Adult moonlight gouramis, at 6 inches in length, are magnificent in ways that young moonlights sold in local fish stores barely resemble. An adult moonlight is a deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish with a lovely pastel green iridescence on its dorsal area and a belly tending toward silvery gray. The anal fin that extends along the length of the belly to the base of the tail is also a lovely pastel green, with the dorsal and anal fins also showing some color. The orange ventral fins, on the other hand, are filamentous, as long as the fish and have sensory cells. Another feature of the moonlight gourami is the iris, which is orange to red in color. All of this adds up to a truly beautiful fish. In contrast, young moonlight gouramis lack the adults’ green hue and are generally silver — sort of similar to the ugly duckling that eventually becomes a beautiful swan.
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