Paradise Fish

[PumaWard]

Hello,

I have a paradise fish in a 10 gallon partially planted/ partially rift tank. He has a Masked Julie and a common pleco which also reside in the aquarium with him. During the day he is very spazy and scares easily. He often 'freaks out' when I walk by the tank. However, in the morning and at night he acts like a normal paradise fish. I've checked the water qualities, everythings fine. The tank is unheated and stays are 76 degrees in the summer... do any of you know whats wrong with him?

[wetmanNY]

He doesn't need much water volume, a gallon or two, but it should be a dense jungley tangle.
At http://www.casa-di-lago.de/thema1e.htm Dr Thomas Seehaus' article on Macropodus opercularis is in German, but his photos of a spawning pair show the kind of dense green tangle that makes a better territory for a Paradisefish.

[delmore]

My paradise fish begs for food when I'm around, and is not not high strung or timid like my pearl gourmis and dwarf gouramis. So I guess the behavior among paradise fish varies.

In case you missed a different thread, here's my 5.5 g with a paradise fish:

http://www.wu7.net/users/photos/paradisefish02.jpg

There is an AQmini with sponge media, and florescent screw in lighting. The plant on the left was picked at by the fish, until there was almost nothing left. I planted it in a different tank and it is coming back. The plant on the right is some kind of bog plant, which I'll problably get rid of. I placed a stock of it in a cup of water several days ago, and it is still alive without being submerged.

Since that photo was taken, i've added floating wisteria and duckweed.

Question: in a 5.5 gallon my with dense plant growth (I'll add more floating plants - water sprite, etc) could I add a female paradise fish?

[PumaWard]

Yeah, I've had him for a year now. He started out in a 3 gallon, this march I moved him into a ten. I'm working on getting the tank more planted, maybe that will straighten him out.

[Katz]

I have read the article, and he talks mostly about how the fish were less aggressive than he thought they would be and his efforts tracking down a wild pair to breed in captivity. He also talks about their mating habits and how the fish started courting immediately when reunited after a short separation for observation of a growth on the female.

He also says that they are very alert, intelligent fish, so maybe more plants to hide in and "play" with would work...

If you would like a full translation, let me know.

[diptankguy]

I have 5 of these paradise fish in my heavily planted 10 gallon. They are not at all shy, on the contrary they are always near my hand when i try to trim my plants and stuff. And as soon as i come near to the tank they will come out from their hiding places, i guess that is coz they think i am going to give them some food.

I initially thought that i made a wrong choice by keeping them together but they are fine. The only time they pick on each other or chase each other is when i feed them otherwise they live in harmony.

I guess all of them are different. But i enjoy mine. They are the only inhibitants in my 10g.

[delmore]

Originally posted by diptankguy
I have 5 of these paradise fish in my heavily planted 10 gallon.

How long have you had them/how large are they? I've read that juveniles can get along, but as they get older males fight, but not to the extent of betta splendins.

[PumaWard]

I've read several places that males will fight similiar to Betta Splendens, however, it will not be to the death. They will establish a pecking order which they will all follow. I find that you can do the same with B. splendens.

However, I forgot to mention some things. First off, he used to be as all you described. Boisturous and happy to see me and he still is like that in the morning and at night. So I am thinking that maybe my light is a little on the bright side. This should be cured by the time I have a good amount of plants.

He hasn't been like this for very long, so I'm hoping that it's just a phase and that I can 'cure' it.

Thank you all for your input, I very much appreciate it :)!

[fredfish]

maybe if you add another one he will feel comfortable, although i have heard they fight when they get older i have a friend who manages to keep two in a 20 gallon or is it a 29 gallon, not really planted but a lot of ornaments, i mean they arent exactly betta's so ya never know what you may get away with right

[PumaWard]

I'll try that. I have a very young albino one in my 75 (he's maybe 2in. in length), but I am going to wait until he's a bit bigger than the julie (which won't take long). The julie can be very nasty when he wants to be, but usually doesn't pick on larger fish.

[diptankguy]

Originally posted by delmore


How long have you had them/how large are they? I've read that juveniles can get along, but as they get older males fight, but not to the extent of betta splendins.

I have had 2 for 6 months and both of them are around 3inches long and then i have 3 other which are 2.5 inches in length.

I guess well when they get older they might fight and i may have to move them around but as of now they are a peaceful community.

you can click on the link below, you might not see the paradise fish properly. This was taken just after i trimmed my plants.

http://www.dipsworld.freeservers.com/pictures/full1.jpg

[delmore]

Nice tank + plants!!! Do you use CO2 - what type? flourish excel?

I just decided what to do with my spare 10g.

[PumaWard]

I agree, that's a beautiful tank. What do you feed your paradise fish? Their gorgeous too!

[diptankguy]

Originally posted by delmore
Nice tank + plants!!! Do you use CO2 - what type? flourish excel?

I just decided what to do with my spare 10g.

No i don't use Flourish Excell but Yes on CO2. I initially had some problems with water quality (Central New Jersey) but then later i was able to stabilize my tank.
Also i buy my plants from NY..there are some nice shops which give you all kinda plants.

BTW do you have any CT or MT Bettas? If yes do let me know.


My tank Specs
10 Gallon Tank
Flourite Substrate
DIY CO2
3 watts per gallon lighting
Ferts: Flourish, PMDD (twice a week)

Plants
Rosette Sword (right front)
Pennywort (left corner)
Ludwigia palustris (center background)
Bacopa Monneri (left corner behind Pennywort)
Ludwigia repens (center background)
Mayaca fluviatilis (right front)
Hygrophila difformis and Hygrophila polysperma next to each other in center right (Hygrophila polysperma got all the new green leaves i think due to low light)
Baby Tears (small bunch below the rocks)
and finally some Riccia in the front and floating.

[diptankguy]

Originally posted by PumaWard
I agree, that's a beautiful tank. What do you feed your paradise fish? Their gorgeous too!

Freezed dried tubifex and Live Black worms twice a week. I guess u all do the same isn't it?

[Hebdizzle]

you know the pleco will get too big right?

[ChilDawg]

Originally posted by PumaWard
He has a Masked Julie...

These aren't the nicest fish...a singleton Julidochromis spp. Cichlid is willing to cause much mayhem, especially in a small and very very likely overcrowded tank!

I'd move the Julie and the Pleco, and maybe give some bottom-dwellers to that tank, but Paradisefish, according to AFM, really do do best when kept alone.

[wanda_crab]

I got a Paradise fish a few months ago and he seemed fine for the first couple of days. Then his swimming became erratic and got progressively worse very quickly. Eventually, he would wedge himself under a piece of driftwood in my tank and, when disturbed from that spot, would start tumbling rapidly all over the tank and bumping into things. It made me sick to my stomach to watch him as it was clear something was very wrong. I tested my water and it was fine as were the other fish in the tank. I quickly started doing some research on the symptoms and I'm pretty sure it was Icthyophonus hoferi often referred to as "tumbling disease". There used to be a great article on this disease and I just did some searches to try to find it again, but the website that hosted it is out of business (although about a zillion sites still point to it). All I can really remember is it is not related to white spot Ich and I think it is caused by a fungus. There is no cure and the author recommended euthanizing any fish with this disease which, sadly, is what I did (the worst part of this hobby in my opinion).

I sincerely hope this is not what is going on with your guy, but wanted to pass the info along just in case.

[PumaWard]

Thank you for all your input! :)

I seriously hope that this is not tumbling disease.

Also, I want to address some other things you guys have said. When the pleco gets to big for my small tank, I will put him in my 75g. And I have never seen the Julie touch my paradise fish, and lately I have watched it closely. The specific specie is Julidochromis transcriptis, which maxes out at 3in. :). In fact, the Julie doesn't let any other fish besides my paradise down at the bottom of the tank (I used to have black mollies in there at one point with the two), which I think is because my paradise fish is prob 4 times his size (a very wise little fishy in my opinion:D).


Anyway, I took the little albino paradise out of my 75 and put it in the 10gal. I also went down to the LFS and got more plants to put the tank. Now it has many more plants, so I'll give it a few days and see how it goes. Hopefully everything is okay and the light is just to bright for him :rolleyes:.

Again, thank you all and I will keep everything you all have said in mind. I appreciate your help:).

[wetmanNY]

Ichthyophonus hoferi is currently affecting salmon in Alaska, which brings it to our attention from time to time, but Dr Beverley A. Dixon had this note on Ichthyophonus, in an Aquarium Fish, article on fungal diseases, back in May 1991, archived at http://www.petsforum.com/cis-fishnet/afm/G29112.htm

"In addition to Saprolegnia, other types of fungi may infect fish. One of these, Ichthyophonus hoferi, is generally considered to be a fungal disease of marine fish. However, at one time it was held responsible for half of the total losses attributed to fungal infections in freshwater aquarium fish. More recent evidence has shown that many of those cases attributed to this fungus were actually misidentified piscine mycobacteriosis, a bacterium that is in the family that causes tuberculosis in animals. Both of these infections produce a similar wound and resulting host response. Ichthyophonus is now considered rare in aquarium fish."

More recent cladistic analysis places these obscure protists near the division between fungi and animals.

Other agents can infect the central nervous system and produce tumbling and staggers. They include sporidians, viruses and bacteria.

[PumaWard]

What are some other symptoms....does anyone know?

[PumaWard]

Here's a picture of the tank he resides in...is it too lightly planted? Sorry the quality's not that great:(