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| Kissing Gourami |
About~
Kissing gouramis, also known as kissing fish or kissers, are large tropical freshwater fish. These fish originate from Thailand to Indonesia. The kissing gourami is a popular aquarium fish. Typical of gourami, the body is deep and strongly compressed laterally. The posterior most soft rays of each of these fins are slightly elongated to create a trailing margin. The foremost rays of the jugular pelvic fins are also slightly elongated. The pectoral fins are large, rounded, and low-slung. The caudal fin is rounded to concave. The lateral line is divided in two, with the posterior portion starting below the end of the other; there are a total of 43–48 scales running the line's length.The most distinctive feature of the kissing gourami is its mouth. Other than being terminal rather than superior (as in other gourami families), the kissing gourami's mouth is highly protrusible as its family name suggests, the lips are lined with horny teeth. However, teeth are absent from the premaxilla, dentaries, palatine, and pharynx. The gill rakers are also well-developed and numerous. The visible scales of the body are ctenoid, whereas the scales of the top of the head are cycloid. Kissing gourami reach a maximum size of 30 centimetres (12 in) TL. There is no outward sexual dimorphism and is difficult to almost impossible to distinguish the sexes.
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| Kissing Gourami |
Habitat~
Shallow, slow-moving, and thickly vegetated backwaters are the kissing gourami's natural habitat. They are midwater omnivores that primarily graze on benthic algae and aquatic plants, with insects taken from the surface. It is also a filter feeder, using their many gill rakers to supplement their diet with plankton. The fish use their toothed lips to rasp algae from stones and other surfaces. This rasping action, which (to humans) looks superficially like kissing, is also used by males to challenge the dominancy of conspecifics.
Spawning occurs from May to October in Thailand. Kissing gouramis are open-water egg scatterers; spawning is initiated by the female and takes place under cover of floating vegetation. The eggs, which the adults do not guard, are spherical, smooth, and buoyant. Initial development is rapid: the eggs hatch after one day, and the fry are free-swimming two days thereafter.
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| Kissing Gourami |
Aquarium~
Kissing gouramis are also popular with aquarists for the fish's peculiar "kissing" behavior of other fish, plants, and other objects. Kissers of both sexes will often spar by meeting mouths and pushing each other through the water. Kissing gouramis are territorial, some are tolerant towards fish of similar size, but others will bully, chase and torment causing significant stress on tank mates. Male kissers will occasionally challenge each other; however, the "kissing" itself is never fatal but the constant bullying can stress the other fish to death.
They often do in fact kill other fish by sucking their 'fish slime' (mucus) off of their skin as food, which opens the victim fish up to infections. These fish may be useful as algae eaters to control algae growth. To prevent digging and to present enough surface area for algae growth, the substrate should consist of large-diameter gravel and stones. The aquarium's back glass should not be cleaned during regular maintenance, as the gouramis will feed on the algae grown there. Most plants will not survive the fish's grazing, so inedible plants such as Java fern, Java moss, or plastic plants are recommended.
These fish are omnivorous and need both plant and animal matter in its diet. The fish will accept vegetables such as cooked lettuce and any kind of live food. Water hardness should be between 5–30°dGH and pH between 6.8–8.5; the temperature should be between 22–28 °C (72–82 °F). When breeding kissing gouramis, soft water is preferred. As the fish do not build a nest, lettuce leaves placed on the water surface serve as a spawning medium. The lettuce will eventually host bacteria and infusoria which the fish will feed upon. The maximum length for Kissing gouramis in aquariums is between 20 to 30 cm (7.87 - 11.81 inches)
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