Kissing Gourami (Helostoma temminkii)

Helostoma temminkii, the Kissing Gourami, is a popular and distinctive labyrinth fish from Thailand and Indonesia, famous for the lip-to-lip 'kissing' contact individuals make with each other — behavior now understood to be a form of dominance testing rather than affection. It has thick, fleshy lips lined with fine teeth used for efficiently rasping algae and biofilm from surfaces, rocks, and glass. This hardy and adaptable species is available in both the wild greenish form and the popular pink-white captive-bred variant commonly sold in Belgian and Dutch fish shops.

House in a spacious aquarium (minimum 200 L) with robust plants (soft-leaved plants may be grazed) and good water quality. Maintain pH 6.0–8.0, temperature 22–28°C, wide hardness tolerance. Feed quality omnivore foods: algae wafers, spirulina flake, quality pellets, and occasional protein foods. The 'kissing' behavior can stress timid fish — choose robust, similarly-sized tankmates. This is an air-breathing labyrinth fish that must have clear access to the water surface.