Climbing gourami Climbing gourami The Anabantidae are a family of perciform fish commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. The family includes about 34 species. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish's head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water. The air is held in a structure called the suprabranchial chamber, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream via the respiratory epithelium covering the labyrinth organ. This therefore allows the fish to move small distances across land. Of the four
Kissing gourami superior (upward-facing) 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 of in total length. There is no outward sexual dimorphism and is difficult to almost impossible to distinguish the sexes. Two colour morphs are encountered: greens, which have lengthwise lateral stripes