Kissing Gourami - Profile

Scientific Name(s)	: Helostoma temminckii
Common Name(s)	: Pink Kissing Gourami, Kissing Gourami, Kissing Fish,
Family	: Helostomatidae
Species Type:	: Labyrinth Fish
Maximum Size	: 12 inches
Life Span	: 6 years
Natural Habitat	: Asian Lakes
Minimum Tank Size	: 45 gallons
Tank Region	: All over
Possible Tank Mates	: Large Community Fish
Temperature Range	: 70°F – 83°F
pH Range	: 6.5 – 8.5
Hardness	: 5° - 25°

Description: The popular Kissing Gourami, or ‘Kisser’, originates from Thailand, where it is cultivated as a food fish. These days virtually all specimens sold in the USA are commercially bred in Florida. Two colors of this fish occur naturally; a pink or flesh colored form, and a silver-green form often referred to as the Green Kisser. In the past these were believed to be the same species, but they have since been reclassified as two separate species. The green species, which has a dark bar bordering the dorsal and anal fins, is Helostoma temminckii, the name previously associated with the popular pink variety. The traditional pink Kissing Gourami is now classified as Helostoma rudolfi. Their common name is derived from what appears to be kissing; however scientists still aren’t sure of the true purpose of the behavior. It’s believed to be a harmless challenging behavior, which generally occurs between two males. This conjecture is supported by the fact that aging seems to diminish the need to challenge one other. With age comes wisdom, or at least the ability to peacefully cohabit with others. Both sexes of Kissing Gourami look almost identical; from their oval shape to their thick fleshy lips. What you can’t see are the rows of fine teeth on the inside surface of those lips, which are used to graze on algae and vegetable matter. Another unseen structure in these fish is the labyrinth organ, which is present in all labyrinth fishes. This organ enables them to take oxygen from the air, thus permitting them to survive in waters with low oxygen levels. In fact, the gills of labyrinth fishes are usually not capable of obtaining enough oxygen from the water to survive. Therefore, they must satisfy some of their oxygen requirement by gulping air at the surface of the water. That is why it is essential to provide them with access to the water surface.

Breeding Information: Potential breeders should be conditioned with live foods, and provided with a large tank with soft warm water (80 F). Unlike other Labyrinth fish, Kissers do not build elaborate bubble nests, although the male may blow bubbles randomly at the surface.

Sexing Information: Very difficult to sex by appearance

Diet: Omnivorous - does well with flake or pellet foods. Diet can be supplemented with green vegetables such as peas, spinach, romaine lettuce or zucchini

Temperament: General peaceful, but may eat smaller fishes

Common Diseases: None specific to species

General Info: Kissing Gourami is an interesting fish that will never fail to thrill even novice fish keepers. In fact, their actions and behavior are so adorable that sometimes people thought they were actually kissing each other as a lover. That’s actually not true because the lip-locking act is a test of strength between two male kissing gouramis especially seen during the breeding season to impress the females. However, there is nothing to worry about because the act would not actually cause harm and injury to the other party. Basically, there are two variants of the fish, one which is green in color and another is the normal pink color which are commonly found sold in pet stores. If you intend to mix your kissing gourami with other community fish, I would suggest you take a careful approach to introduce and then observe closely whether they might attack other species. Mixing with smaller fish like neon tetra, danio, guppy, platy and swordtail is not an option here because they can ended up being harassed or hurt by the larger sized kissing gourami, most problematic especially with their aggressive fin-nipping behavior.

So far, among potential tank mates that can live with them are certain species of cichlids like firemouth, kribensis, bolivian ram cichlids and even though they can be territorial, as long as there is large enough aquarium space, there should not be any problem. Other species compatible with kissing gourami include clown loach, pleco and silver dollar fish.

Similar like any other tropical fish species, both the green and pink kissing gouramis will thrive well in warm and soft water with neutral pH. When it comes to food, they have no particular preferences and will generally accept whatever that you feed to them. In fact, most of the time, they will scour the bottom gravel bed looking to consume off the algae appearing in the aquarium and having them around will usually help towards having a clean well-managed tank.

Kissing Gourami is also an intelligent fish because they can actually recognize the owner who feeds them and swim happily from one end to another upon seeing you. They also have a long lifespan and if properly cared for, can live up to 15 years and above. Because of that, they make a perfect pet for every home aquarium. Find out also which is the best pet fish for young kids.