Lives in rivers and lakes amongst thick vegetation. The body is somewhat elongated with moderate lateral compression. Grows to a length of around 5 inches and is used only for ornamental purpose. The Ventral fins are elongated into feeler like threads.  They are air-breathing and very hardy fish and can tolerate wide range of water quality like temperature 22-28 °C, pH 5.5-7.5 and hardness up to 15 dGH. Keep them in a planted community aquarium with many plants including floating varieties. They are omnivorous and  take live, flake, frozen as well as vegetable based food. The males are larger and brightly colour and can be identified by his longer and more pointed dorsal and anal fins.  They are bubble nest breeder and so provide slow aeration and water flow that should not damage the delicate bubble nest. Provide hiding places for the female. There are further several color variants of the honey gourami.  Life span approximately 4 years.