Pseudosphromenus dayi

Pseudosphromenus dayi
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anabantiformes
Family:	Osphronemidae
Genus:	Pseudosphromenus
Species:	P. dayi
Binomial name
Pseudosphromenus dayi (Köhler, 1908)
Red:extant, Light red: possibly extant
Synonyms[2]
Macropodus dayi (Köhler, 1908) Parosphromenus dayi (Köhler, 1908) Polyacanthus dayi Köhler, 1908

Pseudosphromenus dayi or Indian spiketail betta is a species of freshwater ray finned fish from the subfamily Macropodusinae, part of the gourami family Osphronemidae. It occurs in Kerala on both the coastal regions and the Western Ghats.^[1] It is a species of still or slow flowing waters, especially lakes, ditches and swamps^[2] in both fresh and brackish waters. Pseudosphromenus dayi is a bubble nester, the male creates a nest made of bubbles under an overhang or a leaf. The females lays eggs which drop to the substrate and are picked up by both fishes in the pair and placed in the bubble nest.^[1] The name Polyacanthus cupanus dayi was first published in 1908 by Köhler in 1908 but Catalog of Fishes refers to this as a nomen nudum and attributes the valid use of the name, with a formal description, to P. Engmann in 1909. The type locality is given as Malacca which is probably an error and should be Kerala.^[3] The specific name honors the British ichthyologist and author of the Fishes of India, Francis Day (1830–1889).^[4]