Banded Gourami or sometimes known as Striped Gourami (Scientific name: Colisa fasciata) is an interesting species of the highly diversified Colisa genus. The fish is a native of Asia continent whereby its presence is mostly concentrated around the rice field located in east India and Bangladesh. This type of gourami is quite colorful with the male fish is often seen displaying full bright mix of blue plus green coloration while the female is generally grayish and dull.Just like Pearl Gourami, Banded Gourami can also grow up to 12 cm in length and the fish will not display full coloration until it reaches a certain size and maturity age of about six to eight months. Other than the color display, male species can also be differentiated from the female by observing the dorsal fin whereby it is supposed to be long and pointed towards the end.
Caring for your pet is quite simple because they do not have specific requirements in terms of dietary needs or water quality. As far as I know, as long as they are well fed with nutritious live foods (worms with occasional brine shrimps and krill) and water is maintained crystal clear at all times, they will hardly develop any complication that requires your immediate attention. In order to ensure that the fish attains full growing size, large aquarium setup measuring at least 30 gallons is definitely a must-have. Overall, the tank can be barren but I do not suggest using this setup and instead, a heavily planted tank will be more suitable for the fish. In fact, having live aquarium plants such as Hygrophila difformis should well-complement your banded gourami to provide a good living environment. However, choice of decoration such as bog-wood is not necessary but putting it in will not cause any harm as well. Overall, the species is a timid non-aggressive type and among compatible community tank mates are neon tetra.
When it comes to control of water parameters, temperature of between 23 to 25degC should be considered ideal for your pet fish and I would avoid making sudden large water change at any time in order not to upset the delicate tank balance. For breeding banded gourami, the selected tank size should be at least 50 gallons and above and the water temperature should be controlled higher than normal increased to within 28 to 30degC range. In order to encourage the fish to spawn, floating aquatic plants such as Pistia stratiotes can be introduced to the tank and you can also increase the proportion of live foods given to the fish. Because of this, the water cleanliness now becomes an issue and thus be prepared to invest in a high quality power filter and other water test kits so that your fish stays healthy.
Other types of Colisa: Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami
