Ornate paradisefish
| Ornate paradisefish | |
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| Genus: | Malpulutta Deraniyagala, 1937
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| Species: | M. kretseri
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| Binomial name | |
| Malpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937
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The ornate paradisefish or spotted gourami (Malpulutta kretseri) is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. 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, fish fry, and the larvae of insects. They can reach a length of 4 cm (1.6 in), though most are only around 2 cm (0.79 in). This species can also occasionally be found in the aquarium trade,[2] where it is reportedly exceedingly shy.
References
- ^ Pethiyagoda, R. 1996. Malpulutta kretseri. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Downloaded on 25 March 2014.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Malpulutta kretseri". FishBase. February 2014 version.
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