This is a new line-bred strain of Macropodus. It is probably Macropodus spechti but may be a hybrid; the origins of this color form are unclear.

This line is selectively bred for blue body color and extreme fin extensions. Both sexes show an iridescent blue color even when young; the males develop a very dramatic lyretail with long fin extensions when mature. In my experience these fish are less aggressive than commonly-kept wild type Macropodus; I have a group of six adults in a 25-gallon tank and there is only a tiny bit of fin damage. Nevertheless they may attack other gourami-shaped fish and are probably best kept singly or in a larger group to spread out aggression.

This auction is for six half-grown young, showing full blue color. The males are just now starting to show trailing fins -- I'll try to include both sexes in the bag but I'm not positive about sexing.

Paradisefish are very easy to breed! If you want to try breeding bettas but don't want to mess with live and microfoods this is the fish for you.