Paradise Fish:
COMMON NAME(S):
•   Paradise Fish
•   Black Paradise Fish
•   Chinese Paradise Fish

LATIN NAME:
•   Macropodus opercularis
•   Macropodus concolor: Black Paradise Fish
•   Macropodus chinensis: Chinese Paradise Fish

pH:
•   6.8-7.2

WATER TEMP:
•   68-80 deg. F.  But can also do well in somewhat lower temperatures making them popular for some outdoor ponds.

AVG. MAX. SIZE:
•   6 inches  / 12 cm.

MINIMUM RECOMMENDED TANK SIZE:
•   Do not place in tanks smaller than 25 gallons, 40+ gallons is preferred.

BREEDING:
•   Egg-layers

FEEDING:
•   Mainly Flake

NOTE:
•   Labyrinth species, similar to the Betta I do not recommend you keep more than one male at a time.

LIGHTING:
•   Bright, but not direct sunlight.

TEMPERAMENT:
•   Peaceful by themselves, However DO NOT attempt to keep more than one male in any one tank at a time, They will also go after slower fishes like Angels.

COMMENTS:
•   Paradise fish , as the name suggests, is a very colorful fish. The main colors are reddish brown and metallic blue. The body has vertical red bars. And on the operculum, there is a round blue green dot. Though small, they can be aggressive and aren't recommended companions of other slow moving fish such as Angelfish.

•   Paradise fish is a robust fish and fairy easy to keep. It tolerates fairly wide variations in water qualities as well as temperature fluctuations. They have the amazing ability to survive long periods without food. They thrive well in a garden pond as well as in the confined spaces of a glass bottle, just like Bettas. As they have a supplementary respiratory organ called the labyrinth organ, it can even survive for quite a while in environments poor in oxygen. When packing this fish care must be taken not to introduce too high a concentration of oxygen , otherwise their respiratory organs will be burnt.

•   Young Paradise fish may be kept together, but like Bettas, males will fiercely fight to the death if kept together. A male may also mistake fish such as Gouramies or Bettas as its own, and attack it viciously.

•   The aquarium should be at least 20 gallons and contain some hardy plants. An albino variety of the Paradise fish is also available. Adults fight in the same fashion as cichlids, locking their jaws or by biting the opponent's flanks.

•   Males have much longer fins and are more brightly colored. At breeding time, the pair will build a bubble nest beneath floating plants. Spawning is triggered by raising the water temperature and lowering the water level, symbolizing the summertime. A healthy nest will contain up to 500 fry.