Sphaerichthys vaillanti

[bextraordinary]

Sphaerichthys vaillanti, AKA Vaillant's chocolate gourami.

Anyone selling these cute lil' boogers?

 

[Inka4040]

I got mine from Frank at Franksaquarium.com
He didn't have them in stock at the time, but I asked him and it took about 2 weeks for them to show up on his list. A great little fish! Make sure to get a good sized group though.

 

[bextraordinary]

What was shipping like? I've looked longingly at Frank's stock for a while now, so maybe it's time to bite the bullet and give in!

Oh hey, look - it's even in your avatar!

So when you say "good sized group".. I'm stocking a 75 paludarium. The only other inhabitants so far (for sure) are Celestial Pearl Danios. What do you recommend?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You might want to read up on them here http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Sphaerichthys_osphromenoides.html

Pay special attention to the following from that site:

Remarks: A demanding species, recommended only for expert aquariasts. Water must be changed often, and a good water conditioner must be used. The Chocolate Gourami is the most difficult Labyrinth fish to care for. It is extremely delicate and is susceptible to parasites, fungus, bacteria, and disease. The Chocolate Gourami is a short-lived fish. A sub-species, S phaerichthys osphromenoides selatanensis has been identified. It has more stripes and a darker body color

 

[bextraordinary]

Thanks for your concern - I'm aware of how difficult they are to keep. While I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert, I'm no novice.. I work at my LFS, which is one of the leaders in the industry - I'm told we have the largest payroll of any other mom&pop in the country! Our specialized freshwater staff are ridiculously knowledgeable (read: total geeks), and between all of us we've probably had experience keeping pretty much everything there is to be kept!

One of my coworkers is nuts about anabantids and has gotten me pretty interested, too.. Until now, I've limited myself to ctenopomas because normal gouramis are, like, soooooo yesterday :grinyes: But she's got a Noble gourami who is thriving in his tank and being spoiled rotten with live food, so I'm encouraged to try!

 

[Inka4040]

My vaillantis came in in relatively good condition, and I've found them to be very undemanding, but this is probably because my water is very much to their liking right out the tap. The fish I got from Frank were even taking NLS pellets within days of being in the tank. A good sized group is roughly 5-8 specimens, as the females are the territory holders, and believe it or not, they do get into their little scuffles. One major issue I see however, is the very divergent water requirements between them and the CPD. CPD prefer cooler, hard water, while the samurai gouramis love it warm and very soft. They are perfect for blackwater setups, and make interesting tankmates for pangio loaches and microrasbora. Franks shipping rates are pretty standard, and I'd definitely recommend upgrading to overnight considering their relatively delicate nature. Thankfully he's local to me so I can arrange for pickups. As for comparing them to the regular chocolates, it is the general consensus the samurai are substantially easier to care for. In fact, I've had all three of my females lay eggs for me, and have had numerous males holding, but have unfortunately yet to see any fry.