Kissing Gourami Problem

Question
Hi karen,

Can you tell me if kissing gourami's need to be kept in groups and if they need any special water params. I recently bought a sole kissing gfourami and it did well for the first 3 days but by day 7 it had died, I'd noticed for the few days before its death it was hanging around one particular plant in my aquarium and seemed loathed to move but as far as I could tell after a good deal of watching the fish it wasn't being picked on by any of the other tankmates which consist of a rainbow shark some platinuim tetras and a few different species of catfish. I also do regular water changes and the gourami didn't seem to have any sign of disease or infection when it died, any ideas on cause of death, so they need to be kept with others of their kind ?.

Answer
Dear Scott,
I'm very sorry to hear about your Kissing Gourami... :(

Actually, most Kissing gouramis tolerate their own kind. But they do Ok alone as well. What can really get to them is poor water quality. Has your aquarium cycled the beneficial bacteria critital in all aquarium setups? This is very important as ammonia levels build up dangerously in newly setup aquariums. As always, when in doubt of your water quality do a 50% water change and be sure to clean the filter. Always make sure to make the replacement water equal in that of temperature to your aquarium and insure it is properly dechlorinated. Don't ever clean your filter in regular tap water. Use only aquarium water in a unused bucket to rinse the filter material or clean the siphon tubes and strainers.

You can easily test your water with aquarium test kits at your local petstore.

So far as I know Kissing Gouramis do fine in general water parameters as long as it's clean and warm (78-82F)
*Remember you could have also lost your kissing gourami if he/she may have already been stressed or ill from his/her past in the petstore. You can get bad batches of fish sometimes and it can be very difficult to avoid it. Insuring that you buy only the healthiest of fish and ideally quarantine them is best.

Sorry again to hear about your loss. Kissers are really great fish with a interesting habit.
You may have to be the detective to figure out why you lost yours. Perhaps it was poor water quality.

I really hope this helps! Feel free to email me on anymore questions or concerns you may have....

Best wishes,
Karen~