Help needed in identifying paradise fish gender

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chews2006

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Aug 2, 2004
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Hello, well after looking through tons of picturs on the internet, i'm still not sure what gender my fish are. I thought i had a female, but when i brught home a new one,(which i thought was female too), they started fighting, after seeing this, i put the aggressive one in my brothers tank. But now, it's being aggressive to the other tankmates. i'v inculed some picures so any help would be appreciated.


Here's a link to my galerey. as you can see there is a blue and red paradise. I had a hard time getting the red one to hold still.

http://nathansphotos.fotopic.net/c250036.html

As you can see the one on the far left is the blue.

Thanks for any replys.

edit: the first picture is a blue paradise, the other three are the same red paradise.
 
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I'm not an expert, but it looks like you have two males. From what I've read about paradise fish it seems that males have a split tail. From your pictures it seemed both had a split tail which leads me to think they are both males but I could be wrong. I've only been at this hobby for about two months now.
 
The first two pictures on the picture page are absolutely males. The third and fourth are tougher. I'm tempted to say the third picture shows a female, but it's a bit blurry.

My female was also pretty dull, while my male had fantastic coloring (both are now pushing up daisies). I think males are a bit longer and thinner, leaving females a bit "taller" and stubbier. The fins and coloring are the dead giveaway, though. If the fins are longer, and the coloring is brighter, you've got a male on your hands.

Hope some of this was helpful.

-sj

(Incidentally, my male was also the more aggressive of the two, though both were fairly mild-mannered)
 
Thank you for all your replys. Although i have another question. What does it look like when they fight. when i put the two together, they ignored each other for a few minutes, then would chase each other, and flare their fins. Also they would be side by side facing opposite directions, moving in a circle slowly, After seeing that, i seperated them. I just wasn't sure if they would do major harm to one another. I didn't know if it was just the blue male harassing the 'female'.

One more question, if i put them back in the same tank, will they establish a 'pecking order, or will they fight to the death (i don't want that).

Well thank all for your help, it is appreciated.
 
Ok, I take back everything I said. I didn't even notice that the first two pictures showed two different fish. Whoops. Looks like you probably have two males. Check out this page:

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gmacropodus.html

I think that will tell you what it sounds like you already know. Looks like they just need to establish whose dominant, and then they'll probably be fine. Hope I haven't confused you, and good luck! Paradise fish are definitely beautiful, and very worth the trouble, I think.

-sj
 
I disagree with the others, you have at least one female, the first picture, I suspect all are female though.

For one, females are often plumper than males. The most reliable feature, though, IMO is the caudal (tail) fin. Males have extremely elongated top and bottom rays and almost always you can see the red stripes.

I used to have 3 paradise fish, 2 were female, one male. One of the females looked like your first one. Very vibrant blue but never and red stripes.
 
First off, i'd like to thank all who replied to my first message.
Well after taking a few more shots of the red one i'm now pretty sure its a female two, so i think i'll be transfering it back to the main aquarium with the blue paradise. I've included some pictures of the red one, i know thery're not great, but ''he,she'' never stops moving.

http://nathansphotos.fotopic.net/c264594.html

If any one can reply with an identification, that would be great,

Now for my second question, if i put them together again, how will i know the difference between a deadly fight, or just 'squabbling' ( couldn't think of a better word). I know i keep asking the same questions over and over again. But any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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