''Betta siamorientalis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

. It is a

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

native to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, where it occurs in shallow

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

, grass fields, and

paddy fields A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Aust ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. It is typically found in still, vegetated environments at the water's edge and is known to use aquatic plants as shelter for building and guarding bubble nests. It is known to occur alongside the species ''

Anabas testudineus The climbing perch (''Anabas testudineus'') is a species of amphibious freshwater fish in the family Anabantidae (the climbing gouramis). A labyrinth fish native to Far Eastern Asia, the fish inhabits freshwater systems from Pakistan, India, ...

'', '' Lepidocephalichthys hasselti'', '' Macrognathus siamensis'', ''

Monopterus albus The Asian swamp eel (''Monopterus albus''), also known as rice eel, ricefield eel, or rice paddy eel, is a commercially important, air-breathing species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It occurs in East and Southeast Asia, where it is a ver ...

'', ''

Pangio anguillaris ''Pangio anguillaris'' is a species of loach found in still and slow-moving freshwater in Indochina (Mekong and Chao Phraya basins), Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. This is a slender fish (the specific name means "eel-like") measuring up t ...

'', '' Trichopodus trichopterus'', ''

Trichopsis pumila The pygmy gourami (''Trichopsis pumila''), also known as the sparkling gourami, is a freshwater species of gourami native to Southeast Asia. Description Pygmy gouramis can reach a length of SL. In color, they sparkle with red, green, and blu ...

'', ''

Trichopsis schalleri The threestripe gourami (''Trichopsis schalleri''), also known as the Mekong croaking gourami, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the subfamily Macropodusinae which is part of the gourami Family (biology), family Osphronemidae. It is ...

'', and ''

Trichopsis vittata The croaking gourami (''Trichopsis vittata'') is a species of small freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami family. They are native to still waters in Southeast Asia and are distributed worldwide via the aquarium trade. Croaking gouramis are c ...

''. The species reaches 3.6 cm (1.4 inches) in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

and is known to be a facultative air-breather.

References

Species described in 2012 Osphronemidae Freshwater fish of Asia Fish of Thailand Fish of Cambodia {{fish-stub