Macropodus opercularis
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Osphronemidae (Gouramis)
Macropodus
Macropodus opercularis
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: short and / or deep. Caudal fin forked, both lobes elongate in males (Ref. 559), with filamentous extension in each lobe (Ref. 43281); lower margin of preorbital sharply serrated (Ref. 559); conspicuous dark brown opercular spot with whitish posterior margin (margin red in life); body with 7-11 bold, dark bars on pale yellowish background in preserved specimens (blue bars on reddish background in life); dark stripe crossing eye connecting opercular spot with eye; top of head and predorsal body with dark spots; posterior tip or margin of scales on body not darker than scales (Ref. 42924). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Asia: China, from Yangtze basin to the south, on Hainan Island, in Taiwan, north Viet Nam; introduced to the tropical and subtropical world (Ref. 42924). Very popular with aquarists and has been widely transported around the world.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish. pelagic. Found in: streams, mangroves.
Biology
Adults inhabit any kind of lowland habitats from heterogeneous structured margins or backwaters of large rivers to small streams and irrigation channels on farmland (Ref. 42924). Can colonize stagnant water bodies with very low oxygen content (air breather). Found in streams, paddy fields and ditches (Ref. 5258). Feed on small aquatic animals including small fish. First ornamental fish to be brought to Europe (France 1869, Germany 1876) after the goldfish (Ref. 13371). Males will fight each other (Ref. 1672). Aquarium keeping: minimum aquarium size 80 cm (Ref. 51539).
Max length: 6.7 cm SL; common length: 5.5 cm TL; max weight: 5 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (nesters). The species is a bubble-nest builder; the male swims to the surface, draws a little air into his mouth and envelops it in a film of saliva thereby forming bubbles; upon building the nest, the male drives the female towards it; female spawns then male follows; male picks up the fertilized eggs in his mouth and pushes one by one into each bubble of the nest; male guards eggs until hatching (Ref. 5258). Produces up to 500 eggs (Ref. 1672).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-09-02. Resilience: High (tm<1; Fec=100-500 times 6-12 spawning events).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial.
References
Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino (1984) The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 p. (text).
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991) World fishes important to North Americans. Exclusive of species from the continental waters of the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (21):243 p.
Man, S.H. and I.J. Hodgkiss (1981) Hong Kong freshwater fishes. Urban Council, Wishing Printing Company, Hong Kong, 75 p.
Balon, E.K. (1990) Epigenesis of an epigeneticist: the development of some alternative concepts on the early ontogeny and evolution of fishes. Guelph Ichthyol. Rev. 1:1-48.
Freyhof, J. and F. Herder (2002) Review of the paradise fishes of the genus Macropodus in Vietnam, with description of two species from Vietnam and southern China (Perciformes: Osphronemidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 13(2):147-167.
Kottelat, M. (2001) Fishes of Laos. WHT Publications Ltd., Colombo 5, Sri Lanka. 198 p.
Comments On Macropodus opercularis