he is starting to get much more purple, appreciating all the new space and has yet to pick on the Rita catfish tank mate 
Osphronemus septemfasciatus : King of the Giant Gourami
- Thread starter SourAngelfish
- Start date
I’ve talked to some collectors of this fish, they collect them from high flow areas. I believe they might fare better in cooler/higher oxygenated environments. I’ve attempted to replicate this and plan to add more powerheads for stream-like flow. The fish has completely halted pacing since the flow was initially boosted, seems much happier and healthier
Thank you for the information! Could you elaborate on what type of powerhead etc and what size tank?
here’s some photos from some locals on a collection trip in Borneo
It seems they will spawn in slower moving bends in the river but are often caught on lures/other equipment in higher flow environments
That’s fascinating.. I’ve got mine in a 180 gallon but w/out any power heads etc. at the moment. Thank you for the info!
I'm fascinated by these claims that this species of giant gourami likes high flowing rivers. I was always led to believe that all gouramis prefer still or extremely slow flowing waters, even their much smaller community tank cousins.
Their shape alone tells you they aren't suited to high flow environments. They are also labyrinth fish. Evolution has given them this ability to breathe air from the surface when the oxygen levels are low. Since when are oxygen levels low in fast flowing rivers!!!
Even my RTGG sulks in a less turbulent area of the tank when my powerhead intermittently comes on. When it goes off he comes back out.
All the clues are there in my eyes.
But I'm happy to be proven wrong, especially if the locals of these catchment areas do indeed regularly catch them in fast flowing turbulent areas.
Their shape alone tells you they aren't suited to high flow environments. They are also labyrinth fish. Evolution has given them this ability to breathe air from the surface when the oxygen levels are low. Since when are oxygen levels low in fast flowing rivers!!!
Even my RTGG sulks in a less turbulent area of the tank when my powerhead intermittently comes on. When it goes off he comes back out.
All the clues are there in my eyes.
But I'm happy to be proven wrong, especially if the locals of these catchment areas do indeed regularly catch them in fast flowing turbulent areas.
I think this is similar to cases of other fish filling niches that their group typically does not fill.
septemfasciatus does appear to be the odd one out of the genus as exodon, goramy, and laticlavius all appear to be found in lower flow environments (as with most gouramis). It seems septemfasciatus while caught often in high flow environments is also found residing in river bends/more stagnant areas. They don’t seem like much of a swamp dweller either.
The ability to withstand high flow/consume a more protein dense diet is likely what partitions this fish from O.laticlavius which is found dwelling in the swamps of Borneo.
pictured is an O. septemfasciatus caught somewhere in the rapids of the Kapuas
