Paradise fish
Macropodus opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis) is a bony fish in the family Osphronemidae and the order Anabantiformes. It belongs to the genus Macropodus in the subfamily Macropodusinae and the suborder Anabantoidei.
Quick facts about the paradise fish
The species was named by (Linnaeus, 1758). The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 5.5 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the paradise fish?
Photos of the paradise fish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the paradise fish live?
Not recorded
What is the paradise fish?
The fork-tailed paradisefish, or paradise gourami (often simply known as paradise fish, paradise-fish, or paradisefish [Macropodus opercularis]), is a species of pelagic, long-finned, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the family Osphronemidae, found in most fresh waters of East Asia ranging from eastern China south to northern Vietnam. This anabantiform fish can reach a standard length of 6.7 cm (2+5⁄8 in), though most are only about 5.5 cm (2+3⁄16 in).
Paradise fish were the second Chinese ornamental fish introduced to the West after the goldfish, and the first freshwater tropical fish successfully bred in captivity in Europe, 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Paradise fish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paradise_fish&oldid=1378977531), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the paradise fish endangered?
The paradise fish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the paradise fish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderAnabantiformes
- familyOsphronemidae
- genusMacropodus
- SpeciesMacropodus opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Chaetodon chinensis, Labrus opercularis, Macropodus chinensis, Macropodus ctenopsoides, Macropodus filamentosus, Macropodus opercularis opercularis, Macropodus venustus, Macropodus viridiauratus
Other names and names in other languages (59)
- Apricot paradisefishEnglish
- Blue paradise gouramiEnglish
- Blue paradisefishEnglish
- Chinese fighting fishEnglish
- Fork tailed paradisefishEnglish
- Forktail fightingfishEnglish
- Paradise gouramiEnglish
- ParadysvisAfrikaans
- سمك الجنةArabic
- Cənnət balığıAzerbaijani
- Macropodus opercularisCatalan
- 盖斑斗鱼Chinese
- rájovec dlouhoploutvýCzech
- ParadisfiskDanish
- Almindelig MakropodeDanish
- Rundhalet paradisfiskDanish
- MacropodeGerman
- GabelschwanzmakropodeGerman
- GroßflosserGerman
- MakropodeGerman
- ParadiesfischGerman
- Pez del paraísoSpanish
- ماهی بهشتیPersian
- ParatiisikalaFinnish
- KiinanparatiisikalaFinnish
- MustaparatiisikalaFinnish
- Poisson-paradisFrench
- Kínai paradicsomhalHungarian
- Pesce del paradisoItalian
- チョウセンブナJapanese
- タイワンキンギョJapanese
- Taiwan-kingyoJapanese
- 버들붕어Korean
- 대만버들붕어Korean
- Paprastasis makropodasLithuanian
- ParadijsvisDutch
- Wielkopletw wspanialyPolish
- Wielkopłetw wspaniałyPolish
- Peixe-paraíso-comumPortuguese
- макроподRussian
- Обыкновенный макроподRussian
- Rajovec dlhoplutvýSlovak
- MakropodSwedish
- ปลาพาราไดซ์Thai
- Cennet balığıTurkish
- Райська рибкаUkrainian
- Макропод звичайнийUkrainian
- Cá lia thiaVietnamese
- Fa sau gunCantonese
- Tin tong ueCantonese
- Tong kam peiCantonese
- Tsung gok dau ueCantonese
- 黑鬥魚Chinese
- 三斑菩薩魚Chinese
- 叉尾斗鱼Chinese
- 叉尾鬥魚Chinese
- 圓尾鬥魚Chinese
- 臺灣鬥魚Chinese
- 蓋斑鬥魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the paradise fish
Other species in the same genus Macropodus.
Roundtail paradisefish
Macropodus ocellatus
Red-backed paradisefish
Macropodus erythropterus
Black paradise fish
Macropodus spechti
Hong Kong paradise fish
Macropodus hongkongensis
CompareParadise fish vs Roundtail paradisefishParadise fish vs Red-backed paradisefishParadise fish vs Black paradise fishParadise fish vs Hong Kong paradise fish
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the paradise fish?
The paradise fish is a bony fish in the family Osphronemidae, order Anabantiformes.
What is the scientific name of the paradise fish?
Its scientific name is Macropodus opercularis.
Who named the paradise fish and when?
The species was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Is the paradise fish endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the paradise fish have?
It is also called Paradise gourami, Blue paradisefish, Apricot paradisefish, Chinese fighting fish and Forktail fightingfish.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/paradise-fish
“Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/paradise-fish.
@misc{paradise_fish_2026,
title = {Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/paradise-fish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}