Paradise Fish Question

[bubble_nester]

Hi,
I purchased a female Paradise Fish at our LFS yesterday, and would like some advice. I have been keeping Bettas for quite some time, but am new to Paradise Fish. Our LFS has been having trouble with Bettas infected with internal parasites, so I decided to go another route this time.

Anyway, I have "Fran" in a 2.5 gallon Mini-Bow for the time being, with a PennPlax filter set on low filtration and a submersible heater set at 76 degrees, and some decorations that she can investigate. I've read on various sites that Paradise fish require "at least 20 gallons" to live comfortably. I assumed that these sites were referring to community tanks, but it has me wondering. Fran is about 2.5" long right now, so she's not quite fully grown. Will she be okay in the smaller tank until I can upgrade to something larger? My intent was to find a 4 gallon (hard to come by) or 5 gallon, but several sources make it sound as though I need a gigantic (20+ gallon) tank to house a single Paradise Fish. Surely not?

Thanks much.

 

[theeyrietrainer]

well, i too think that the +20 gallon tank thing for paradise was meant for community tanks, well, i keep a pair in a 5 gallon, but thats cause im planning to breed them. a 5 gallon for only 1 paradise fish sounds reasonable but if your getting a pair, id think you need anything higher than a 10 gallon, cause they'll chase each other too much! thus, harassment = stress = disease

 

[Fruitbat]

Paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis , do NOT need 20 gallons per fish to be happy. In fact I've had great success in the past raising and breeding them in 10 gallon tanks. A couple of things you need to be aware of, however:

1) M. opercularis has a tendency to be quite aggressive. Two males, like their cousins the Betta species, will often fight...occasionally to the death. Paradise fish will also shred the fins of almost any long-finned fish you put in with them. Overall...Paradise Fish are tough customers!

2) Paradise Fish, like other Anabantoids, have an auxiliary breathing apparatus called a labyrinth organ that allows them to breath atmospheric air. They can survive a wide range of temperature and water conditions as well.

3) Did I mention that they are aggressive?? Well...I'll mention it again!

 

[bubble_nester]

Thanks. I would never keep either a Betta or a Paradise with other fish; just courting disaster! But I was curious about the tank requirements. 20 or 30 gallons for a single 3" fish seemed a little extreme!