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Helostoma temminckii Cuvier, 1829 Kissing gourami |
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photo by
Ramani Shirantha |
| Family: | Helostomatidae (Kissing gouramies) | |||
| Max. size: | 30 cm TL (male/unsexed) | |||
| Environment: | benthopelagic; freshwater; pH range: 6 - 8; dH range: 5 - 19; depth range - 2 m, potamodromous | |||
| Distribution: | Asia: Thailand to Indonesia. | |||
| Diagnosis: | ||||
| Biology: | Occurs in lakes and rivers (Ref. 56749). An air-breathing species (Ref. 118402). Prefers slow-moving water with thick vegetation. Feeds on a variety of plants and animals, including green algae and zooplankton (Ref. 6459) as well as aquatic insects near the water surface (Ref. 12693). Utilized fresh for steaming, pan-frying, broiling and baking (Ref. 9987); also processed as dried or salted fish; ripe ovaries are collected and separately eaten (Ref. 56749). Large quantities of small fish are exported for aquarium use in Japan, Europe, North America, Australia and other parts of the world (Ref. 9987). Very popular with aquarists due to its habit of sucking its lips and kissing other fishes, plants and other objects (Ref. 4833). Aquarium keeping: not recommended for home aquariums; minimum aquarium size 150 cm (Ref. 51539). | |||
| IUCN Red List Status: | Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 19 September 2019 Ref. (130435) | |||
| Threat to humans: | harmless | |||