Paradise Fish Questions - Newbie, Take Pity :(

[Rancor]

Ok, so, I'm new here, first post actually, so first off, hi! I'm sure we'll all get on well cause you're all lovely people

Right, so, about five months ago, I bought myself two little paradise fish, a girl and a boy. They were kept in the same tank for about three or four weeks, until the male started to show signs of aggresion. I separated them for about a week, then reintroduced them. He was fine for a while, but then they mated and he became aggresive again (none of the fry survived any longer than four days). I quickly separated her and she has been living in her own tank for nearly four months now.

She seems lonely in her tank, so I was wondering whether another female as a companion would be good. I have done some research, and they are supposed to get along OK with each other. Is this true? Can I keep them together succesfully? She is curently housed in a 5 gallon tank, and I know, it's small, but I'm upgrading soon (hopefully). I want her to be happy.

The male is fine in his tank, another 5 gallon, and has a daily workout, by workout I mean trying to scare himself away in a mirror Both fish are housed in tanks with only plastic plants and ornaments such as pebbles and hidey holes, but I'm definately getting some Jave Moss/ Java Fern for both tanks. Is this alright? I have recently tested the water in both tanks, and everything is good. I'm quite proud of myself really.

If you want to know my cleaning routine, I take two cups of water out of the tank every day and replace them with water left to de-chlorinate overnight. I use King British Safe Guard Water Treatment. At the end of every fortnight, I clean out one tank at a time, temporarily holding a single fish at a time in a bucket full of de-chlorinated water and some home comforts, such as rocks and a bit of gravel.

If you have any more questions about how I run my tanks, please feel free to ask. But don't forget about my questions!

Rancor

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum! Paradise fish are fantastic and were one of the first fish in the hobby after goldfish. They get quite large though, congratulations on breeding them! What size tank were they in? The reason for the aggression could have been the male wanting to breed again. At the moment I would leave them as it is then upgrade them to as large a tank as you can, somewhere in the region of 30 gallons and 3 foot long. If you got an other female it could certainly help but only do this in the bigger tank. Your cleaning regime sounds good but when you get the bigger tank you will be able to just need to do one 30% water change and substrate clean a week Also in this tank you could have some other fish, if you were to keep it biotope correct you could go for asian fish like a school of black ruby barbs and a school of dwarf chain or zebra loaches for the bottom

Wills

 

[Rancor]

They get quite large though, congratulations on breeding them! What size tank were they in? The reason for the aggression could have been the male wanting to breed again.

Just the males 5 gallon tank. No water turbulance, I even switched the filter off for a while in case any little 'uns got sucked in!

Your cleaning regime sounds good but when you get the bigger tank you will be able to just need to do one 30% water change and substrate clean a week

Also in this tank you could have some other fish, if you were to keep it biotope correct you could go for asian fish like a school of black ruby barbs and a school of dwarf chain or zebra loaches for the bottom

Thanks Any ideas where I could get a tank from? Everywhere I've looked they're all rather expensive. I don't need one with a filter or gravel or extras, just a tank will do! I like on the Wirral, so any ideas would be welcome Thanks again for your help, I'm sure I'll probably be bursting with excitement at the anticipation of more fish!

Rancor

 

[drobbyb]

Craigslist, ebay, local paper, etc.

 

[Wills]

Aquarist classified or ebay are good for second hand tanks

 

[Rancor]

Thanks guys, I'll have a look now