How long do kissing gouramis (kissing fish) live? How big can they grow? What is the market price for a pair? What fish are good to keep them with? How do you care for them?

The kissing gourami, also known as the kissing fish, kisser fish, kissing fish, kissing mouth fish, fragrant kiss fish, peach blossom fish, kissing fighting fish, and nail mouth fish, is a small ornamental fish famous for “kissing” each other. Many people now like to keep it indoors, so how long do kissing gouramis live? How big can they grow? What is the market price for a pair? What fish are good to keep them with? How do you care for them?

How long do they live?

Kissing gouramis can live up to 6 to 7 years, usually reaching sexual maturity at around one year. They are mild-tempered, move about in groups at all water levels, and can be kept with other fish. They are omnivorous and not at all picky, eating breadworms, chopped earthworms, and artificial feed alike. They not only grow fast but also have decent disease resistance, rarely getting sick, and they multiply abundantly. Under artificial breeding conditions they have no fixed breeding season, and breeding is relatively simple. It is best to keep them in pairs and feed them heavily to encourage breeding.

How big can they grow?

In the wild, kissing gouramis can grow to 20 to 33 cm, while in artificial breeding they reach 3 to 5 cm. They like to inhabit tropical rivers and were often used as a food fish in their place of origin. They are not demanding about water quality, are not very noticeably social, and swim very slowly, appearing graceful and dignified, with captivating charm and ornamental value.

Latest market prices:

The price of kissing gouramis is generally between 5 and 10 yuan. Whether they are sold individually or by the pair depends on the specific situation. One type of kissing gourami has a rather special body shape, resembling a peach or a heart, and this kind costs a bit more than ordinary ones, possibly around ten yuan or so. If bought online, the price is relatively cheaper, generally around 2 to 3 yuan. The price of kissing gouramis varies from region to region, so it should not be generalized.

What fish are good to keep them with?

Red swordtail

The red swordtail is a beautiful ornamental fish species native to South America. In its place of origin this fish generally grows to 7 to 8 cm; under artificial breeding conditions its body is larger, generally around 12 cm. It is mild-tempered and can be kept with other tropical fish of similar size. A few individuals are aggressive toward small tropical fish and like to peck at their tails. It is normally lively and active, and males like to jump when startled, when there is a strong air current, or when fighting.

Angelfish

The angelfish has an elegant bearing and graceful swimming posture. Although it lacks brilliant colors, its popularity among aquarium hobbyists is unmatched by any other tropical fish. It seems there has never been a case of an enthusiast who has kept tropical fish for many years without having kept angelfish; it is almost synonymous with tropical fish. At the mere mention of tropical fish, people's first association is often this fish that glides leisurely among the aquatic plants, beautiful and ethereally refined.

Black molly

The black molly is omnivorous and can graze on algae and aquatic plants on tank walls, so it has the fine reputation of being the aquarium's “cleaner”. It is mild-tempered and easy to keep with other fish. Because black mollies like slightly alkaline hard water, they are not suitable for keeping with tropical fish of the Cyprinidae family. Fry can be fed small live foods such as small daphnia. They reach sexual maturity at 5 months, with a breeding cycle of about 35 days.

Guppy

The guppy is an omnivorous small fish species with very strong adaptability to its environment. It is distributed and reproduces in the lower reaches of rivers, lakes, marshes, and ditches in some tropical regions. Its wild habitat is diverse, mainly inhabiting freshwater basins, lakes, and marshes, and it can tolerate polluted waters. It is gregarious. It was introduced as an ornamental fish to Singapore, Japan, and China. It is mild-tempered and can be kept with mild small and medium-sized tropical fish. It is normally lively and active and has a relatively short lifespan. Artificial breeding has produced several strains, such as tuxedo, mosaic, grass tail, swordtail, metallic, and snake king.

Tetras

Tetras were originally a group of small characin fish native to the Amazon River basin in South America. Thanks to the trend of aquascapes simulating “tropical rainforests”, they spread in popularity from the Netherlands in Western Europe all the way to the mainland. As important stars of planted tanks, they swim in schools among the aquatic plants, with gorgeously colorful body colors; the red, blue, or green light on their bodies in particular can reflect shimmering rays, earning them the title of “swimming gemstones”.

Three-spot gourami

The three-spot gourami is a small tropical ornamental fish of the genus Trichogaster in the family Osphronemidae. It is an omnivorous fish that accepts various live foods such as mosquito larvae, tubifex worms, aquatic earthworms, and water fleas, and also eats artificial feed. It will even eat live small fish fry and shrimp and crab eggs, but it will not chase small fish it cannot swallow. Still, three-spot gouramis most prefer feed floating on the water surface. They can be kept with other mild-tempered tropical fish of similar size.

Keeping techniques:

1. Fish tank: We all know that adult kissing gouramis can reach a body length of 20 to 30 cm, and smaller ones can exceed 10 cm. Calculating by a tank-to-fish body length ratio of 3:1, the tank should be at least 90 cm. However, most kissing gouramis people buy are around 10 cm, so a tank 40 to 60 cm long is enough.

2. Water temperature: Kissing gouramis can live in water temperatures of 18 to 30 °C, with above 22 °C being suitable. If keeping them in winter, you may not need to install a heater if your home has heating. Install a thermometer to monitor the water temperature at any time; if the water temperature cannot be kept at around 25 °C, you need to buy a thermostat. In addition, keeping kissing gouramis has no strict requirements for water quality; they like slightly acidic soft water.

3. Feed: Kissing gouramis are easy to keep precisely because they are not picky, eating both animal-based and plant-based feed. They most like eating red daphnia and love eating aquatic plants and moss.

4. Tankmates: Kissing gouramis swim relatively slowly and are not suitable for keeping with aggressive fish species, such as piranhas, flowerhorn cichlids, and three-stripe cichlids. It is best to keep some smaller, mild-tempered fish species.

5. Male and female: Male and female kissing gouramis are not easy to distinguish, and juveniles are almost impossible to sex. In adults, the male generally has a broad and long anal fin and a somewhat slender body, while the female has a narrow anal fin, a broader and thicker body, and a slightly bulging belly.

6. Breeding: Kissing gouramis directly lay floating eggs that float on the water surface. The eggs are amber-colored; if they turn white, it means the eggs are unfertilized. After spawning is complete, the parent fish can be removed and the eggs artificially incubated. Fry hatch in 20 to 24 hours. After the fry can swim at 2 to 3 days, they must be fed plenty of infusoria, otherwise they will starve to death. After another 2 to 3 days, feed them small red worms for 3 to 4 days, after which they can be fed larger worms. At 15 to 20 days, the rapidly growing fry should be divided into two or three tanks to ensure a higher survival rate; sometimes a single brood can yield more than 9,000 surviving fry.