Edit Helostoma temminkii

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Name

Scientific name

Helostoma temminkii

Described by

Authority Cuvier, Year 1829

Family

Helostomatidae

Summary

The kissing gourami, Helostoma temminkii, is an anabantoid from southern Indochina and the Malay Archipelago, and the sole member of its fa…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

250mm, standard length

Tank size

Minimum length 150 cm, Minimum depth 45 cm

Water

Temperature and pH

Temperature 22–30°C, pH 6–8

Hardness

1–20dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Not recorded

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries

Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam

Supporting text

Etymology

Not written yet

Distribution

Described from the island of Java, Indonesia but currently accepted to occur throughout much of southern Indochina and the Malay Archipelago including Vietnam …

Habitat

This species exhibits a preference for slow-moving or standing waters including floodplain lakes, oxbows, backwaters and swamps, and is particularly associated…

This species exhibits a preference for slow-moving or standing waters including floodplain lakes, oxbows, backwaters and swamps, and is particularly associated with black and clear water habitats around beds of submerged vegetation.

The black water environments are typically associated with ancient peat swamps meaning the water has a negligible dissolved mineral content and the pH can drop as low as 3.0 or 4.0 whereas clear waters normally have less extreme chemistry. Many of its habitats are subject to annual changes in water volume, turbidity and chemistry and it probably moves between permanent waters and temporarily flooded areas during the wet season.

Such habitats generally support a wide diversity of fishes. For example in the Batang (river) Kerang floodplain, southern Sarawak, H. temminkii was recorded alongside numerous sympatric species including Anabas testudineus, Luciocephalus pulcher, Trichopodus pectoralis, T. trichopterus, Channa lucius, Trigonopoma pauciperforatum, Cyclocheilichthys apogon, Hampala macrolepidota, Osteochilus hasseltii, 'Puntius' kuchingensis, Rasbora caudimaculata, Pangio semicincta, Leiocassis micropogon, and Carinotetraodon salivator.

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Where does this come from?

My own experienceFor example, I've kept twelve in a planted 60 cm tank since March 2024.A website I sawFor example, an IUCN Red List assessment, a museum catalogue or a FishBase page.A paperFor example, Marshall et al. (2011), Water temperature differences in interfluvial palm swamp habitats of Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. simulans.A book, or something not onlineFor example, Tappin (2010), Rainbowfishes: their care and keeping in captivity.Something already on the profileFor example, the Behaviour and compatibility section already says this.

Web address

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DOI

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Title

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Authors

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Year

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Pages

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Anything worth adding

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Aquarium size

For long-term care an aquarium with base dimensions of at least 150 ∗ 45 cm60 ∗ 18 in is required.

Maintenance

Choice of décor is not as critical as water quality and the amount of open swimming-space provided, though it isn't a recommended addition to carefully arrange…

Water conditions

Not written yet

Diet

This species is a highly-specialised, microphagous filter-feeder and possesses very fine gill rakers as well as modified structures on the gill arches to aid i…

Behaviour and compatibility

Suitable only for the larger community set-up alongside other robust fishes. Since it isn't able to predate anything larger than a few mm in length groups of a…

Sexual dimorphism

Adult females are rounder-bellied than males when full of eggs but otherwise there are no confirmed external differences.

Reproduction

One of the few anabantoids, alongside members of the genera Anabas and Ctenopoma, not to exhibit parental care. In nature it spawns at the onset of the rainy s…

Notes

The pinkish-white form of this species is among the most widely-traded aquarium fishes in the world but does not occur naturally and is in fact a leucistic var…

References

8 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Tank size

Water

Temperature and pH

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries

Supporting text

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References