Monday, February 14, 2011

Creature Feature: Kissing Gourami.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Go out and buy some chocolate, cards, and a Kama Sutra. Oh, and don't forget those adorable kissing fish!















 Kissing gouramis appear in nearly every Valentine's Day montage ever. The green kissing gouramis are from Thailand; the pink ones, Java. In a nutshell, they are omnivorous fish (do NOT put a gourami in with smaller fish) that kiss.



"Aww, how cute! Those fish are kissing!"

Kissing in gouramis does not mean the same thing as it does in humans, much like smiling in chimpanzees is a hint that one might get one's hand bitten off. The puckered lips in kissing gouramis are tipped with teeth; a kiss is not nearly as friendly in these fish as it is in humans!

Kissing can be seen as a form of sparring between fish. There is nothing cute about it and no way to guarantee that you are getting a male and female couple. Although there is no "kiss of death," being kissed too much may cause the mucus coat on other fish to deteriorate, leaving them open to infections. Ouch.

Pucker up! Hey, it's a tradition to kiss the first fish one catches, anyways.















Speaking of, no matter how adorable these fish may seem, do not impulse buy them. Much like Burmese pythons and green iguanas, kissing gouramis start small, but will quickly outgrow their tank if the owner is not aware of how big they get (anywhere from 20-30cm/7.87-11.81 inches). They are a lot harder to take care of than goldfish because they are omnivores; give the new 'couple' a gourmet meal to work with, including both lettuce and live food. Leaving algae on the side of the tank must be like parsley garnish to them. Bon appetit, fishies!


Tomorrow: BEWARE THE VAMPIRE MOTH!

1 comment:

  1. Hi KUROKARASU
    That Is The Biggest Green Kissing Gourami
    I Have Every Seening.I Would Be Interested
    In Getting Some Of These Big Green Kissing
    Gouramis From You.Reply To-ZebraPleco-L-046@att.net

    ReplyDelete