I am new to this forum, but have kept a variety of fish for years. And, I have always been an avocational biologist and have two sons who are life science majors. As a result, there are usually a number of ongoing "experiments" in our house.
I want to discuss a couple of experiments we have performed with Blue Paradise Gouramis and why I think they are a "Superfish" among tropicals.
I have kept Paradise off and on for years and under some very bad conditions. For example, while in college, I kept five adults for two years in a bare five gallon tank without aeration or filtration (yes, I know, bad conditions) They thrived and were later moved to my father's outdoor pond, where they multiplied.
Here in the Phoenix area, it is very difficult to keep tropicals outside year long because of the range of temperatures -- 27 to 110 plus degrees.
I have read the historic accounts of Paradise being kept in Europe in cold conditions and wanted to test the hypothesis that Paradise could be year round tropicals in this climate.
So, step one, we set up a 20 gal tank on the back patio without any direct sun for 10 adults. They went through a full year cycle with water temperatures ranging from 35 to about 90 degrees. And they thrived. At the end of the first winter, we had 9 adults left.
In step two, we moved the 9 adults to a 50 gallon plastic above ground pond, again, with no direct sun. During that first spring, they breed and multiplied greatly. The following winter did not appear to have an adverse effect and now there are approximately 50 huge, beautiful adults in the pond who make the water "boil" when I feed them. I realize I will need to thin them out.
What this has shown us is that these Superfish are capable of thriving in a variety of adverse conditions and that the historic accounts of Paradise being kept through the winter in England in unheated greenhouses are entirely plausible.
Now I want to try the same experiment with cichlids. I know that there are self sustaining populations in some of they nearby golf course lakes.
I want to discuss a couple of experiments we have performed with Blue Paradise Gouramis and why I think they are a "Superfish" among tropicals.
I have kept Paradise off and on for years and under some very bad conditions. For example, while in college, I kept five adults for two years in a bare five gallon tank without aeration or filtration (yes, I know, bad conditions) They thrived and were later moved to my father's outdoor pond, where they multiplied.
Here in the Phoenix area, it is very difficult to keep tropicals outside year long because of the range of temperatures -- 27 to 110 plus degrees.
I have read the historic accounts of Paradise being kept in Europe in cold conditions and wanted to test the hypothesis that Paradise could be year round tropicals in this climate.
So, step one, we set up a 20 gal tank on the back patio without any direct sun for 10 adults. They went through a full year cycle with water temperatures ranging from 35 to about 90 degrees. And they thrived. At the end of the first winter, we had 9 adults left.
In step two, we moved the 9 adults to a 50 gallon plastic above ground pond, again, with no direct sun. During that first spring, they breed and multiplied greatly. The following winter did not appear to have an adverse effect and now there are approximately 50 huge, beautiful adults in the pond who make the water "boil" when I feed them. I realize I will need to thin them out.
What this has shown us is that these Superfish are capable of thriving in a variety of adverse conditions and that the historic accounts of Paradise being kept through the winter in England in unheated greenhouses are entirely plausible.
Now I want to try the same experiment with cichlids. I know that there are self sustaining populations in some of they nearby golf course lakes.
