Paradise fish - hes poorly, help!

[Carolinesugar]

hi all, just in need of abit of advice, as i cant find ne info that relates to paradise fish with the symtoms mine is showing.

i orginally brought to paradise fish 4 my mums tank, and asked the shop 4 a male and a female. but then with the research i tried doing on how 2 identify the difference in sex, i found out its hard 2 tell, but females sud be lighter in colour, and seem dull in comparison to the males. so i took them both back to the shop, n asked the shop to get me a pair, not 2 boys! but i seem to have a pair frm wot they told me, but the male is sulkin behind the filter. i took the female out, n stuck her in the breeding net, to see how the ale reacted, n he came out, n was acting like he was very happy. even tried 2 let the female out! so i let her out, thinkin they had made their peace, they were fine 4 abt 20 mins, n then he went in2 hidding again.

if ne1 can help me out on ideas of what to do that wud be great, n very much appciated! i wud like to find out how to make them happier, n not return them, as they are beautiful fish!


(mums tank is 30 inches x 12 inches x 15 inches, she has, 2 moonlight gouramis, 2 orange 3spot gouramis, 2 male mollys (both sail fin) 4 female mollys, 1 red tail shark, 1 albino red fin shark, and the two paradise fish)


(i have also posted this in another part of the fourm, but i havent had a response, which i need, as im really worried that the male will just die if he stays at the bottom sulking.)

 

[William]

At a guess, could they both be males?

Either way bettas should not be housed more than one per tank! Except for the exact time you want them to breed as they are fighting fish. This is why when you go into a store they are kept seperately (or one in each of the large fish tanks).

*edit* my bad, I thought you were talking about siamese fighters I did not realise it was paradise fish. At least this topic is now bumped to the top

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Carolinesugar

The paradise fish is related to both gouramis and bettas. They are usually considered to be more aggressive than gouramis, however.

Here's a link with more information about them:

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...=21&pCatId=1007

If you are still able to return them to the store, IMHO you should give the idea some serious consideration. The paradise fish are very territorial and I'd be concerned that they could cause a problem with your gouramis.

 

[bgraber]

I know mine does very well by himself.. Or at least with all the other fish in the tank.. He's hardly a bully.. Seems happy. I'd be willing to bet you have 2 males.. Are the fish relatively the same size? Are the fins porportionally the same?
PLus they're very hardy so I wouldn't think a little sulking on the bottom is going to hurt him.. Now if they are fighting then thats a different story..

 

[fairyrose]

you might try rearranging the tank, then reintroducing both fish back into the tank. That gives them the feeling that they are in "new Territory" and might allow them to reset boundaries. This can sometimes work. I had to do the same thing for my gourami's when we added two dwarfs to the flames that we had. They seem much happier now that they have "claimed" their own corners so to speak.

fairyrose