One of the nicest things about deciding to keep and care for gourami is that they are not picky eaters at all. Most gourami species are omnivores and they will eat almost anything that you feed them. However, if you want to keep them at the prime of their health, give them the best foods for gouramis.
Since gourami is small fish, it does not take much (literally) for them to feel full. You only have to feed them with gourami fish food that they can finish in 2 minutes. This means that you should take the time to observe them while they eat instead of just throwing a bunch of food in the tank and expecting them to finish it all.
Also, if you want to induce breeding, you can start feeding them live or frozen mealworms. In this article, National Park Aquarium will help you learn about the right gourami diet by figuring out the most suitable food for them. By providing them with the right foods, they will always be at their best.
Best Foods for Gouramis Reviews
1. Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Fish Food
One remarkable thing about this fish food is that it contains a lot of protein, thanks to the black soldier fly larvae. The larvae are quite small but they contain protein, an essential nutrient all kinds of fish need for proper growth and development. The high protein content also allows the gourami to recover from illnesses and injuries quickly.
Adult gourami can reach lengths of 3 to 4 inches, so these pellets are just the right size for them. I have a group of gouramis in my tank. Many of them can eat even the larger pellets without any problem while the smaller fish will clean up the smaller bits that reached the bottom.
As mentioned above, this fish food sinks to the bottom but not so fast that they usually end up in the bottom feeders. These pellets sink at a rather slow rate, allowing the fish who like to hang around the middle of the tank to feed to their heart’s content. Also, if you have a pleco or two in your tank, they can feed as the pellets can sink to the bottom.
Another nice thing about these products is that the manufacturer produces this gourami food in small batches. Even if it may take longer to produce a lot of this fish food, it lets the company monitor the product’s quality. This means it is a bit more expensive compared to other brands but you can at least be confident with its quality.
I still have a problem with this product, though – that is it clumps up quite a lot. This resulted in some pellets being bigger than others. I would have liked it better if the pellets were of uniform size.
The bigger pellets are just too much for the smaller gourami, and the bigger ones do not usually bother with them if there are smaller pieces they can eat.
- Contains protein-rich black soldier fly larvae
- Just the right size for small fish like gourami
- Slow-sinking to let all fish feed at their choice of depth
- Made in small batches to ensure quality
- Contains all the required vitamins and nutrients needed by all aquarium fish
- The pellet sizes are inconsistent.
- Some of the pellets sink too fast – You can also find some dust in the packaging
This product is one of the best if you want to keep your gourami strong and healthy. The high protein content also encourages the fish to breed and multiply. Moreover, this gourami food quickly allows the fish to reach their full growth potential and makes them more resistant to diseases.
2. Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia
If you are searching for protein-rich fish food for your gourami, this product may interest you. It contains freeze-dried daphnia, also known as water fleas, which are small plankton found in bodies of freshwater. Daphnia, pound for pound, contains more protein than beef, which is great for active fish like gourami.
The daphnia contained in this product were all instantly freeze-dried. The process effectively dehydrates the small crustaceans, which also prevents them from spoiling. The freeze-drying preserves the daphnia while keeping almost all of the nutrients. You only need a little bit of this product to provide your fish with all their RDA for protein.
Another nice thing about the freeze-drying process is that it also kills all the parasites and bacteria that are in the batch. This renders them all harmless even if your fish eats the dead parasites and bacteria. Because the daphnia were all completely dehydrated, there was no moisture for bacteria to grow back.
Aside from protein, daphnia also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. There are trace amounts of vegetable matter left inside most of the daphnia and they contain a lot of Vitamin A, B1, B2, and C.
This product is almost like a vitamin supplement for your gourami. However, you should not feed too much of it to your fish. It should be just enough that they can eat for two minutes.
This would have been one of the best fish foods if nutrient content is the only factor considered. The biggest problem with this is that it is almost powdered. I find the pellets so small. If you sprinkle a serving of this in your tank, it will make your water quite cloudy.
- Contains protein-rich daphnia
- Freeze-dried and does not contain additional preservatives
- Does not have any parasites and bacteria
- Contains plenty of vitamins and minerals for improved immunity
- Has a convenient dispensing top
- Makes the water a bit cloudy with every feeding
- The pellet sizes are way too small for gourami
If you are keeping smaller gourami species, this might just be the perfect size for them. However, if you have larger and full-grown gouramis, these daphnia pellets might be a bit too small. This fish food, though, contains a lot of protein, so you can be sure that your fish will always be at the top of their health.
3. TetraPRO Biotin Tropical Color Crisps
I am quite a huge fan of most Tetra products and this fish food is a hit-or-miss for me. On the plus side, I love how they managed to squeeze in a lot of essential vitamins and minerals in it. This product might be fish food but with all the nutrients in it, you can even consider it a nutritional supplement.
Even though the label says that this fish food is for marine fish, you can feed it to freshwater fish without worry. This does not add any salt content to the water, and if there is, it is only a negligible amount. This also means that if you have another tank with saltwater fish, you can feed them with the same food as your gourami.
One of the nutrients that this product has that you do not usually see in most fish food is biotin. In humans, this nutrient promotes the growth of healthy hair and skin cells, but for fish like gourami, it helps improve their immunity.
The biotin also enhances their natural colors. I thought my gourami was already quite colorful but after a month of feeding them with this fish food, their colors got a lot more vibrant. This not only worked for my gourami but the fish in my reef tank also benefited from this, especially my clownfish who now is a brighter orange.
This might be quite tasty for fish because it triggers a small feeding frenzy every feeding time for my gourami. My gourami is not exactly picky eaters but this product is the only thing that they seem to go crazy for. This made it easy to avoid overfeeding my gourami because there is always no trace of leftovers after mealtime.
I do have a huge problem with this product and this is that it tints the water red, especially if you put a little too much at a time. The first couple of weeks were quite a hassle because the red tint did not get filtered out of the water.
I had to change the water every couple of days. These days, I learned to place a bit of the food at a time so the gourami can finish them immediately before the pellets can color the water.
- Contains all the vitamins and nutrients that all fish need
- Despite being formulated for marine fish, you can feed this to gourami
- Contains natural color enhancers to make your gourami look even more vibrant
- Enhanced with biotin to improve your fish’s immunity
- Even picky fish love eating it
- The pieces are too big for small fish
- Dyes the water a strange red hue
While I’m not a fan of how this fish food tends to tint the water, it usually clears up in about an hour. Just try reducing the portion you feed at once. Honestly, this shouldn’t be a concern to begin with. Regardless of the food type, it shouldn’t discolor the water in any way.
What to Look for When Buying a Food for Gouramis
Here are some of the factors that you need to consider when you are shopping for new food for your gourami fish. By taking a look at these important factors, your hunt will be a lot easier.
1. Nutritional Content
This is the most important thing you should check when you are shopping for fish food. You don’t want to feed your fish with food that is almost devoid of nutrients. As much as possible, you want your gourami to be as healthy as they can.
Treat your fish food the way that you would your food. Check the nutrition facts at the back for the vitamins and minerals contained in the product.
2. Ingredients
While you are already checking the nutritional content of the fish food, you should check the ingredients list as well. There are not that many ingredients that you need to avoid as most fish food brands use the same basic ingredients.
However, I do tend to avoid products that contain a lot of filler ingredients. Among them are corn, wheat products, rice, soy, and the like. I generally avoid filler ingredients because they usually do not have a lot of nutrients. This may result in me having to feed more of the food to my fish so they can get enough vitamins and minerals.
3. Pellet Size
Since gourami is not that big, you should find a fish food brand that has smaller pellets. Ideally, the pellets should not be more than 1.2mm in diameter. They should be small enough to fit inside the mouths of small fish. However, it would be better to choose something smaller because your fish might choke on the big pellets.
4. Taste
You cannot taste the fish food yourself, so it is always a good idea to buy the smallest jar of fish food first to check if your gourami would like to eat them. If the food you got causes a small feeding frenzy in your aquarium, you can bet that your fish find them delicious.
However, even though your fish might seem to want more food, only give them enough food that they can finish in two minutes.
5. Quality Control
This is typically more important for fish food that contains insects or shrimp. The brand should have excellent quality control to prevent stray pebbles and other bits of debris from getting mixed into the product. Not only do they add useless weight to the product, but they can also be hazardous for your fish.
6. Price
You do not have to spend a lot of money on food for your gourami. There are plenty of brands out there that sell high-quality fish food for a reasonable price. This means that you should not skip the cheaper brands as you might miss a diamond in the rough.
What does Dwarf Gourami Eat?
Dwarf gourmets are omnivores and need a balanced diet of plants and animals. They generally prefer small insects like flies and small crustaceans like brine shrimp. In an aquarium environment, freeze-dried foods such as brine shrimp and bloodworms are good choices for these fish. For plants, you can feed your dwarf fish high-quality flakes, pellets, and boiled vegetables like spinach, lettuce, etc. That should give them enough nutritional boost with live foods rich in proteins and vegetable tablets rich in vitamins.
How Often Do You Feed Gouramis?
Gouramis are generally very active eaters, so it’s best to spread the feeding out over two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening, and feed them quantities that can be consumed within two or three minutes. If you are overfeeding, it can lead to health and water quality problems. You should feed them various foods and change their diet with each feeding. This helps ensure that your Gouramis get the proper nutrition and will help keep them healthy and happy.
Conclusion
The best food for gouramis will make sure that your fish can grow to their full potential size, have brighter and more vibrant colors, and stay healthier than before. It will take a bit of effort to find them but you can be sure that it will be worth it in the end.
