• Scientific name: Trichopodus microlepis
• Synonyms: Deschauenseeia chryseus, Osphromenus microlepis, Trichogaster microlepis, Trichopus parvipinnis
• Common name: Moonlight Gourami, Moonbeam Gourami
• Group: Labyrinth fishes
• Habitat: Asia; Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand also feral populations in Singapore and Colombia.
• Size: 15 cm
• Biotope: Inhabits in ponds and swamps, usually in shallow, still- or slow-moving water, with dense vegetation. It is also common in the floodplain of the lower Mekong.
• Social behavior: Peaceful fish, do not keep them with small fish as they may be eaten. Even under ideal conditions this is a fish that tends to be timid and hides behind vegetation. Males can be territorial during spawning.
• Diet: Omnivorous; quality flake or pellet foods, live and frozen foods.
• Breeding: Quite hard
• Tank: Minimum 100 litres
• Population: 1 pair for 120 litres
• Decoration: Heavy vegetation along the sides of the aquarium and open areas for swimming in the middle. Water flow should be minimal. Use floating plants to dim the lighting.
• Temperature: 25-30 °C
• pH: 6-7,5
• Hardness: 2-25 NK°
• Lifespan: 4-5 years

Description: Male: The base color of Moonlight Gourami is silvery with a blue or green shine, similar to the soft glow of moonlight. Their ventral fins are very long filaments, which are longer than in other gourami species. Also the concave slope of their head distinguishes it from other Gouramis. Like all labyrinth fish, Moonlight Gourami has a special organ that allows it to breathe air directly, so it is not unusual to see it go to the surface and gulp air. This ability allows them to survive in very low oxygen situations. Wild fish are rare in the hobby, they usually being mass-produced in the Far East and Eastern Europe. Moonlight Gourami is a food fish in Southeast Asia.

The male has orange or red pelvic fins, while the female has yellow. Males also have long pointed dorsal fin, while females have shorter and rounder. During spawning, in males, the orange thread-like ventral fins become red. The Moonlight gourami should be provided with a separate breeding tank which should be densley planted and contain some floating plants. Feeding the breeding pair live foods before attempting the breed them will increase your chances for success. Decrease the water level to 15-20 cm and slowly raise the temperature to 30 °C over a period of several days to trigger spawning. They are bubblenest builders, the male will construct a loose bubblenest amongst surface vegetation. Spawning takes place under the bubblenest and may last up to 2 hours. Spawning culminates in the male wrapping himself around the female. While in this embrace the male turns the female on to her back, which triggers her to release up to 2000 eggs. After spawning it is advisable to remove the female. Fry hatch in 1-2 days, and after additional 2 days they become free swimming. At this point the male can be also removed. The fry should be fed with very small live foods, or liquid fry food for 2 weeks. When they get larger, they can be fed with newly hatched brine shrimp. The fry are very sensitive to water changes, so it is not recommended to change water until they reach 1-2 cm in length.