Photo: Daniella Vereeken, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paradise fish
Macropodus opercularis
8 cm
Adult size
90 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
8 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Macropodus
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
The paradise fish is one of the very first ornamental fish imported to Europe: a French soldier, Gérault, brought back about a hundred in 1869, of which 22 survived and were bred the same year in Paris by Pierre Carbonnier. The male builds a bubble nest.
- Scientific name
- Macropodus opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Classification
- Anabantiformes › Osphronemidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
China south of the Yangtze (with Taiwan and Hainan), northern and central Vietnam, north-eastern Laos; introduced to many countries
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
Very adaptable, it lives in all kinds of lowland habitats: streams, oxbows, pools, irrigation canals, rice paddies and reservoirs, sometimes hill streams. It is an obligate air breather and colonises still water very poor in oxygen.
Behaviour
Avoid fish of the same shape, but it lives with peaceful shoaling species with similar needs. Males aggressively defend a territory, especially when breeding: a single male unless the tank is very large, with two or more females. Small live or frozen prey (Daphnia, Artemia, white worms) and quality dry food. It tolerates cool water.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth