Pseudosphromenus dayi

aka: Spiketail Paradise Fish, Brown Spike-Tailed Paradise Fish, Day's Paradise Fish
 
Native to: India
Maximum size: 3 inches + tail
Temps: 50-90 F
 
A great little fish with lots of color!  They enjoy planted tanks with driftwood and places to hide.  Floating plants are also recommended so these fish can hide.  Males can be kept together in the same tank, providing they have many hiding places because they do chase each other, but do not fight to the point of damage.  pH should be slightly Alkaline to Neutral.
 
Feeding: Accepts a variety of foods including; bloodworms, brineshrimp, flake, and sometimes vegetables.
 
Sexing: Males are much more colorful with an orange throat and extremely long caudual, dorsal, ventral and anal fins.  Females are pale in color (mostly silver) with much shorter fins and a thicker body.
 
Breeding: A typical bubblenest breeder.  Condition both male and female on live foods.  This gourami makes a nest in between floating plants or in a cave. Eggs will hatch 24-36 hours after spawning and male will care for them until they are free swimming, at this point the male should be removed and fry can be fed microworms, vinegar eels, or bbs as first foods.  Fry are fast growing and can be a half inch by 2 months of age.