Pygmy sparkling gourami

The pygmy sparkling gourami is a tiny freshwater labyrinth fish of the family Osphronemidae, native to slow, vegetated waters of Southeast Asia including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. It has a brownish body with iridescent blue-green sparkling speckles and red-flecked fins, and males can produce audible croaking sounds using specialized muscles. It is a peaceful, somewhat shy fish that does best in a small group and pairs off to breed. Its diminutive size makes it ideal for planted nano tanks. It prefers soft, slightly acidic water with dense planting, gentle flow and floating cover, and being a labyrinth breather it takes air at the surface. It is a micropredator feeding on small live and frozen foods such as daphnia, microworms and baby brine shrimp, and accepts fine dry foods. Males build small bubble nests, often under leaves, and tend the eggs and fry. It is a charming, low-impact species for gentle community aquariums.