Anything Wrong With These Paradise Fish?

[fishnovice]

Got 2m and 2f black paradise fish about 8months ago. They share a tank with a large group of 10 corries and a single peaceful ram so there are no other fish to bully or stress them. Since they are still alive I presume they are OK but I am concerned about two things:
1. At first they lived in the top half of the tank and rarely ventured to the bottom but the past three months they have been spending more time lower down, sometimes even resting on the sand. They also appear less active then they were at first
2. They are meant to be black paradise but only one male is blackish. One female is grey.The other male and a female are pale greyish pink but not pale enough to be the other paradise variety. I also know that they were bred from a long line of pedigree black fish and saw the parents at the breeder's home.

So are they OK or is something wrong?

 

[Jayhawk]

Can you post pictures? That would really help. My avatar is a black paradisefish that I've had for...I think close to a year.

Hmmm...the avatar is small - does this work:

He/she (I'm not sure...) can go from the color in the picture to nearly pure black when eating.

Eric

 

[fishnovice]

Can you post pictures? That would really help. My avatar is a black paradisefish that I've had for...I think close to a year.

Hmmm...the avatar is small - does this work:

He/she (I'm not sure...) can go from the color in the picture to nearly pure black when eating.

Eric

Oh so they do go paler naturally? Thanks for that. I thought they were meant to be black all the time as in the photos one sees on the internet.I think yours is female as males have much longer fins with sort of long flowing streamers on their tails.I have males and females and they are quite easy to tell apart. No bubble nests yet though and I got them last June

 

[Jayhawk]

Thanks for the confirmation on the sex...I thought it was likely a "she", but I haven't seen a black paradisefish locally since I bought her early last year so I had nothing to compare her to. I think she has pretty nice finnage compared to the standard (blue/red) female paradisefish I've bred off and on for years, and I think I expected a female to be blander in coloration like the standard paradisefish. Now that I think back on it, I recall seeing a male black paradisefish that had amazing finnage...really impressive...at a fish store several years back.

Anyway, the coloration is also affected by the gravel color, general colors in the tank, and lighting. Less lighting, darker colors and gravel equals darker fish...at least for my girl. I actually switched to a darker gravel because she was looking too pale early on.

I can't recall where I read this, but I would swear I recall reading they took some time to mature. I know with standard ones, they can be picky about pairing up and mine have tended to form more of a cichlid like male/female bond than I have experienced with their more harem forming gourami kin.

Maybe yours just need more time...or maybe they're just friends.

Eric

 

[fishnovice]

Thanks for the confirmation on the sex...I thought it was likely a "she", but I haven't seen a black paradisefish locally since I bought her early last year so I had nothing to compare her to. I think she has pretty nice finnage compared to the standard (blue/red) female paradisefish I've bred off and on for years, and I think I expected a female to be blander in coloration like the standard paradisefish. Now that I think back on it, I recall seeing a male black paradisefish that had amazing finnage...really impressive...at a fish store several years back.

Anyway, the coloration is also affected by the gravel color, general colors in the tank, and lighting. Less lighting, darker colors and gravel equals darker fish...at least for my girl. I actually switched to a darker gravel because she was looking too pale early on.

I can't recall where I read this, but I would swear I recall reading they took some time to mature. I know with standard ones, they can be picky about pairing up and mine have tended to form more of a cichlid like male/female bond than I have experienced with their more harem forming gourami kin.

Maybe yours just need more time...or maybe they're just friends.

Eric

Are you near London/Croydon?
I got my 4 from a private breeder in Croydon who has been breeding black paradise fish for >20 years. They are a very docile strain and you can keep several males in the same tank with no hassle.

 

[Jayhawk]

Unfortunately, I'm across the pond in the states...otherwise, I'd be there in a minute.

Thanks,

Eric