It has so far been found only in a very small area near Hopong east of Inle Lake, at an altitude of over 1,000 m (3,400 ft).
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The (unfounded) concern over the wild populations led British fishkeeping magazine Practical Fishkeeping to request that only aquarists prepared to breed the fish should buy any fish they see for sale, to reduce pressure on the wild stocks by diminishing the demand for them in the UK.