Kissing gourami - care and maintenance in an aquarium

Gourami called kissing because of their peculiar behavior. Fishes became popular back in 1950, they were bred in America, Florida. Since then, family members are gaining increasing popularity, they are desired among professionals and amateurs. Gourami do not require special frills in care, so they are suitable for all, without exception, for keeping in aquarium conditions at home. Let's not rant, let's get started!

Description

Named family members in honor of the doctor from Holland. It prefers to live in tropical regions such as Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Java, Borneo, etc. They love standing sources not with fresh water. They swim in the lowlands among the vegetation, but they can also feel good in rivers, lakes, and ponds.

In the natural habitat of the fish have a gray or pinkish tinge. Today among aquarists pink ones are considered more popular.gourami In the countries of origin, these fish are suitable for human consumption, which for some will seem sad.

As for the external characteristics, the fish are narrow, compressed on the sides. Their fins are round, transparent structure and large. The pink shade of the case boasts a slight gloss of scales.

All fish of the kissing type are famous for their ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen if it is lacking in the aquatic environment. Therefore, when a pet pokes its lips to the surface, you know, you need to pay attention to the filter with oxygen enrichment function.

The main distinguishing feature of gourami are their lips. They are dense, fleshy. The teeth are strong, allow you to scrape off the remnants of food from hard surfaces and chew algae. Gourami usually stick to the aquarium when they go to collect food.

Under natural conditions, members of the family grow to 30 cm, but in the aquarium environment their growth hardly reaches 15 cm. As for the duration of existence, aquatic inhabitants live about 7 years. But with the provision of proper conditions, they can reach up to 12-15 years.

Many ask questions about gender differences.But even professional aquarists face a problem. No data, how to identify who is in front of you. However, before spawning in the female, the abdominal region is noticeably distinguished.

Content

1. Fish are unpretentious in terms of content, but they need a spacious water dwelling. On a couple of snooty pets, who are constantly plotting fights with their neighbors, about 200 liters are allocated. The difficulty lies only in the choice of cohabitation, everything else is on the shoulder even for novice aquarists.
2. It has already been mentioned earlier that the main distinguishing feature of kissing fish is the ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen. But this does not negate the systematic replacement of water, as well as the equipment of the aquarium with appropriate filters. Every week it is necessary to drain a third of the volume of liquid, and instead fill it with a new one.
3. Since gours stick their lips to the walls of the aquarium, it is necessary to leave the rear window untouched during the cleaning process. Fish will collect the remains of algae.
4. Fish can swim to the upper section of the water space, but are most often found in the low and middle parts.To allow pets to breathe, plant floating plants. Fishes will swim up to them, to capture oxygen with their lips.
5. To grow large pets, choose a spacious aquarium. Strong flow should not be, but the filter is required. A dark base is chosen as the soil, be it pebbles or sand. Be sure to land the lowland tightly, also install snags, grottoes, pebbles.
6. Since by nature gourami feed on vegetation, it is advisable to plant it in an aquarium. It is better to prefer solid species such as moss or anubias. The fish are kept at 23–27 degrees, the rigidity is 5–30 units, the acidity is 6–8.5 pH.
7. Feed the fish must be zooplankton, insects, frozen or dry food. Tube maker, bloodworm, coretre, artemia will do. Additionally, spirulina, lettuce leaves and zucchini with cucumbers.

Compatibility

1. Until sexual maturity, such fish can be kept in the general aquarium; after maturing, it is strongly recommended to replant individuals. The problem is that the representatives in question become very aggressive with age.
2. Gourami begin to attack not only small but also big fish. Also, the degree of aggression will depend on the temperament of a particular individual. Therefore, it is recommended to keep gourami with larger fish. In this case, you can reduce the frequency of hassles.
3. In some cases, even larger individuals are killed by gourami before death. Can contain individuals of one species. Only in this case it is recommended to get a spacious aquarium. It is not recommended to contain too many individuals.
4. It should be noted that a strict hierarchy is developed among gourami. The bottom line is that both sexes are constantly competing with each other. They hustle and kiss. Do not get upset ahead of time, the fish do not cause each other serious damage.
5. The problem can only be that less powerful individuals may be under stress, therefore shelters should be constructed in such an aquarium. Do not forget that gourami are considered excellent hunters. Therefore, they will always hunt fry.

Breeding

1. Breeding considered gourami may pose some difficulties.For such individuals, it is worthwhile to provide a separate aquarium for spawning a fairly large size. The problem is that before spawning, the female is rather difficult to distinguish from the male.
2. Such gourams, unlike others, do not make nests from foam. Often females spawn under the leaves of plants. Spawning occurs in this way due to the fact that the eggs have positive buoyancy. Therefore, they can float to the surface.
3. After the female has finished throwing caviar, the pair should be deposited in a common aquarium. Do not forget that the spawn should be of sufficient size. A large amount of floating algae should be placed on the surface of the water.
4. To get a productive pair, it is recommended to raise several individuals from the young. After reaching puberty, the fish themselves are divided into pairs. Consider that before spawning, individuals should be fed with large quantities of live food.
5. As soon as the fish are ready to spawn, the female has a more rounded belly. In addition, individuals darken color. In such a period, it becomes much easier to distinguish the fish by gender.

Kissing gourami rather interesting water representatives. They require special conditions for the content. However, the aquarium should be provided with everything necessary. It is not necessary to be hooked to such individuals too calm or small fish. In any case, they will be beaten to death or eaten. Therefore, the selection of neighbors should be taken seriously.

Video: aquarium fish kissing gourami