Quick answer: The honey gourami (Trichogaster chuna) is one of the best beginner centerpiece fish you can buy. It is small, peaceful, hardy, and a soft golden color, a single one is happy in a 10 gallon, it eats almost anything, and it gets along with most calm community fish. The one thing to sort out before you buy is the name game. Honey gouramis are constantly confused with dwarf gouramis and with thick-lipped gouramis sold as “red honey” or “sunset,” and those are different fish with different needs. Get a true honey gourami and you have one of the easiest, most peaceful fish in the hobby.
Honey gourami at a glance
| Detail | Honey gourami |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Trichogaster chuna |
| Adult size | About 2 inches (5.5 cm) |
| Lifespan | Usually 4 to 8 years with good care |
| Temperature | 72 to 82 F (22 to 28 C) |
| pH | 6.0 to 7.5, soft to neutral |
| Minimum tank | 10 gallons for one or a pair |
| Temperament | Peaceful, shy, not a schooling fish |
| Care level | Easy, good for beginners |
| Diet | Omnivore |
Honey gourami vs dwarf gourami vs thick-lipped: which fish do you actually have?
This is the part that trips up most buyers, and getting it wrong can mean bringing home a fish that is more delicate or more aggressive than you expected.
| Feature | Honey gourami | Dwarf gourami | Thick-lipped (sold as “red honey” or “sunset”) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Trichogaster chuna | Trichogaster lalius | Trichogaster labiosa |
| Adult size | About 2 in | 2.5 to 3.5 in | 3 to 4 in |
| Color | Soft honey gold to pale orange | Bright blue and red stripes | Bright red or orange, stockier |
| Body and lips | Slim, small head | Slim | Thicker lips, bigger forehead, clear tail |
| Temperament | Peaceful, shy | Peaceful but can be nippy | May bully true honey gouramis |
| Hardiness | Hardy | Prone to Dwarf Gourami Disease | Fairly hardy |
Here is the honest advice most care guides bury: if you are choosing between a honey and a dwarf gourami, get the honey. Dwarf gouramis have been bred so heavily for the trade that many carry Dwarf Gourami Disease, an iridovirus with no cure, along with a tendency toward bacterial infections. Honey gouramis are not affected by that problem, they stay smaller and more peaceful, and they are simply the more reliable fish. The bright red or orange “sunset” and “red honey” fish you see are often thick-lipped gouramis mislabeled as honeys, so check the body shape and lips before you buy, and never mix the two, since the thick-lips will pick on true honeys.
Appearance and how to sex them
Honey gouramis have the flat, oblong body typical of gouramis, with two long thread-like ventral fins that trail underneath like feelers and that they use to “taste” their surroundings. Wild-type fish are a gentle gold, and the trade also offers brighter yellow and red strains.
Telling males from females is easy once they mature.
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Brighter honey to orange, and the throat and belly turn dark blue-black when breeding | Duller silvery-tan with a faint horizontal stripe |
| Fins | Pointed dorsal fin and longer anal fin | More rounded fins |
| Build | Slightly slimmer | Rounder, plumper when full of eggs |
Setting up the tank
Honey gouramis come from slow, heavily planted, slightly dim waters in India and Bangladesh, and they are happiest in a tank that mimics that.
- Tank size. One or a pair is fine in a 10 gallon. For a small group or a community, step up to 20 gallons or more. A 20 gallon fish tank makes an excellent home with room for tankmates.
- Plants and cover. Plant it well, and add floating plants especially. Cover makes these shy fish feel secure, dims the light the way they like, and gives them material for a bubble nest. Our low light aquarium plants and java moss guides are good starting points, and the fish tank decorations guide covers safe hardscape and hiding spots.
- Gentle flow. As a top-dwelling labyrinth fish, the honey gourami dislikes strong current. Use a gentle filter and keep the surface calm.
- A tight lid. They breathe air from the surface using a labyrinth organ, and they can jump, so keep the tank covered. The warm, humid layer of air under the lid matters for their breathing.
Water parameters
Honey gouramis are hardy and forgive small swings, which is part of why they suit beginners. Aim for a temperature of 72 to 82 F, a pH between 6.0 and 7.5, and soft to moderately hard water. They come from waters that change with the monsoon seasons, so stability matters more than hitting an exact number. Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero in a cycled tank, and keep nitrate down with regular water changes.
Diet and feeding
Honey gouramis are omnivores and easy to feed. A quality flake or micro-pellet makes a good staple, and you should supplement two or three times a week with frozen or live foods like daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodworms for color and condition. A fun bonus: they will happily hunt down hydra, so they can help clear that pest from an infested tank.
One thing to expect is that a newly added honey gourami is often shy and may not eat much for the first several days while it settles in. Give it cover, keep the tank calm, and it will usually come around.
Temperament and tank mates
This is a genuinely peaceful, slightly timid fish, which makes it a great community member as long as you choose its company well.
Good tank mates include small peaceful fish like tetras, rasboras, and corydoras, along with snails and larger shrimp such as Amano shrimp. See our best aquarium fish for beginners guide for more calm community options.
Avoid these:
- Other gouramis, which tend to bully honey gouramis.
- Fin nippers like tiger barbs and serpae tetras.
- Long-finned fish like bettas and fancy guppies, which can trigger squabbles or get nipped.
On their own kind, honey gouramis are social but not a school. You can keep a single fish, a pair, or a small group. If you keep more than one male, give them space and plenty of cover, because males get territorial when building bubble nests and will chase females. In a group, keeping more females than males spreads out that attention so no single female gets harassed.
Breeding honey gouramis
Honey gouramis are one of the easier egg-layers to breed, and watching it happen is a treat.
The male builds a bubble nest at the surface, usually tucked into floating plants. When it is ready he courts a female by flashing his dark breeding colors, then wraps around her under the nest, catching the eggs in his mouth and spitting them up into the bubbles. After spawning, the male turns aggressive toward the female and guards the nest, so remove her at that point.
The eggs hatch in around 24 to 36 hours, and the fry become free-swimming a day or two later, which is when you can remove the male too. The fry are tiny and need very small first foods like infusoria before they can take baby brine shrimp. A pair can drop hundreds of eggs, but fry losses in the first couple of weeks are high, so do not expect to raise them all. Keeping the tank covered helps, since the humid air lets the fry develop their labyrinth organ properly.
Common honey gourami problems
- A new fish that hides and will not eat. This is usually just stress from the move. Give it cover and time, and keep the tank quiet.
- A male bullying a female nonstop. This is normal breeding behavior. Add more cover, more floor space, or more females, or separate them.
- A fish that is not acting like the “peaceful honey” you were promised. Double-check you actually bought a honey gourami and not a mislabeled thick-lipped or dwarf gourami.
FAQ
Are honey gouramis good for beginners?
Yes. They are among the best beginner centerpiece fish, being hardy, peaceful, small, and easy to feed. Their main need is a calm, planted tank with gentle flow.
What is the difference between a honey gourami and a dwarf gourami?
Honey gouramis are smaller, softer gold in color, more peaceful, and hardy. Dwarf gouramis are larger, brightly striped, and unfortunately prone to Dwarf Gourami Disease from mass breeding. For a reliable, peaceful fish, the honey is the better choice.
Can you keep a single honey gourami?
Yes. A single honey gourami does perfectly well and makes a lovely centerpiece in a community tank. You can also keep a pair or a small group with enough space and cover.
What size tank does a honey gourami need?
Ten gallons is enough for one or a pair. For a group or a busy community tank, 20 gallons or more is better.
What fish can live with honey gouramis?
Peaceful community fish like tetras, rasboras, and corydoras, plus snails and larger shrimp. Avoid other gouramis, fin nippers, and long-finned fish like bettas and fancy guppies.
Do honey gouramis need a heater?
Yes, in most homes. They are tropical fish that do best between 72 and 82 F, so a heater keeps them in a stable, comfortable range.
