Things To Know About The Kissing Gourami Before Giving The Pet Tag
I wish you should bring a new member to the family (stop thinking about a wife or girlfriend), here our idea of a new member is of a pet. We know you will say that it is very difficult to spend “me-time” in this 9-5 vicious cycle then how can I even afford to take time out for pet walk and playtime? Now you might be wondering how a typical fish can be a right pet, well, the fish I am talking about is not like any other fish, but this one is a special one, and it is known as kissing Gourami.
Well! Why do we assume a pet always to be a dog or a cat? There are plenty of options if you are an animal lover (Conditions apply!) How about a fish being a pet? Woah!!! An interesting name, right? And so as the interesting and beautiful features. Are you ready to know more about it?
Table of Contents
What’s Coming in the Below Post
- Breed Overview
- Origin
- Appearance
- Features
- Habitat
- Feeding
- Aquarium Care
- Sexual Difference
- Breeding
Breed Overview:
| Common Names | Kissing fish, green kisser, pink kissing gourami |
| Adult Size | 12 inches |
| Scientific Name | Helostoma temminkii |
| Life Expectancy | Average expectancy is 7 years and even some can live upto 25 years |
Origin
Kissing Gourami is also known as kisser fish, which is originated from Thailand to Indonesia. The popular aquaria fishes and used as food fish in its native origin. Also, it’s highly demanded in the food industry as it is used for baking, streaming, and pan-frying. It belongs to the monotypic labyrinth fish family. Singapore and Thailand breed kissing fish for the aquarium trade as well as consumption purposes.
Appearance
With the pouting mouth, they have an additional joint which increases the angle of the mouth, which helps them to grab the food more efficiently. The fish can reach up to 12 inches on maturity and have short dorsal and anal fins that run along the body. They have got long and round pectoral fins. You can find them in two colors, silver-green and pink.
It becomes tough to distinguish between the sexes as they almost appear alike due to the absence of outward sexual dimorphism. Their lips are lined up with horny teeth. Some believe that green fish is the origin of Thailand while pink kissing gourami come from an island of Indonesia; some consider pink fish is the result of human-made leucistic form.
Features
They have a special organ called the labyrinth, which is used to take oxygen in the air, you might be wondering what’s special about it? The answer is, it can be used in extreme conditions in the water when oxygen gets very low, isn’t it amazing? The most distinctive feature about them is their mouth; it seems that this fish is giving kissing pose. How romantic…right? No, not at all as it is generally an act between two males who aim to conquer the territory. And with age, fighting gets reduced as and when they define their own mating territories.
Habitat
The natural habitat of the kissing gourami is the shallow and thicky vegetated water. They can tolerate a different range of water conditions, and it becomes essential to provide them with a sufficient amount of water in the tank. Choose a tank that offers sufficient space to access the surface; plenty of vegetation and warm water is their favorite. They emit sound through the movement of their teeth.
Feeding
Kissing Gourami is omnivorous by nature as their food includes algae, insects, blood worms, zooplankton, flakes, brine shrimp, larvae and all microorganisms found in water. Feed the fish twice a day. You can also feed them with fresh vegetables or vegetable tablets like spirulina algae wafers, etc.
- Diet Type: Omnivore
- Vegetable Food: Some of Diet
- Tablet / Pellet: Yes
- Meaty Food: Some of Diet
- Flake Food: Yes
- Feeding Frequency: Once or twice a day.
- Live foods like fishes, worms: Some of Diet
Aquarium Care
A small fish can be housed in a smaller aquarium, but an adult fish needs a 75-gallon tank or larger with an efficient filtration system. This huge fish space moves around; otherwise, it can cause stress and sadness.
Also, make sure to add a large gravel substrate at the bottom that helps this fish to prevent digging and provide a surface for the algae to grow. The tank needs moderate to normal lighting and an ideal temperature in the tank range from 22.2 to 27.8° C. It is recommend to keep the water clean as they can suffer from the tissue damage due to toxins build-ups inside the tank. What do you think about Kissing Gourami Care?
Sexual Difference
It becomes challenging to identify the sexes of the kissing fish as male and female appear the same from the oval shape to the lips. During the breeding time, the female has round bellies.
Breeding
Spawning is initiate by the female fish and takes place under floating vegetations. On average, the female can release 1000 eggs. Fertilize eggs float to the surface and bind to the floating vegetation.
Conclusion
I know you might have made up your mind to bring kissing fish at home. With little care and attention, you can change their life for good.
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