[2] These fish originate from Mainland Southeast Asia, the Greater Sundas and nearby smaller islands, but have also been introduced outside their native range.

[4][5] Two colour morphs are encountered: greenish-silvery, which have lengthwise spotty stripes on the body and opaque, dark brown fins; and pink, which have a rose to orangy pink body and silvery scales, with transparent pinkish fins.

By increasing the angle of opening of the jaw, this joint allows kissing gourami access to these nutrients.

The intramandibular joint divides the jaw into two independent elements so that it increases the degrees of freedom and the potential number of ways of getting food.

[3] They are midwater omnivores that primarily graze on benthic algae and aquatic plants, with insects taken from the surface.

This has been considered an intraspecific aggressive behavior also known as "mouth fight" due to the contraction of the jaw muscles.

[9] H. temminkii are able to communicate between each other due to their complex inner ear: it has a suprabranchial air-breathing chamber which gives these fishes the capacity to modulate their hearing through air bubbles in this area.

Kissing gouramis are open-water egg scatterers; spawning is initiated by the female and takes place under cover of floating vegetation.

The eggs are spherical and small compared to other freshwater species and have a drop of oil to increase buoyancy.

[3] Large quantities of these fish are exported to Japan, Europe, North America, Australia, and other parts of the world for just this reason.

[3] Kissing gouramis need a roomy tank to thrive; they grow rapidly, and juvenile fish will quickly outgrow smaller aquaria.

[5] Kissing gouramis are territorial; some are tolerant towards fish of similar size, but others will bully, chase, and torment, causing significant stress on tank mates.

Male kissers will occasionally challenge each other; however, the "kissing" itself is never fatal, but the constant bullying can stress the other fish to death.

To prevent digging and to present enough surface area for algae growth, the substrate should consist of large-diameter gravel and stones.

The aquarium's back glass should not be cleaned during regular maintenance, as the gouramis will feed on the algae grown there.

As the fish do not build nests, lettuce leaves placed on the water surface serve as a spawning medium.