Fishy Tales - Tales from an Aquarium

One of the first ornamental fishes available to western aquarium keepers, having been imported to Europe as early as the 1800s, the Paradise fish hails from the ditches and paddy fields in East Asia, ranging from the Korean Peninsula to Northern Vietnam.
These are remarkably hardy fish surviving in virtually any water conditions, thanks to their labyrinth organ, and need very little care making them very good for the novice. In the wild, they are predators, eating insects, invertebrates and fish fry - which is probably what leads to their rather aggressive attitude (I think I can attribute the disappearance of my neon tetras to my paradise fish). However, my paradise loves peas as well.
Male paradise fish should be kept apart, since, like the Siamese fighting fish, they will fight aggressively by locking jaws. However males can be kept together as juveniles, and with females when adults. Females however can be kept together in groups. Your tank should be well planted and, since they have a tendency to jump, covered. Unlike the Siamese fighting fish, these guys can move really fast, and have a habit of pacing back and forth through the aquarium. The first few times we saw it scooting around, we were sure the poor guys had gone bonkers.
Suitable tankmates include giant danios, large tetras, most smaller catfishes and even some of the less aggressive cichlids, such as firemouth cichlids. They can hold their own against most South American cichlid species of a similar size, that aren’t overly aggressive, such as the butterfly cichlids.
My paradise fish is perpetually after my rainbows and zebra danios, which have still not grown to their full size. Thankfully, they are way to fast for it. However, it is smart enough not to pick any fish which is its size or nearabouts even my Dwarf Gourami.
They are generally available in multiple colorations - the most commonly available one is blue with red stripes, then there are the red, blue, black, etc. and then there is its albino avtaar which is white with red stripes and startling red eyes.
As is typical of most bettas and gouramis, spawning involves a male building a bubble nest and attracting a female to it. If the female accepts the male’s advances, the fish will ‘embrace’ in open water, releasing both eggs and sperm into the water. The male gathers the fertilized eggs after each embrace, spitting them up into the bubble nest. After spawning, the female should be removed, as the male might attack her while protecting the eggs. Once the fry hatch and have begun to swim freely, the male is best removed and the fry raised on infusoria or newly hatched brine shrimp.

Fishy Facts
Common name: Paradise Fish, Paradise Gourami
Scientific name: Macropodus opercularis
Origin: Asia
Adult size: 2 to 4 inches
Social skills: Males cannot be put together. Do not keep with aggressive fish. These may also harass smaller fish.
Recommended Tank Size: 2.5 gallons in size for a single male or 20-25 gallons for a community tank
Tank setup: Planted. Like caves, etc.
Colors: Red, blue, white, black, and more
Diet; Live foods preferable. Quite happy with flake and freeze dried
Life span: Unknown, maybe 3 to 8 years
Care: Easy
Breeding - Egglayer - builds a bubblenest
Temperature: 60-70 F

Filed under: Fishes