The ornate paradisefish (''Malpulutta kretseri'') or spotted gourami, is a species of

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is the only recognized species in its genus. It inhabits shallow, slow-flowing streams in forested areas shaded with plentiful vegetation near the edges and a substrate covered by leaf litter. It is a carnivore, preying on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cr ...

, fish fry, and the larvae of insects. They can reach a length of , though most are only around . This species can also occasionally be found in the aquarium trade, where it is reportedly exceedingly shy. The specific name of this fish honours the Sri Lankan lawyer and judge Oswald Leslie De Kretser II.

References

ornate paradisefish Freshwater fish of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka ornate paradisefish Taxa named by Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Anabantiformes-stub