Coloration is highly variable, ranging from pale brown and green to dark purple with black or red spots on the fins.

They are native to stillwater habitats including ponds, canals and paddy fields in Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Malaya, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

[4] A breeding population is known to exist in a series of drainage ditches in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, almost certainly introduced there through the aquarium industry.

[5] As their name suggests, croaking gouramis are capable of producing an audible grunting or chirping noise, accomplished through the use of specialized adaptations of their pectoral fins.

A typical showdown between males consists of each fish circling the other, flaring fins, aggressively darting (though rarely making contact), and producing croaking noises.

They require a tank no smaller than 40 litres (10 US gallons), preferably larger, and each pair of males will need about 20 inches of space to feel comfortable with one another.

Croaking gouramis will prowl about all areas of the aquarium, preferring to lurk among reeds and under large leaves close to the water surface.

Like all members of the suborder Anabantoidei, the croaking gourami can breathe atmospheric oxygen from above the water surface using a specialized labyrinth organ if necessary.

Occasional feedings of live brine shrimp offer the aquarist an opportunity to observe the natural hunting behaviour of croaking gouramis.

The male croaking gourami is a bubblenest builder, creating a small nest from air bubbles and mucus under a leaf.