Kissers used to be common… don’t see them much anymore… they do seem to be a little strange

[Magnum Man]

I’m blaming this one on my wife… setting up a tank in our bedroom, and she wanted kisser fish in that tank… I had a hard time finding them anymore, I would have like to have a green one or two, but ended up with a group of 3 pink kissers… they were smooching, all the time, and it may have been stress from pushing each other around, or they succumbed to my previously high alkaline water, but when I got down to one, much more peace in the tank, and the sole surviving kisser ( there are several other fish in the tank ) had begun to grow, it’s probably 3.5 inches right now, and healthy looking… I’d like to add another to get back to the kissing again, that Mrs was liking, but finding a mate or suitable sparring partner is probably more difficult, now that this one is not a baby, like they all were when introduced

Anyone else have one of these once common and over sold fish???

 

[GaryE]

They lost popularity when aquarium tech developed. All of a sudden, they could grow to the adult size, and man, they grew.
They are a food fish, famed for their ability to grow on dumped manure and household wastes in the ponds they are kept in. Properly cared for they grow to a kilo fast, eat all their tankmates, and expire.
The kissing is a form of ritual fighting. Many Cichlids do it too.
Back in my grandfather's fishkeeping generation, they were a common, bread and butter fish.

 

[Byron]

This info may help, adding them is inevitably going to mean trouble.

Compatibility/Temperament: Not a good general community fish. It may be kept in large aquaria with some of the larger barbs, non-aggressive cichlids, catfish such are the loricariids, etc. It should be kept in small groups to confine the aggression to conspecifics. As it grows it will eat fish smaller than itself, and consume the softer aquarium plants.

Size: Attains 12 inches (30 cm).

Minimum Tank Suggestion: Certainly no less than 48 inches in length, and at least 90 gallons, but preferably larger so the fish can be properly kept in a small group.

Water parameters: Soft to moderately hard (< 30 dGH), acidic to basic (pH 6 to 8) water, temperature 22-28C/72-82F. This fish is hardy and not particular respecting water parameters though extremes should be avoided.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I used to have a kisser, he lived to be over 11 years old I think. Passed away a couple months ago.

 

[MuddyWaters]

yeah, I never see them anymore- interesting! What other fish are not around that used to be?

 

[GaryE]

Lots. I have some beginner's books from the 1950s, and the fish they took for granted are often super rare now. Some of the rarity can be regional - when I stick my nose in shops while travelling I often see different fish available. Part of it is that are are fewer stores, and the corporate places all work with central ordering.

 

[BeckyCats]

Hopefully this means that fish stores are more knowledgeable about the unsuitability of these fish for the average person.

 

[Gamegurl564]

I had no idea Kissers could get that big.
I learned alot about dwarf gouramis going through three if them.
I'm kinda pissed that my lfs sold me the three with claims of them being ok.
Maybe in a group of 10 or more but right from the start there was one bully, I took one back and she immediately started in on the remaining one.
Had to get rid of another, these were powder blue females.
I thought great, shes got 29 gallons all to herself, was that good enough, nooooo
When she started after my Corys that was IT!
Not nice fish nor community fish imho.
Sorry for the tirade.

 

[GaryE]

Gouramis, like other fish, are victims of bad info. Powder blues are built off of Trichogaster lalia, and that old aquarium hobby species has always been known as nasty and short lived. The wild fish are far more beautiful than the modified ones, in my unimportant opinion, but you can rarely find them anymore. They enjoy fighting and then fighting some more.

T. chuna is a wonderful fish, but all the others have issues. Put them in your tanks, they have a few drinks and then the drama is on. Kissers are lumpish fish that grow fast and ritually fight via lip locking. Years ago, my fishroom was mainly gouramis, and I've kept a lot of different species. The Trichogaster family, except for the real honey, is a rough lot. Kissers are the only fish in the Helostoma family, but I wouldn't want that lot living next door either.

 

[emeraldking]

Also overhere, kissing gouramies are becoming rare these days. And yes, in the past, they were in almost every lfs. My parents always called them gay fish. For they didn't know the difference between male and female. And to keep it easy for us kids, they called them gay fish. And then they were surprised when we asked: What does gay mean?

 

[Gamegurl564]

Gouramis, like other fish, are victims of bad info. Powder blues are built off of Trichogaster lalia, and that old aquarium hobby species has always been known as nasty and short lived. The wild fish are far more beautiful than the modified ones, in my unimportant opinion, but you can rarely find them anymore. They enjoy fighting and then fighting some more.

T. chuna is a wonderful fish, but all the others have issues. Put them in your tanks, they have a few drinks and then the drama is on. Kissers are lumpish fish that grow fast and ritually fight via lip locking. Years ago, my fishroom was mainly gouramis, and I've kept a lot of different species. The Trichogaster family, except for the real honey, is a rough lot. Kissers are the only fish in the Helostoma family, but I wouldn't want that lot living next door either.

Thanks for the info. Maybe when things settle down I'll get some honeys. They really are pretty little things and if they are mellow, would be welcome.
I think what people didn't realize about kissers is that they weren't affectionate kissing.
Cheers

 

[Back in the fold]

I like them when they are small but they are a hideous creature in their larger sizes . Here is a perfect candidate for the species only aquarium because these thugs will make life miserable for just about any other fish . The only tank mate I would suggest is the Pink Convict Cichlid . That would be a brouhaha deluxe .

 

[Gamegurl564]

Hehe, que some Rob Zombie music and lordie lord, would that get ugly

 

[Magnum Man]

Since I would consider a “sparring partner” for mine I occasionally do a search… coincidentally, the 1st 2 I looked at the last time ( ok, you caught me ) today… both listed them as peaceful community tank fish

 

[GaryE]

Since I would consider a “sparring partner” for mine I occasionally do a search… coincidentally, the 1st 2 I looked at the last time ( ok, you caught me ) today… both listed them as peaceful community tank fish

That's thanks to death. We crowd them in communities, and they die before they have a chance to develop. A lot of fish that were popular in the past, before water changes and good filtration stayed small (often through stunting) and lived short lives. Aquarists thought that was normal. Our modern version is the 2 year old fancy Bettas people think are dying of old age. That's a fish that should be good for 3-7 years.

Kissing gouramis are now rarely kept, so internet site builders go back to old sources, and repeat what's there. I'll confess now I wrote a long out of print book on gouramis, and I researched past info on the fish available then, species by species. There were a lot of myths repeated over and over again that could be tracked to one or two authors who confessed in writing they hadn't kept the fish, but thought it might do A, B, or C. Two articles or book passages later and their honestly presented guesses (and their errors) were gospel. That stuff is still all over the internet.

Kissers squabble among themselves til they get large enough to eat their tankmates. They do it peacefully and unaggressively. Food's food and there's no need to play with it or fight with it. If it fits in their mouths...

One of the big US fishstore chains used to sell baby Pacus as community fish. They look like piranhas, so the violence crowd bought them up. They are fruit eaters from the Amazon that have a very genial way as they grow their way to 3 foot long and 65 pounds. The stickers on the tanks used to say they were community fish for a 10 gallon. I'm sure somewhere, those stickers are still being used. I haven't visited a US fish chain since before the pandemic to see if they've cleaned up their act.