Paradise fish - reduce aggression

[Lanpenn]

As I said before, my paradise fish went fine with the zebra danios I had in my old 10-gallon tank. The issue is that the fish committed suicide after I transferred him to another recipient since I was trying to treat the poor fish.

 

[Beastije]

I removed the fish from the tank, it didnt enjoy the flow and while it was not really aggressive all the time, during feeding it would be very wild. It started to chase other fish from the food and up to the point of coiling and slapping around.
The fish never hurt any other fish nor would it nip, but I didnt enjoy the atmosphere it brought
I put it in a temporary cube for a while and then made a fishtank for it for a 4 year old kid, it might be more fun than betta, if they manage to avoid adding anything else. Including snails

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I removed the fish from the tank, it didnt enjoy the flow and while it was not really aggressive all the time, during feeding it would be very wild. It started to chase other fish from the food and up to the point of coiling and slapping around.
The fish never hurt any other fish nor would it nip, but I didnt enjoy the atmosphere it brought
I put it in a temporary cube for a while and then made a fishtank for it for a 4 year old kid, it might be more fun than betta, if they manage to avoid adding anything else. Including snails
View attachment 326483

Interesting. Thanks for the info. So it didn't like flow, did it? That would be a deal-breaker for me. SF says that in some areas they inhabit flowing hillstreams, so I thought they might do well in my tank, and possibly the flow would even reduce aggression. But if they need still water, they wouldn't be happy in my setup. Perhaps there are different races/subspecies that occupy different niches in nature. I was interested because TWS has wild-caught paradise fish available right now, which is a rather rare find. I wonder how their behavior compares.

Does yours attack snails? What size tank is he in now? Do they appreciate cover and structure, or is he out in the open most of the time?

"I didn't enjoy the atmosphere it brought." That makes sense. A fish that is constantly chasing, even if it doesn't hurt anybody, is just stressful to watch. I can only imagine how stressful it must be to live with it, and how stressed the offender must be to act this way.

 

[Byron]

I know this is a bit of an older thread, but I'm going to re-open it because I've been pondering this species. @Beastije , how are things doing?

@Byron , Do you have a source for the Compatibility/Temperament info you provided here? Just curious, as I too have found conflicting info about this species, even among reputable sites. I suspect it has a lot to do with how they are kept and how much room they are given, as you mentioned.

You make a good point about expecting fish to act normal. However, I believe that the OP was trying to determine what "normal" is for this species, as their normal behavior seems to vary widely depending on whom you ask. Seriouslyfish says that while similarly shaped fish should be avoided, it "can be maintained alongside peaceful, schooling species with comparable environmental requirements."

Domestication and other selective breeding can indeed alter the genetic makeup of a species, and thus its behavior. But whether this is the case with paradise fish, I don't know.

This was cited from my profile of this species which I reearched and authored about 12 years ago. I used Seriously Fish, Fishbase, and reputable sources though with more than 200 profiles written I cannot remember all of them. My practice was always to take the majority view from the authorities, recognizing of course that there can always be exceptions but the majority is the safest course to follow. The references below were in my profile, but I suspect more for the taxonomy.

References:

Liem, K.F. (1963), "The comparative osteology and phylogeny of the Anabantoidei (Teleostei, Pisces)," Illinois Biological Monographs No. 30.

Paepke, M.E. (1990), "Zur Synonymie von Macropodus chinensis (Bloch, 1790) und M. opercularis (Linne, 1758) und zur rehabilitation von M. ocellatus Cantor, 1842 (Pisces, Belontiidae)," Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin, v. 66 (no. 1), pp. 73-78.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

This was cited from my profile of this species which I reearched and authored about 12 years ago. I used Seriously Fish, Fishbase, and reputable sources though with more than 200 profiles written I cannot remember all of them. My practice was always to take the majority view from the authorities, recognizing of course that there can always be exceptions but the majority is the safest course to follow. The references below were in my profile, but I suspect more for the taxonomy.

References:

Liem, K.F. (1963), "The comparative osteology and phylogeny of the Anabantoidei (Teleostei, Pisces)," Illinois Biological Monographs No. 30.

Paepke, M.E. (1990), "Zur Synonymie von Macropodus chinensis (Bloch, 1790) und M. opercularis (Linne, 1758) und zur rehabilitation von M. ocellatus Cantor, 1842 (Pisces, Belontiidae)," Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin, v. 66 (no. 1), pp. 73-78.

It's weird that, as one of the oldest fish in the hobby, there isn't more of a consensus on their behavior. It makes me suspect that they are highly variable among individuals or source populations. I sent TWS some questions about their wild-caught ones. I'll let you know if I find out anything.

 

[Beastije]

Does yours attack snails? What size tank is he in now? Do they appreciate cover and structure, or is he out in the open most of the time?

Yes it would take ramshorns, smash them against the glass violently and eat them... Scared me a bit when it was nervous it would hang under surface plants but otherwise it would hang in a cave!! Swim under the moss on the ground! Not a top dweller at all.
I set up an 80 l tank for it with anubias and hornwort and lists of surface plants and it seemed happy

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Yes it would take ramshorns, smash them against the glass violently and eat them... Scared me a bit

...and to this day, the snails tell the tale in whispers around their campfires at night...