know the celestial danios were found in higher mountain streaks and ponds, around 70-74 ... but they haven't been around long enough to tell if they don't handle the higher temps well. Keep an eye on them, the chocolates are the more delicate of the two so I'd keep it at 80 and just monitor for signs of stress on the danios.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Sounds good. I've had the danios for about 3 months now. They've done really well so far at that temp, so I hope everything works out. I might take out the danios and put them into a 5G with LOTS of java moss to see if they'll make babies  Then I can keep the temp lower there. It seems as though I have both sexes, so we'll see.

I'm glad to hear that the gouramis do well at 80, because I was thinking of having a Bolivian Ram pair in that tank (they used to be in there, but recently moved over to my bigger tank). The gouramis and rams spent a day together, and the gouramis didn't seem shy or bothered at all.

I really hope they do well! I'm glad you liked the pics


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Hopefully the chocolates will breed for you, mouthbrooding Anabantoides are just neat. The one on the top looks to be male. Can't tell on the lower one becuase the fins are folded down.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Both of them have that whitish edge to their dorsal fin, so I think they're both male (that's my very limited knowledge has led me conclude). I've really fallen in love with the little guys, so I'd like to pick up two more tomorrow--I'll try for females! I read that they're impossible to breed, but I'll try anyway!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Not impossible, but deffinately no bolivian rams either!! :lol:


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

Very nice! Those are not the "common" Chocolate, _Sphaerichthys osphronemoides_. They are _S. selatanensis_, the Thin Stripe Chocolate, identified not only by the body markings (particularly the horizontal stripe) but also the red-orange anal fin. Requirements are pretty much the same - it used to be considered a subspecies. Your pH needs to be low, below 6.5, and very soft water, under 80ppm total hardness.

The sources I can find say the males have a white border on dorsal and anal fins. But I think there's a lot of questionable information out there, as they also say Chocolates are mellow. Mine were regular Chocolates, and some of the meanest fish I've ever kept, especially toward their own kind & sex. But then they were being kept around 82-84 to try and breed them (failed when the big male killed everybody else!).

Good Luck! :thumb:


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

When did they raise it to it's own species status? I guess I haven't been keeping up on my labynrith stuff the last few years while I focused on south american cichlids ...


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Very cool. I checked the pictures out and S. selatanensis looks much more like what I have. I bought two more!!! Except that ALL of the gouramis at the store had white lined fins. I hope there's at least one female there! They're very nice to each other. They hang out together in the tank, and they don't hide, either. I'm quite happy


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

It was described as a subspecies in 1979, but raised to full species status in 1989. Last publication in 2005 still placed it as a full species.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Wierd, though my last labyrinth book was copyrighted in 1991 (which still listed them as a subspecies). Do you know of any good recent books on them? I might need to get back into them now that wild bettas are much easier to get.


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## herny (Nov 30, 2007)

very interesting looking fish i like it allot keep us posted on there growth


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