Kissing gourami Kissing gourami Kissing gouramis, also known as kissing fish or kissers ("Helostoma temminkii"), are large tropical freshwater fish comprising the monotypic labyrinth fish family Helostomatidae (from the Greek "elos" [stud, nail], "stoma" [mouth]). These fish originate from Thailand to Indonesia. They can be food fish which are farmed in their native Southeast Asia. They are used fresh for steaming, baking, broiling, and pan frying. The kissing gourami is a popular aquarium fish. Typical of gourami, the body is deep and strongly compressed laterally. The long-based dorsal (16–18 spinous rays, 13–16 soft) and anal fins (13–15 spinous rays, 17–19 soft) mirror
Kissing gourami smooth, and buoyant. Initial development is rapid: the eggs hatch after one day, and the fry are free-swimming two days thereafter. The kissing gourami does not care for its young. Adults migrate through the rivers to shallow lagoons or into flooded forests to spawn. A female starts mating and the male simultaneously shed the eggs and sperm to the outside. Females release an average of 1000 eggs. The eggs are spherical and small compared to other freshwater species and have a drop of oil to increase buoyancy. Fertilized eggs float to the surface and usually bind to floating vegetation, becoming