Pic Notes:
All pictures are taken with an Olympus D-550 digital camera (ISO 400 max, auto-focus, auto exposure) with flash. Attempts to turn off flash result in blurred images as the fish are always moving, except for the Giant Gourami. The flash tends to wash out colors especially on the silverish sheen of fish. The best pics are taken at a compound angle like 45 up and 45 to the side. Shooting directly at the face of the aquarium glass results in whited out bright spots in the middle of the image. Sometimes the flash will bounce off the inside corners and the top of the water. Using exterior lights results in capturing reflections of the room from the glass. The key is to take a pic at night with room lights turned off and when the fish is at a compound angle. Best if you can get them close to the glass, otherwise the amount of water between the glass and the fish tends to bleed detail.
After getting the PH down from 8.0 out of the tap to 7.1, today (11/25/2003) I purchased my first fish (11/25/2003).
The Gouramis are Anabantids, major group Phyla, class Phylum Chordata, order Anabantoidei, family Belontiidae - those fish are known as the "Labyrinths", meaning they have special organs that allow them to breathe air. These organs are used in the wild as they live in areas where the water has very low levels of oxygen. Labyrinths are relatively easy fish to keep, and are generally peaceful making them good additions to a community tank. All labyrinths are egglayers, and are not difficult to breed. I love the Gouramis because they are normally peaceful, fairly hardy, colorful and usually active. But there are exceptions to every rule.
What is interesting is that common names of fish can be misleading. Doing a search on Google, you will find that different Gouramis with similar colors are often called the same thing. For example, the Giant Gourami I have is a Colisa labiosa variety but you can find Colisa fasciata or Colisa lalia varieties on line that are also called the "Giant" Gourami.
| QTY | Type | Picture |
| 2 | Giant Gourami
(Colisa labiosa also lalia or fasciata var.)
|
 |
| 2 | Golden Gourami
(Trichogaster trichopterus var.)
|
 |
| 2 | Platinum Gourami
(Trichogaster trichopterus var.) |
 |
| 2 | Sunset Gourami
(Colisa labiosa var.) |
 |
11/29/2003, added a few phish.
| Qty | Type | Picture |
| 2 | Opaline Gourami
(Trichogaster trichopterus var.) |
 |
| 2 | Pearl Gourami
(Trichogaster leeri) |
 |
| 1 | Pictus Catfish
(Pimelodus pictus) |
 |
12/30/2003, returned from 15 day holiday and the smallest Golden Gourami is no where to be found. Presumed eaten by the other fish.
