Paradise Fish

[Endgame319]

My local pet smart is has a lone paradise fish in a tank that has been there quite a while (over a month). And since I go there every week for puppy training lessons, I think I will pick him if if he is still there next time I go. I hear they are labyrinth fish and like their water a little colder than most tropicals. Perfect for my computer desk! What is the minimum size tank/bowl do you reccomend for him, I wouldn't have a filter in it, but I would do complete water changes every few days. Right now he is about 1-2'', how big are they full grown?

 

[AdamsZoological]

Paradise fish are kinda testy. I wouldnt recommend a bowl, for the simple fact that they get too large. Most of them will get to about 3", sometimes as large as 4", but rarely. If you were going to devote yourself to water changes every few days, I'd say you could do a pair in approx. 5 gallons, be careful what you mix them with, however, Paradise Fish can be surprisingly aggressive.

 

[patryuji]

Depends on the species but from a previous recent thread I believe you can expect it to grow to be 3" on average. Some require the company of buddies but other species don't.

Probably could get away with a 5gallon tank but I don't have a paradise fish or any direct knowledge...just hearsay from another thread I was reading.

 

[AdamsZoological]

Pretty accurate info patryuji

 

[tkos]

I agree that a minimum of 5 gallon would be best. But yes, you can get away without a heater, assuming things don't get much lower than 65F or so at night. Live plants will also help things if you don't opt for a filter.

 

[ferret]

These are cousins to gouramis (Actually a lot of stores simply call them paradise gouramis). Based on my own experiences, they will leave Blue gouramis (Including gold morph) alone, but take a disliking for dwarf gouramis, which have a similar pattern.

Otherwise I've seen no aggression exhibited against other fish in my tank. Despite having somewhat long fins, barbs have left it alone as well.

 

[AdamsZoological]

The last time I had those guys, there was 4 of them in a tank, with 3 Serpaes, and an African Butterfly. They did a job on the Serpaes in no time, and were constantly harrasing the Butterfly. They kept at him for about 4 weeks, until he returned the favor, and decided it was time to get rid of the Paradise fish. After that, I've only kept paradise fish with, as ferret said, Blue and Gold Gouramis, they seem to co-habitate with them very well.

 

[malkore]

I've got three blue paradise on order, should be here tomorrow. Never seen a live one, but they'll go nicely in my 75gallon.

 

[Christmasfish]

Round tail paradise gourami (grey/cream with blue)and the common paradise gourami (colored like dwarf...red/blue stripe)both can be in unheated aquariums.

Wild species tolerate seasonal drops into 0. Tame bred specimins are a little less hardy that THAT having been bred in the warm climates of Malaysia and Thailand by betta mass-breeders.
Black paradise however need a heated tank.
Chibsi gourami don't mind a lack of heat but are super shy and I super sensetive to all other factors. I haven't seen any since I was a kid. i think they are a Ctenops species.They may be gonzo now.
Croaking Gourami don't mind unheated tanks either (I heat mine for coloration)
paradise coraking gourami and dwarf croakng gourami do neeed heat. They are on a larger size. 3 would be a max at 5 gal.And they make NOISE! like spring peepers!

 

[AdamsZoological]

lol gotta love fish that talk back. I just about dropped when I grabbed a pictus cat out of one of my tanks a few years ago, and the thing started making these wierd noises at me. Interesting stuff

 

[tastybrains]

Be careful with paradise fish -- they will try to jump if they don't like their environment. Make sure the container has a lid. I once tried to keep one in a bowl temporarily and it would literally try to jump about every 15 seconds. *thud* ... *thud* ... *thud* ...

 

[Christmasfish]

Oo! After another post I thought about his one...species names are a must becuase many common names have changed since I herad them bandied about!
Croaking gourami are trichopis

Plain croakers are vittatus
Paradise croakers shalleri (sp)
And Dwarf croaking are pumilus

I always remembered because..the pretty paradise was "shall I?"
the little one was "don't pummel us!"
and the biggest was "vital us"

kids have whacky ways to memorize stuff. I was a kid. The dwarf was still like2-3inches

 

[AdamsZoological]

Very good point to make, although the common names arent the only ones that are always changing. The latin names are changing quite often on some species as well, I think the taxonomists get bored from time to time. Just as an example, I'll use Wolf Cichlids, in recent history, they gone from Cichlsoma dovii, Caqueita dovii, Nandopsis dovii, Parapetenia dovii, and now Parachromis dovii...fun stuff