Red Honey Gourami Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Red Honey Gourami is a selectively bred colour form of the small Honey Gourami, prized for its warm orange-red body and rich reddish-gold tones. Mature males can develop particularly intense colouration, often with a darker throat and underside, while the species retains the compact, gently rounded shape that makes Honey Gouramis so popular in planted aquariums.

These are peaceful, generally unhurried fish that spend much of their time exploring the middle and upper levels of the aquarium. They possess a labyrinth organ, allowing them to take atmospheric air at the surface, and they may occasionally pause beneath floating cover before gliding away through the plants. Males can display to one another, but serious aggression is uncommon when the fish have adequate space and cover.

In nature, Honey Gouramis inhabit warm, sluggish waters rich in vegetation. Seasonal wetlands, marshes, rice-field channels and densely planted streams provide shelter from predators and create a mosaic of shaded and open areas. Their natural environment is often quiet, with gentle currents and plenty of surface cover.

The Red Honey Gourami is sometimes confused with the Sunset or Red Flame Gourami, and trade names are not always used consistently. Genuine colour and body shape can vary between strains, but all are peaceful labyrinth fish with the same basic behaviour and natural history as Trichogaster chuna.

Red Honey Gouramis are a colour variety of Trichogaster chuna, a species native to the freshwater wetlands, slow streams and floodplain habitats of northeastern India and Bangladesh in South Asia. Wild populations are also associated with parts of Nepal and the surrounding Ganges-Brahmaputra drainage.

A pair or small community containing Red Honey Gouramis should have at least 60 litres, with a footprint around 60 x 30 cm or larger. Use a mature, well-filtered aquarium with gentle circulation, dense planting, shaded areas and floating plants that provide security near the surface while leaving clear access to air. Dark sand or fine, smooth gravel complements their colour, while driftwood, rounded stones and tall plants can divide the aquarium into peaceful territories. Keep the cover secure but allow a humid air space above the water, as sudden exposure to cold, dry air can be harmful to labyrinth fish.

Males usually reach about 4.5 cm (1.8 inches), while females can grow to approximately 5 cm (2 inches). Exceptional females may approach 6 cm (2.4 inches), making them noticeably deeper-bodied than males.

Offer a varied omnivorous diet of quality small pellets or flakes supplemented with frozen or live foods such as baby brine shrimp, daphnia, mosquito larvae and bloodworms. Their small mouths are best suited to finely sized foods, and occasional vegetable-rich foods can add variety. Feed modest portions that are consumed quickly, as they are not built for large meals.

Red Honey Gouramis suit peaceful community aquariums and can be kept with small tetras, rasboras, pencilfish, peaceful Corydoras, small kuhli loaches, Otocinclus and gentle livebearers. Avoid fin-nipping barbs, large or highly active tankmates, aggressive cichlids and other boisterous gouramis. Males may become territorial around a bubble nest, so several males should not be crowded together in a small aquarium; females and compatible peaceful fish are usually tolerated well when visual barriers are available.

Red Honey Gouramis are bubble-nest breeders. Provide calm, shallow water with floating plants or broad leaves, and condition the pair with plenty of small live or frozen foods. The male builds a bubble nest and encourages the female beneath it, where the eggs are released and fertilised. After spawning, remove the female if she is being harassed; the male guards the nest and tends the eggs until they hatch. Remove the male once the fry are free-swimming, then feed the tiny young with infusoria or another suitably fine first food before moving them onto baby brine shrimp.

Mature males are usually slimmer and develop stronger orange-red colouration, often with a dark blue-black or brownish throat and underside when displaying or breeding. Females are generally larger and rounder, with subtler silver, tan or honey-brown colouration and a more visible dark lateral line.