Paradise fish

From Freepedia

Image:Paradise fish female and male 02.jpg

Paradise fish (or paradise gouramis), are small freshwater fish found in ditches and paddy fields in south-east Asia.

Paradise gouramis were one of the first tropical fish available to western aquarium keepers, having been imported to Europe as early as the 1600s. These small fish (adults are typically about 3" (7.5 cm)) are ideal lone inhabitants of aquariums, being physically robust, somewhat colorful and more alert/behaviorally interesting than goldfish. They are, however, fairly combative, harassing and attacking each other as well as potentially killing small fish. 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 pugnacious) species of fish have become widely available to hobbyists.

Paradise gouramis are tolerant of virtually any water conditions, surviving in cool and warm waters alike. They can be kept in outdoor ponds, or even the simplest of unheated aquariums. They will accept virtually any food, but should be given a reasonably high-protein diet (as opposed to vegetable-based foods of the sort sold for goldfish.)

As is typical of most bettas (Siamese fighting fish) and gouramis, spawning involves a male building a bubble nest (a floating mat of mucus-coated air bubbles, often incorporating plant matter) and attracting a female to it. If the female accept 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 has no further use for the female and may violently attack her (and any other fish that approaches the nest.) Once the fry hatch and have begun to swim freely, the male is best removed and the fry raised on infusoria or newly hatched brine shrimp.