[1] In 1866 he imported the first goldfish (Carassius auratus) to Germany from Japan, and the offspring were referred to as the "Matte-strain".
In 1896 he imported ten pairs of Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) to Germany from Moscow, from the strain bred by Pierre Carbonnier in France.
[3][4] In 1897 he imported and bred the first specimens of the banded gourami (Trichogaster fasciata) to Europe.
[5] Matte was the first to import both sexes of swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii).
[6] The characin Hemigrammus matei is named after Paul Matte, since he delivered the first specimens to the author Carl H. Eigenmann, who described the species in 1918.