Female Paradisefish Started Bubble Nest

[Briarmoor]

I noticed bubbles in the 10g on the side that the Paradisefish is on. I thought maybe the tank needed attention or something until I saw her go up and get air and then spit a bubble on on side of the nest then the other. Then she got more air and did it again. But then she quit and eventually the nest dissipated by the next day. Why was she building a nest? There are no other Paradisefish or even other gouramis near her. Her tank mate "next door" is a male Betta. None of my female gouramis have ever done this.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Some female gouramies do build nests and although I've heard it's quite rare I've seen it many times. Firstly are you positive she is female? Sometimes males can be late developers. Bygones, my female g.gouramies do blow bubbles on occassion, on in particular has been known to do nests almost rivalling my male. I actually thought she was male for a while until I caught her spawning with the big male.
Hugs,
P.
Edit:I thought I'd add a little mention to your neons. I suspect they will, one day, become gourami lunch. They'd be about the perfect size too.

 

[sylvia]

Can you post a recent pic of your 'female' paradisefish? Like Miss Dib Dabs said, she may well have built a nest (signal that she is in the mood to breed) but perhaps she is actualy male.

 

[Briarmoor]

Can you post a recent pic of your 'female' paradisefish? Like Miss Dib Dabs said, she may well have built a nest (signal that she is in the mood to breed) but perhaps she is actualy male.

She is in my signature pic on the left. They were certain she was a girl when I got her, adult. She hasn't blown any more bubbles since I posted.

Edit:I thought I'd add a little mention to your neons. I suspect they will, one day, become gourami lunch. They'd be about the perfect size too.
[/quote]

Ack! One of my neons disappeared while I was out of town and now I am wondering. I am going to move Sal to the 55g on my days off. Only thing is I keep looking at the opaline and thinking its dorsal fin is kind of pointy and wondering if Pauline is really Pauly. Then I don't know if I should move the female Gold (Sal) in with Pauline/Pauly. Her/his pointy dorsal goes back further than Sal's, past the beginning of the tail. But body-wise, I think the bodies look a lot alike. So maybe Pauline just has a longer, pointier dorsal and is still a girl?

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Sounds very male to me. A females is always rounded and much shorter. No females dorsal reaches right back to the tail. You may have two males there. The pic is a little too small for me to make it out well. Haven't got a bigger pic have you?
Hugs,
P.

 

[sylvia]

If the dorsal is that long you DO have a male. Deffinately. And if you think they both look the same - perhaps your other fish is male too... Do you have recent pics? If you do have 2 males after all (very unlucky! ) it would be better to not put them together.

The thing about the pic in your avatar is that it's not recent (is it?). Males change as they mature - especialy with paradisefish. The one in your avatar is female judging by color alone but a recent pic may reveal it's much brighter or has longer and more pointed dorsal and caudal fins than appears in that pic (which is too small to be clear).

 

[Briarmoor]

If the dorsal is that long you DO have a male. Deffinately. And if you think they both look the same - perhaps your other fish is male too... Do you have recent pics? If you do have 2 males after all (very unlucky! ) it would be better to not put them together.

The thing about the pic in your avatar is that it's not recent (is it?). Males change as they mature - especialy with paradisefish. The one in your avatar is female judging by color alone but a recent pic may reveal it's much brighter or has longer and more pointed dorsal and caudal fins than appears in that pic (which is too small to be clear).

Yes, the Paradisefish is female. She is not moving out of her side of the 10g due to her aggressiveness. She is plainer than the males that were in her tank at the LFS when I got her as an adult.

The one I want to move still is the Gold female and she is definitely a her. She is still rounded as before and not a pointy dorsal. It is the opaline in the 55g that I keep coming back to. At worst, I have a boy opaline and girl gold, but hoping they are all girls.

My giants are for sure girls too as are the pearls. The giants are going to the 20g, they are a lot smaller than the opaline already. I think that tank will be more peaceful with them than the Gold in there. I just saw her tonight, for the first time, go after the neons. She was always mean to the corys at dinner time, but never bothered the neons. She is moving ASAP and I am adding about 5 more neons to the 20g. The 3-spots will have to sort their pecking order out in the 55g. There are plenty of plants and decorations, so I think it will work. I can't have Sal, the Gold, chasing the whole of the 20g tank. Meanie!