Fork tailed paradisefish, Paradise-fish, Paradisefish, Paradise gourami
The fork tailed paradisefish (often just called paradise fish, paradise-fish, paradisefish), or paradise gourami (Macropodus opercularis) is a species of gourami found in most types of fresh water in East Asia, ranging from the Korean Peninsula to northern Vietnam. This species can reach a standard length of.mw-parser-output.frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output.frac.num,.mw-parser-output.frac.den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output.frac.den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output.sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6.7 cm (2+5⁄8 in), though most are only about 5.5 cm (2+3⁄16 in).Paradise gouramis were one of the first ornamental fish available to western aquarium keepers, having been imported 1869 to France by the French aquarium fish importer Pierre Carbonnier in Paris. The paradise fish is one of the more aggressive members of its family. It is more aggressive than the three spot gourami, yet less pugnacious in nature than the less commonly kept combtail.
Paradise fish are tolerant of a wide range of water conditions, surviving in cool and warm waters alike. In the wild, they are most commonly found in shallow water containing dense vegetation, such as a marsh or rice field.However they can be kept in outdoor ponds, or even the simplest of unheated aquaria. They will accept virtually any food, but should be given a reasonably high-protein diet (as opposed to vegetable-based foods.) They also eat mosquito larvae, black worms, brine shrimp, and small flies.
Paradise fish are fairly combative, harassing and attacking each other, as well as potentially assaulting and killing small fish. During a fight, the paradise fish will often change its color, usually displaying dark blue lateral lines on the sides of their bodies; extend its fins; and spread out its operculum. Paradise fish are more likely to show aggressive behavior towards other paradise fish than to fish of a different species. Acts of aggression tend to increase as the distance to the fish's home in Asia increases. In the wild, they are predators, eating insects, invertebrates, and fish fry. The popularity of this species has waned in recent decades as much more colorful (and often less abusive) species of gouramis have become widely available to hobbyists. This species is one of the few fish that can change its color (lighter or darker) in response to stimuli. It also appears that paradise fish are capable of learning through a type of restrictive process. Most forms of active teaching seem to hinder the paradise fish's ability to learn the movements of its owner via careful observation.
As is typical of most bettas and gouramis, spawning involves a male building a bubble nest (a floating mat of saliva-coated air bubbles, often incorporating plant matter) 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 male may violently attack his mate or any other fish that might approach the new fertilized eggs or hatched fry, which are both a common source of food in the natural habitat. A breeder usually chooses to move the female to a separate tank to improve the chances of survival of both the female and the hatched fry. After the fry have begun to swim freely, the male's protective behavior subsides, so the breeder removes the male for the protection of the fry, and they are raised on infusoria or newly hatched brine shrimp.
An albino form of Macropodus opercularis is available. Many aquarists consider this form to be less aggressive than the wild type, but also less hardy, having more trouble with low temperatures.
