They are usually found in slackwater environments, among dense aquatic vegetation and leaf litter, where they feed mainly on tiny insects, crustaceans, and worms.

Males require a region of dense living or artificial rooted aquatic plants to claim as territory to woo females in to spawn.

The males spend their time patrolling around their territories and dancing to catch the females' attention.

When dancing, they wiggle their dorsal, anal, and caudal fins to show off their bright blue iridescence.

After the pause, they continue dancing again, often moving up and down in their eagerness to woo the female into their respective clumps of dense plants.