What are the living habits of the kissing gourami? Read on and you will understand.
The kissing gourami is famous for the way the fish seem to “kiss” each other; not only do males and females do it, but fish of the same sex also perform the “kissing” action. The “kiss” of the kissing gourami is not a sign of friendship but a form of fighting. Wild individuals reach 20-33 cm in body length, while captive-bred ones reach 3-5 cm. It originates from Thailand, Indonesia and Sumatra and is a common ornamental fish. Let us take a look below at the living habits of the kissing gourami.
Growing environment
The kissing gourami likes to inhabit tropical rivers, and in its place of origin it is often used as a food fish. It is not strict about water quality, its gregarious nature is not very obvious, and it swims very slowly, appearing graceful and elegant, with charming appeal and ornamental value. Its temperament is usually extremely gentle and lively, so it is not suitable for mixed keeping with tropical fish that like quiet. It likes to swim at all levels of the water, but when resting it often stops at the bottom of the aquarium.
Feeding habits
The kissing gourami is omnivorous. Although it is a large species, it generally is not interested in large water fleas; instead it often opens its big mouth for a long time to “drink” some small water fleas before it can eat its fill. This is also a special feeding method of tropical fish. When being kept, it also likes to use its thick lips to suck up the algae on the walls of the tank and on the aquatic plants, so when keeping fish people often put one kissing gourami in each tank as a “scavenger”.
Breeding habits
Under captive conditions the kissing gourami has no fixed breeding season, and breeding is relatively simple. It is best to keep them in pairs and feed them generously to promote breeding. They reach sexual maturity at 15 months of age and can breed multiple times a year. When intending to breed fry, the parent fish can be placed in a breeding tank at a female-to-male ratio of 1:1, and some distilled water added at the same time to stimulate the parent fish into heat. The egg-laying process of each female lasts several hours, and she can lay more than 1000 eggs, with some reaching 2000-3000 eggs. Because the kissing gourami has the habit of swallowing fish eggs, plenty of floating aquatic plants should be planted in the breeding tank.
Kissing habits
What interests people most about the kissing gourami is that when two fish meet, they face each other mouth to mouth and assume a kissing posture. The duration of the kiss varies, but the frequency is quite high, and this is also a rare phenomenon in the fish world. As for why the kissing gourami has this peculiar habit, opinions differ. Some keepers believe that the kissing action of the kissing gourami is a courtship behavior between male and female kissing gourami, but people have also found that kissing is not limited to male and female kissing gourami; it also occurs between individuals of the same sex. In fact, this behavior is not flirting or fighting, but merely an “oral tic” of theirs, a kind of habit.