Aquarium Forums UK

On recent visit at my local independent Lfs I saw some stunning dark blue electric blue fish.I was told these were paradise fish.After doing some research it seems these are best kept on their own and are not community fish?.Any further advice would be welcome.
Thks.

Think of them like Siamese Fighters. Not as bad with each other but can be just as bad towards other fish. One male per two-plus females. They need space, and will be aggressive towards similar looking fish, and fish at the top, and often smaller fish. Fast active fish and bottom dwellers are usually not bothered. Space is the key.

Also prefer lower temps as they are temperate fish not tropical ( 10*C - 22*C range )

I’ve kept them before and they were hell in a community temperate tank, in the end it was one paradise fish left and nothing else. Treat them like a betta and you’ll be fine. They are jumpers, bubble nest builders and aren’t a fan of fast flowing water.

black ghost wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:25 am Think of them like Siamese Fighters. Not as bad with each other but can be just as bad towards other fish. One male per two-plus females. They need space, and will be aggressive towards similar looking fish, and fish at the top, and often smaller fish. Fast active fish and bottom dwellers are usually not bothered. Space is the key.

Could be an excuse for another tank!

I kept them right near the start of my fishy journey about 50 years ago. Beautiful fish but went into the “never again” category. That was in a community tank though, which isn’t a great environment for an antisocial fish. To enjoy them, keep them on their own as a pair or trio in a decent sized tank with lots of floating plants. About 70 degrees-ish. Some Peppered Cories below them maybe. In a three foot tank you could even have two pairs. Each male will claim a floating plant as it’s territory…

Paradise fish are of the family Osphronemidae (Gouramies) and are bubble-nest builders as like other gourami.
Depending on the actual species of Paradise fish some prefer the tank water temperature cool (around 16C) and others are more tropical (24C).
The species you have described is probably Macropodus Opercularis which will grow to between 3 to 4 inches and prefers cool water temperatures between 16C & 26C but best (long-term) towards the lower end, 20/21C is a good compromise.
They also prefer some water hardness (5dGH minimum) and well suited to hard water.

All the best

I’m imagining two big floating Indian Ferns slowly converging on each other, their resident paradise fish getting ready for war. For some reason it reminds me of Monty Python’s pirate ship coming down the high street.

black ghost wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:44 pm I kept them right near the start of my fishy journey about 50 years ago.

I’ve been keeping fish for over 40 years but never come across them before.In them days there wasn’t the choice that we have today. Maybe then I stuck to the easier stuff .Really makes me think about a paradise tank.

Moby wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 15:45 pm

black ghost wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:44 pm I kept them right near the start of my fishy journey about 50 years ago.

I’ve been keeping fish for over 40 years but never come across them before.In them days there wasn’t the choice that we have today. Maybe then I stuck to the easier stuff .Really makes me think about a paradise tank.

They’re an old species, not a new one. You must have just missed them. They were the very first ‘tropical’ fish to be imported into Europe, and in the early 70s every shop still sold them. Strange the difference a few years and an influx of more species can make. Fish come in and out of circulation. Not surprising though as the Paradise Fish was never suitable for a crowded community tank, which most people had back then.

I kept them in the 1960s as well, they tend to start on the eyes of other fish, even bigger ones, but proved to basically be piscivores anyway, despite taking other food readily.
The warmer you keep them, the worse they are in my experience.