Blue Gourami (Three Spot Gourami)

The Blue Gourami, also called the Three Spot Gourami, is a widespread and highly adaptable labyrinth fish native to the swamps, ponds, and slow rivers of mainland Southeast Asia, and has since been introduced to many other tropical regions. Its common name comes from the pattern of two dark spots along the flank, one at mid-body and one at the base of the tail, which together with the eye form the "three spots" for which it is named. The wild-type coloration is a muted silvery-blue to olive-grey, though decades of selective breeding for the aquarium trade have produced solid gold, silver, and marbled "opaline" color varieties. Blue Gouramis are hardy, tolerant of a wide range of water conditions, and breathe atmospheric air using a labyrinth organ, allowing them to survive in poorly oxygenated water.

• Deep, laterally compressed body with a slightly arched back
• Silvery-blue to olive-grey base color with faint dark mottled bars in the wild form
• Two prominent dark spots: one at mid-body, one at the caudal peduncle, plus the eye completing the "three spot" pattern
• Long, thin, thread-like pelvic fins used for sensing surroundings
• Pointed dorsal fin (taller and more pointed in males) and elongated anal fin
• Selectively bred varieties (gold, silver, opaline/marbled) lack the natural spotting pattern

Native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, the Three Spot Gourami inhabits still and slow-moving freshwater habitats including swamps, marshes, canals, rice paddies, ponds, and river backwaters. It is exceptionally tolerant of low-oxygen, warm, and even slightly polluted water thanks to its labyrinth organ, which lets it gulp air directly from the surface. The species favors areas with dense aquatic vegetation, submerged debris, and slow or negligible current, and it readily colonizes seasonally flooded fields during the monsoon. Because of its adaptability, it has been introduced and now thrives outside its native range in parts of South Asia, the Philippines, and other tropical wetlands worldwide.

Blue Gouramis are hardy, adaptable, and moderately active, tolerating crowding and fluctuating water quality better than most gouramis. They forage across the water column and near the surface, feeding omnivorously on insects, small crustaceans, worms, algae, and plant matter. As labyrinth breathers they must periodically gulp air at the surface. Males are territorial during breeding and build large, sturdy bubble nests among floating plants or debris, sometimes reinforcing them with plant fragments. After an energetic embrace-spawning ritual, the male collects the sinking eggs into the nest and aggressively guards the nest and fry, driving off the female and other fish until the brood disperses.