Macropodus erythropterus

31. January 2025

The paradise fish (Macropodus) can be roughly divided into three groups: the black paradise fish with the described species M. hongkongensis, M. erythropterus, M. lineatus, M. minnanensis, M. oligolepis, M. phongnhaensis, M. spechti, M. tramiensis and M. yeni, the blue-red paradise fish with the described species M. baviensis, M. chinensis, M. filamentosus, M. opercularis and M. venustus and the round-tailed paradise fish M. ocellatus. As all the species described, with the exception of the round-tailed paradise fish, differ only in color and therefore cannot be satisfactorily distinguished in many cases, most of them are only listed as synonyms. This was also the case at times with red-backed paradise fish (M. erythropterus) from Vietnam. It was described from the province of Quang Binh and occasionally synonymized with M. spechti due to its great morphological similarity to the black paradise fish (M. spechti), which also originates from Vietnam (Hue area, central Vietnam).

This beautiful paradise fish has been a little quiet of late. We have now once again received offspring of the species, which clearly show why M. erythropterus has been given the name “red-backed paradise fish” and undoubtedly represents a species of its own: the dorsal area is brown-red even in neutrally tuned animals and becomes bright rust-red in excited animals. This is never the case in „regular“ Black Paradise fish (see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/25-perchlike-fishes/macropodus-spechti-2/)

For our customers: the animals have code 426063 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Common name: Red-backed Paradise fish

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer