Kissing Guramis

Question
I have a pair of Kissing Guramis in a 30 gallon tank with 8 other semi-aggressive fish.  They only kissed a few times and now have stopped kissing altogether. Now they just chase each other. We thought we had male and female fish. Do you think they might be the same sex? How can you tell male and female apart?

Answer
Hi Patty;

When kissing gouramis "kiss" they are actually fighting and not loving on each other. It's usually over territory. Mouths are all that most fish have to fight with so that's what they use.

The only difference between sexes you can visibly see is the female being plumper. Males can be plump too though if he is better at getting food than another one so it is very hard to tell. Some breeds of gourami have obvious sexually identifying differences. It can be fin shape or size, coloration, etc. Kissers really don't exhibit sexual dimorphism (differences) so breeders just raise several together and let them "pair off" on their own. Here is a good article about kissing gouramis;

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Gourami,%20Kisser.htm

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins