The kissing habit of this gourami is not a sign of affection between male and female, but a trial strength between two males, and forms part of courtship ritual as they try to impress a suitable female. These gouramis are very useful in the aquarium because they will pick away at algae, taking it off plant leaves without damaging them. There are two colour form of this species, the green is considered the wild form and pink, the aquarium form.

Medium-sized Gourami with olive-greenish colour with faint transverse stripes on its sides. The snakeskin gourami can also produce ‘cracking’ noises, especially during breeding or territorial exchanges. Compared to other gourami species, the snakeskin gourami is less frequently sold as aquarium fish but is more commonly used as food fish in their native lands, like tom yum in Thailand. In Indonesia, especially Borneo, we usually make dried-salty-gourami or we call it as "Sepat Asin".