Colisa sota (Hamilton-Buchannan, 1822)
Pronounced: col-ISS-uh SEW-tuh

  Quick Facts

Availability Hardiness Overall appeal

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Diet
Omnivore
in the aquarium....
They prefer live foods but will eat most prepared fish foods and vegetables. They are not picky about what they eat except in the manner in which they eat, which is to pick at things while hovering over them. Good live foods include microworms and black worms.
in the wild....
they eat insects and small invertebates in the water.
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Swimming level
They inhabit all levels of the aquarium, but prefer the middle and lower levels.
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Recommended for
Beginners to experienced fishkeepers; tropical community tank; species tank; planted tank; breeders.

• Description....
• Colisa sota is a laterally compressed fish with a stretched oval shaped body.
• The dorsal and anal fins both have a long base, beginning slightly behind the gills and extending to the caudal peduncle.
• Most of the time, the Honey Gourami is a pale fawn-beige body colour.
• The fins match the body colour.
• Females have a darker brown line that runs the length of the body from the eye to the start of the caudal fin.
• At spawning time and when relaxed, the male develops a dark golden-orange colour, and his head, throat, and most of the anal fin become dark navy blue to black. The colour intensifies during breeding.
• The rear parts of the anal and dorsal fins is also dark orange, as is the caudal fin. Most of the dorsal fin is a pale lemon yellow in colour.
• The ventral fins are typcal of a Gourami, being long and thread-like. In the male they are orange, while the female's are yellow-white.
• When stressed, males lose their beautiful colour and resemble females.
• Similar species....
• None.
• Taxonomy and systematics....
• Systematic hierarchy:
  • Kingdom: Animalia
    • Phylum: Chordata: Sub-phylum: Vertebrates - Group: Fish
      • Class: Osteichthyes (Bony Fish): Sub-class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fish)
        • Order: Perciformes (Perch-like Fish)
          • Family: Belontiidae (Labyrinth Fish): Subfamily: Trichogastrinae
            • Genus: Colisa
              • Species: sota
• Geographical variants....
• None.
• They have been crossed with Colisa labiosa to create the Red Honey Gourami (right).

Colisa sota is native to Northeast India in the Brahmaputra and Ganges river systems, and in west Bangladesh in the Dacca region. They inhabit pools, ditches, inundated fields, ponds and beels. They can be found in rivers and lakes with dense vegetation and soft neutral water.

Information relating to tank size is indicative and depends on factors including the type and size of fish kept with the species being discussed. It is intended to be used as a rough guide only to give some idea of the space requirements for the fish.

• Tank....
• A tank measuring 45 centimetres (18 inches) is the minimum size suggested. Follow the recommendations for Colisa lalia .
• The tank should be large enough for the females to be able to get some rest from the males.
• Example: Planted "species" tank
  • 80x30x35 centimetres (32x13x15 inches); 85 litres
    • 7 x Colisa sota
    • 3 x Otocinclus vittatus
      
• Decoration....
• The tank should be densely planted, with plenty of floating plants used.
• The substrae should be fine gravel.
• Wood can be used to keep the pH sligtly acidic.
• Maintenance and Disease....
• The tank should be covered using lids, to prevent a difference in water and air temperature, which can cause the fish to become susceptible to diseases.
• Regular partial water changes are essential, as they are quite sensitive to poor water conditons.
• The filtration shouldn't create turbulence as they build a nest at the surface.
• They are quite hardy as long as they are able to come to the surface to breathe.
• Baensch and Riehl describe the fish as being sensitive to Oodinium (Velvet). This shouldn't be a problem if they are kept at higher temperatures.
• Water parameters:
  
  • pH: acidic to alkaline(6.0-7.5: optimum 6.9)
    
  • Hardness: soft to moderate (5-16dH: optimum 8)
    
  • Temperature: 25-28oC.
    
• Compatibility....
• Honey Gouramis are well suited to peaceful planted community tanks and species tanks.
• Despite their small size, they do better in larger tanks proportionate to their size.
• They are a peaceful and shy species that can be combined with other peaceful species.
• Males become aggressive when defending their nest at spawning times.
• They shouldn't be kept with fish that might be tempted to pick at their long pelvic fins, such as Tiger Barbs and Angelfish.

• Breeding....
• Colisa sota is a pair-forming bubblenest builder.
• The male will build a small nest in his territory, usually under a leaf, but also at the surface in a corner, if no suitable leaf can be found.
• If a female comes into sight the male will start to display almost vertically before her. If she's interested, the male will repeatedly swim 5-10 cm towards the nest, and display again until the female follows.
• After the pair reaches the nest, they will spawn below the nest.
• The female can lay up to 300 eggs, each 1 mm in size.
• As soon as eggs are in the nest the male starts to build a bigger nest around the eggs.
• The eggs usually hatch in 24-36 hours, and the fry are free-swimming after a day.
• The male will care for the fry for a few days after they hatch.
• Honey Gourami males are said to be less aggressive towards the female than dwarf gouramis.
  Special breeding notes....
• Spawning can be achieved in a small shallow, well planted sunny tank. By one week of age, they can accept newly hatched brine shrimp and emulsified powder.
• Small daily water changes should be done. Take care to match the temperature and avoid air drafts (especially at 4-6 weeks of age) over the water when the cover is removed.
• Avoid overfeeding as good water quality needs to be maintained. Poor water quality is fatal to these fry.
• Growth is slow but steady. The fry can be fed on microworms and commerical fry food and if fed well they can be raised to adult size in approximately three months.
• Growing fish remain quite sensitive to sudden changes in their surroundings, such as water pH, currents, lighting, new tankmates for quite a while.

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