Can be diagnosed from other members of the Betta splendens group by having the following combination of characters: dark-brown to black body; black opercle with two parallel reddish vertical bars; red patches on dark brown to black opercular membrane; caudal fin rays with distal red crescent and thin black edge; no dark transverse bars on caudal fin; distal half of posterior anal fin rays red with a small red patch at distal tip; black and red from proximal pelvic fin base to the white tip (Ref. 93122).