Giant gourami community tank will snap and charge any other fish which are small enough for it to bully. Like most aquarium dwellers, giant gourami can be quickly raised with larger, more passive fish. However, if other fish are added to a tank, either large or small, they might be killed within a short period. Gourami tend towards herbivory, preferring algae-based foods, but will eat meaty foods. An algae-based flake food, along with freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp, provides these fish with the proper nutrition while young. Once of significant size, they can be fed legumes, partially or fully cooked fibrous
Kissing gourami 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. The kissing gourami does not care for its young. The kissing gourami present a kind of behavior associated with their characteristic jaw and mouth: two individuals approach their mouths in both mediolateral and dorsoventral planes and press for a few seconds. This type of "kiss" has given "H. temminkii" the common name of kissing gourami has been considered an intraspecific aggressive behavior also known as "mouth fight" due to the contraction of the jaw