Honey Sunset Gourami or sometimes called Yellow Honey Gourami (scientific name: Trichogaster chuna) actually refers to same fish which is closely-related and belonging to the dwarf gourami group under the Trichogaster genus. While it resembles everything in terms of finnage, size and shape similar like the neon dwarf gourami, features that make it different are only on the coloration (which is yellowish to mixed-orangey) and also the whole body which is just solid plain coloration without any form of pattern. Most fish references actually claim that the Trichogaster chuna is a hybrid of Trichogaster lalius (previously Colisa genus), and since no one can really connect and relate its true lineage, the species has since been assigned with its very own scientific classification. All the fish in the dwarf gourami group were known to originate from the rivers in India and Bangladesh and I doubt there is still many of them that are left exist in the wild.Sexing the fish is quite easy as the male fish exhibit bright coloration while the females retain the dull and pale appearance since they were young. Just like its other dwarf cousins, the gourami is a perfect example of labyrinth fish which means they have a form of bodily mechanism which allows them to breathe normal air just like us humans. Caring for honey sunset gourami is pretty simple as they do not have fussy requirement that demands constant attention. Normal tank standard construction measuring 2 feet length is usually more than sufficient considering their small size (less than 3 inches) and to make the aquarium decoration truly stands out, you can consider adding some bogwood and stalks of live aquatic plants like the Indian water star. If you are moving in this direction, make sure that the aquarium bed should be layered with fine grains of sand (each particle should not be less than 3mm) so that the plants can root firmly itself on the shallow bed. Some aquarist go to the extent of providing top cover using floating plants (example Crystalwort) but this is not necessary unless you have the intention of breeding your pet fish.
Community Compatibility and Breeding Behavior
Your pet yellow honey gourami fish can make wonderful addition to any community tank. They can get along very well with the other aquatic species provided that the tank is not too overcrowded until it creates the competition for food and space. Among the possible tank mates are smaller fish like platy, guppy, betta and in fact, you can keep more than two gourami from the same species provided that it must be a male to several females but never a male to male in the same tank. Breeding your pet fish is also an interesting affair to watch because being a mouth-brooder, the male honey gourami will try to coax the female into its chosen spot with the bubble nest ready. During this mating season, if possible remove the other tank mates because excessive aggression shown by the pair can cause unnecessary stress to your other pet fish. Once the male and female has successfully spawned and fertilized the eggs, the task of caring for the eggs will solely lie on the male fish and any intruder to its territory will be greeted with unfriendly and provocative gesture. After the fry start to emerge and become free-swimming, you can start removing them to another tank free away from the attention of the other fish and their parents. From here, your role as a guardian is to provide constant supply of brine shrimp and this is very important as this will help the fry to achieve its fullest growing potential. Some weak and deformed fish will naturally die off but this is not a cause of concern and provided that water quality is superior, most of them will take of themselves to reach adulthood.
Overall I would say this is very interesting fish to watch out for. Being rather undemanding, they don’t require high-tech aquarium setup like having a protein skimmer or UV sterilizer and as long as the basic fish tank facility is present like a simple canister filter, this is more than sufficient. Furthermore with the presence of beautiful live aquarium plants in the tank, this will definitely bring out their best coloration which will never fail to impress anybody. These days, honey sunset gourami can still be occasionally seen sold in aquarium stores and other pet shops and price wise, it should not be expensive like some of the other exotic species. In summary, a highly recommended fish for those wanting to create the perfect community tank or just a simple single-species setup.
