<p><i>Trich</i><i>op</i><i>odus leerii</i>, a popular ornamental fish species commonly known as the pearl gourami, is valued for its striking coloration and compatibility within typical home aquaria. Current aquaculture protocols struggle with first-feed bottlenecks that are traditionally reliant on costly live feeds. Research on partial or full replacement of live feeds with inert microdiets has become increasingly important to streamline larval production and reduce costs. Improving the performance of microdiets (MDs) through the use of feed attractants (FAs) has demonstrated efficacy in increasing numbers of species in the literature. Three FAs (L-alanine, betaine, L-tryptophan) were tested at different inclusion levels, followed by an additional FA trial combining all three FAs to determine whether synergistic effects exist. Additionally, liquid <i>Artemia</i> (LA) diets are used in commercial aquaculture of shrimp as a shelf-stable alternative to live feeds. To determine if this alternative diet could be used as an <i>Artemia</i> spp. nauplii replacement in <i>T. leerii</i> aquaculture, an experiment was conducted using two commercially available products to investigate whether these diets could reduce dependence on live feeds. L-Alanine supplementation improved short-term larval survival and growth while betaine and L-tryptophan were ineffective. The combined FA formulation also did not yield any performance benefits. Partial LA replacement strategies preserved larval performance, supporting their use as a tool to reduce, but not replace, live feed use. These results highlight the strong innate chemosensory selectivity characteristic of <i>Trichopodus</i> spp. and provide practical direction for advancing MD-based protocols to enable more consistent, scalable production of <i>T. leerii</i>.</p>