# Tankmates for a Paradise Fish?



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

a paradise fish is best kept by itself especially a male.. trust me.

You sometime see a tank full of paradise fish at the lfs but that's because they're too stressed out to fight with each other.

If you get the right ones, they are gorgeous but they are little monsters.


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## JohnB (Feb 9, 2008)

i have 4 paradise fish in a community tank and they are a bit nippy with the mollies and during feeding time. Other than that, they stay by themselves. Not sure if others have witnessed the same. 
John B.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

I've had 'em shred tankmates. I'd seriously consider trading it in. Perhaps they are like bettas and other gourmais in the sense that different individuals have different temperaments, but I wouldn't count on it playing nice.


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## atrius (Apr 10, 2008)

Thanks for your input all.

MG - understood, I assume the same can be said for many aggressive species at the LFS.

JB - that's what I'm interested in, what people have found seems to work with these guys (apart from the molly-nipping).

BRR - trade is not an option, I REALLY wanted this guy and so far he does not bother the RTS (almost 2x his size) or the cat (almost 1/2 his size), though he did make quite a meal out of most of the shrimp, I think I only have about 3 or 4 left if that!! :icon_eek: (totally my fault).

I'm keen to hear your comments, any and all.

Cheers.

Paul


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## Madhun67 (Feb 19, 2008)

i ditto that on the adult males agressiveness.i used to breed paradise fish.the large males always get territorial and wickedly "pushy" especially at feeding and breeding.their ability to deliver a huge bite for their size is amazing.i had adult males take chunks out of other fish before i really had a chance to learn about them.an adult can easily go after neon size fish.just keep an eye out,
Dave


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

I've read up that paradise fish are very intelligent fish with their own personalities .


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

They certainly can multiply quickly!


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

yes, they're very at math!



seriously,
They're pretty much cold water bettas (but not really).. The bettas we see now are actually bred to be tamer than than wild betta splendens (if they exist any more). Paradise fish aren't really domesticated like bettas are.

There's a Vietnamese species of PF... It has dark/black lace stripes and completely gorgeous.


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## eden_angelfish (Mar 10, 2008)

The last paradise fish I had was so aggressive in a community tank that I threw it in my cichlid tank to let them eat it. (I didnt' want it in the first place, it was a gift from a well-meaning friend...) It held its own with mbuna, convicts, jewel cichlids, a red devil, and severums for almost a year. You'd need something pretty tough to stand up to a paradise fish. I don't know much about rosy barbs, but tiger barbs are generally obnoxious enough that they would do ok. I wouldn't suggest any small tetras at all, unless you had a really big tank. Something big and active like Buenos Aires tetras might be ok.


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## zoggin eck (Feb 22, 2007)

I had a paradise fish that let white clouds breed and display right in front of him (though he did eat the babies ) and another that tore platys apart in moments.

They do seem quite intelligent, and as I've read (and witnessed, but with just two examples) they can be quite different.

How does he go with the shark? If have other tanks, maybe trial by adding a few fish from another tank, and removing if they get hurt.

One thing, the temptation is there to put it in a very small tank. I had one in a 20cm cube. It seemed quite sedate, sever jumped and always ate, showing nice colours. Sadly, with a few missed water changes his condition went right down. I now have my other in a 45cm long tank to himself. Much easier to maintain and he swims the length and explores everywhere


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## Steadystudent (Mar 26, 2017)

*Commnunitiy tank*

I have 2 males in a 55 gal community tank. planted and overstocked. I have tons of small tetras, two big Red- Lined Torpedo Barbs, a red finned shark, dwarf gourami's 2 powered blue, and some danios, and other fish and shrimp. They do well. Only squaring off with each other from time to time in a beautiful display turning super dark. I haven't had any troubles, but I got them super small at a pet store thinking they were going to be just another cute gourami but they quickly got big. So I guess my observation if you start them small in a big community they learn to play nice.


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