Freshwater ornamental larviculture typically relies on Artemia spp. nauplii as a first feed due to their ability to elicit larval feeding responses, high digestibility, and appropriate nutritional profile. However, Artemia spp. can be costly to produce and maintain, adding complexity and costs to the larviculture stage. Reducing the use of live feeds often involves transitioning larvae to inert feeds, but these inert diets often do not elicit a strong feeding response and may be more difficult to digest. This study aimed to reduce the use of Artemia spp. nauplii for the pearl gourami (Trichopodus leerii), a high-value ornamental fish known for its challenging larviculture requirements. Two types of inert feeds were investigated in this study: microparticulate diets (MD) top-dressed with feed attractants and inert liquid diets designed to replicate the smell, taste, and size of Artemia spp. nauplii. Feed attractants (FAs) are powdered amino acids that are used to top-dress pelleted diets to increase ingestion rates via chemosensory activation. Different inclusion rates of three feed attractants (FA), L-alanine, betaine, and L-tryptophan were tested at four inclusion rates (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1%) to determine the lowest effective dose needed to improve larval feeding performance in three 7-day trials. Next, two liquid diets, Zeigler EZ Artemia and Cargill LiquaLife, were tested at 100% and 50% replacement levels of Artemia spp. nauplii in a 14-day larviculture trial. L-alanine diets resulted in an approximately 5% increase in larval survival with both the 0.25% and 1.0% inclusion rates (Fig. 1A). The betaine and L-tryptophan experiments yielded results with similar survival rates as the control diet treatments (Fig. 1B,C). Additionally, replacing up to 50% of Artemia spp. nauplii with either brand of liquid diet did not significantly affect larval T. leerii survival. Together, these data provide baseline protocols for T. leerii larviculture that reduce live feed usage. Further research into appropriate liquid diet density and weaning to inert diets is necessary to refine these protocols.