Paradisefish (Macropodus opercularis)

Common Name:

Paradisefish.

Scientific Name:

Macropodus opercularis.

Other Names:

Paradise Gourami.

Family:

Osphronemidae (subfamily Macropodinae).

Distribution:

China, especially the Yangtze River Basin, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Hainan Island.

Size:

Approx 4 inches for males, a little less for females.

Diet:

Small aquatic animals (worms, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae).

Water Temperature:

62 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 26 degrees Celsius).

Water Chemistry:

This is unimportant as these fish are very rarely wild-caught for the hobby and have been bred for generations.

pH:

They will adapt to most pHs but should be slowly acclimated to pHs outside the 6.0 to 8.0 range.

Life Span:

Robin Rhudy says 3-8 years, but agrees that the life span of paradisefish is still largely unknown. I cannot find another reference on this subject.

Description:

These fish are a beautiful blue with tangerine orange stripes. The males are blessed with long fin extensions. They are more elongated than the typical gourami, but taller than the typical Betta. Most are sold at about 1.5 inches, but they can easily reach 2.5 inches and may be able to hit 4 inches.

Albinos are white (as can be expected) with the same blue coloration on the fins. The tangerine orange of the fish is often completely gone, but vestiges remain as a pinkish red, which shows up below the lateral line and behind the gills, as well as on the fins.

Species Behaviour:

These are not timid fish! They will hold their own against anything that doesn't swallow them whole and may be the terror of a community tank.

Be this as it may, the paradisefish will likely be injured by any cichlid that is convict size or larger, any fish that is larger than it and aggressive, or fin-nippers.

In ponds, these will nip the fins of goldfish (as well as generally bully them). It is not a good idea to mix the two species.

Sexing:

Males are usually larger and more colourful than females. They will also have longer fin extensions (unless the females are from strains where they, too, have long fins or the males are from short-finned strains).

Breeding:

Breeding occurs in much the same way as breeding for Betta splendens and any of its bubble nesting congeners. The temperatures may be much lower for paradisefish breeding, however, and breeding has been recorded in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (though this makes for some problems with the morphology of the fry) and above 75.

Natural Conditions:

Almost any condition within the lowlands of their range will be sufficient for paradisefish. They do well when colonizing low-oxygen waters, mainly because they are among the few fish which can thrive in such adverse conditions.

Minimum recommended tank size:

29 gallons, but a community of timid fishes may need to be 50-75 gallons or more in order to incorporate a paradisefish.

Feeding:

They'll eat almost anything that moves and can be swallowed. Many commercially available foods are apropos for Paradisefish. I'd recommend some of the foods earmarked for Betta splendens, but I'd make sure to mix those in with commercially available "generalized" foods and with some livefoods as well. In ponds, they may not need to be given livefoods, but supplemental feedings of prepared foods should still take place.

Miscellaneous:

This was the first "tropical" fish exported to Europe, and was the king of tropical fish for many years. Many of the artificial variants developed during this time are lost to the aquarium hobby, but some still remain. The "wild-type" morph is the most commonly available one, and it is beautiful enough for most hobbyists, including those who often search for the new and unusual morphs.