Among the animals and plants introduced to Sri Lanka, only a few have become invasive.
The giant gourami, one of the largest fish introduced to this country, has been living in the country's waterways for almost a century.
Growing to about 75.00 cm (30 inches) in size, this fish has a laterally flat, broad and long body. The pelvic fins are filamentous. It has a thick lipped mouth. Larger fish are characterized by a protuberance on the head just above the eyes. Adult fish Light brown or gray in color. The smaller fish have a brown body color and dark brown vertical lines, so they look like another fish. The giant gourami is native to Thailand and Vietnam. The larger fish are completely herbivores, but the smaller ones are omnivores.
The giant gourami, which has been introduced to many countries as human food since the beginning of the twentieth century, was introduced to the lakes and irrigation canals of the dry region of Sri Lanka during the British rule. This slow-swimming and underwater fish also has an additional respiratory organ, so it can do well even in dirty water. Can live. They lay eggs in a floating nest made of floating aquatic plant parts. Egg care is done by the parent fish.
Although the giant gourami fish is used as human food in this country, it has been known since the past as an easy and popular ornamental fish in ponds. Recently, albino forms, white, yellow, pink, orange A number of beautiful and colorful forms such as golden) and red have been brought to Sri Lanka. Easy to raise, giant gourami that eats any type of leaf become very tame in a short time, can be fed and even handled by hand, and have a very long life, the reasons for this popularity are the reasons for this popularity. .
The giant gourami found in reservoirs and waterways in many districts of this country depend on aquatic plants and so far no adverse effects have been found due to this fish on local aquatic plants or other local aquatic animal species.