Hi...my name is Val. I live in Oregon & have taken the hobby of breeding blue paradise gouramis. I have a website w/some pics of my fish. I'm new at the website & pic posting so please bear with me. I had a huge thread in fishpondinfo.com & have recently left that forum. Several people posted there & were every insightful with their experience & knowedge. I've only been doing this for 8 months.

I plan on starting this topic from the beginning so my posts may be erratically spaced as I have to do this when I'm between work, soccer, scouts & being a mom & wife. Please be tolerant & patient. If I begin to sound like a know-it-all please politely let me know.

I would really like this thread to remain clear of any foul language & harsh attitudes because kids may be reading these posts (I know my 7-yr-old does). If any garbage comes into my thread I will promplty edit it and make the necessary arrangements to ensure it's resolved. I try to be repectful & appreciate the same courtesy.

If I have offended anyone at this point I apologize in advance but this is where I stand. If you cant say something nice don't say anything.

Please tell me what I can do to improve my thread or my website. All constructive criticism is greatly valued.

Hope you continue to visit this post ;)

Val's Paradise Fish

Hey val, is this a new thread from the one from fishpond? I wonder if anybody else here has breed anabitids or paradise fish.

ive got a spawn from a pair of paridise..... around 300 fry.

How big was the tank outcast? what type of paradise fish?

Yes this is an offshoot of my fishpond thread. Outcast I've had my fish spwan numerous times & they lay insane amount of eggs but the mortality rate of the fry is vast.

I'm excited because Adam is a new fish (Pari's successor) & he's small & young & building his first nest & spawning w/a full-grown female. I was wondering how long it was gonna take.

My mated pair are in a 7 gallon hex w/a small pleco & they seem to be doing ok even tho the pleco chased the new male around at first.

The 3 fry I have leeft from Pari's last batch before he died are about 3 wks & in a 10-gallon w/a Chinese algae eater.

I've tried a 20-gallon w/net breeder & it just wasn't what made my fish happy. Hopefully it'll work for Tommy. I use a brine shrimp net to remove the fry from the hex to the 10. I don't suggest this to anyone but it's what works for me.

The net should work fine, my fish like to stay in the plants and stuff.

Adam is finally getting his fin & tail extensions. He looks like a mini-Pari now. Eve is very pregnant (3 wks) which is too long for her. She had been spawing weekly until Pari died. Adam is too small to wrap around her yet so I if they can't spawn I hope that she reabsorbs the eggs. Even laying dead eggs would be better than getting a pregnancy infection.

The 3 fry I do have that are a month old are doing very well. I keep the light off in the tank during the day & when I turn it on after work I feed them a dose of Hikari First Biutes. Other than that they eat the slimy build-up in the java moss. They seem to grow rather quickly on it.

I have updated my website w/a pic of a fry. It's a tad blurry but you can see the air line in the backgroud of the 10 gallon. It'll give you an idea how big they are. This is the best way to descrive their size: ------ Not bad for a month old eh?

They are black & very healthy. I'm not going to push for Adam & Eve to spawn as I want these guys to grow a bit so I can sell them. I can get $5 for each one & I only paid $2 for each parent. Not a bad deal if you're willing to be patient. I wasn't thinking to make a business out of it but I don't want a bunch of tanks around the house (we already have 4).

I already sold 1 that made it to 13 wks for $5 to my friend from high school. She says he's doing well & getting really big. She has him in a vase & is looking to move him to a 2-1/2 gallon tank soon. She says she'll get a bigger tank as he grows (his daddy was about 5" long). They named him Squirmy. She says he has 3 red stripes & is a very pale blue. Well that pretty much tells us it's a male lol.

You can visit my website:

Val's Paradise Fish

It's kind of podunk but it's a start.

Y'all have a good one & I'll catch ya on the flip side.

Hello again...it's Val.

My new male paradise is apparently too small to spawn w/Eve. She is 3 wks pregnant & looking very uncomfortable. Another forum I go into mentioned that she could get a pregnancy infection from the bacteria of the dead eggs. Hopefully she'll reabosrb them.

Adam is busy buiding a new nest. Hopefull he will try again to spawn so she'll at least lay the dead eggs & get them out of her belly. She's still swimming & eating so that's a good sign.

In the 10 gallon nursery tank I found a 4th fry...I thought I only had 3. Imagine my glee when I moved the java moss & there it was! So I have 4 of Pari's babies left. Pari was the nale that dies over the holidays. The fry are about a month or so old & 2 are this long ------ & the other 2 are this long ----.

I am feeding them the Hikari First Bites mixed in a small jar w/their water once or twice daily & they're eating the crud off the java moss the rest of the time. They're all still black & healthy so I'm not gooing to mess with their tank. The 3 Chinese algae eaters should take care of the green build-up.

I'll try & add moer pics to my website soon. I have a pic of a fry but it's sorta blurry. Here's the site:

Val's Paradise Fish


Enjoy!

Well it looks as though Eve is finally reabsorbing her eggs. She looks a little thinner today & is a little more active. I'm so relieved. She big & beautiful & I don;t want to lose her. I'm going to attempt to add a pic this afternoon to my website of the two of them sid3e by side so you can see how big she is compared to him.

Have a super day! :lol:

I would love to see the photos val. i am glad she reobsorbed the eggs because it could have lead to serious infection.

She hasn't totally reabsorbed the eggs...she still has a ways to go. I have added the pic of Adam & Eve to the website.

Val's Paradise Fish

Just click on Pics3. That'll get you to the good pic of the 2 of them...he's behind her. You can see how egg-laden she is. He's only 75% her size so still has some growing to do.

Wow She is still very egg layden i hope she continues to reobsorb

It looks as though Eve is reabsorbing her eggs very slowly. I was looking in the nurstery tank & I originally thought I had 3 babies from Pari's last brood befoer he died but last week I found a 4th one. Today I found a 5th one in the java moss! I'm very excited...they're a month old & the size ranges are insane! One is this long ------, 2 are this long ----, 1 is this long ---, and 2 is this long -----. So I have 4 different-sized fry from the same brood. How weird. You can see who the strong ones are that get to the food & stuff.

very cool its nice to have a reminder of pari. RIP

I'm so excited...my sister's getting a pair of blue paradise f ish! She lives in Nevada & called me to tell me she got a 10-gallon tank. She asked me what kind of fish I had & when I told her she called her hubby at PetSmart to get a pair. She also wants a couple balas & a pleco but I told her to wait & let me find out if they're compatible.

So if someone would please reply ASAP that'd be great! Thanx oodles!

thats awesome but im not sure about compatibility. give her this forum url address and she can receive help here if you would like.

The paradise fish should be fine. definately skip on the pleco and bala shark, not becuase of aggresion. They get WAY to big for a 10 gallon. The bala shark and pleco get around 12 inches+. The balas are also schooling fish and are active swimmers.

yes i agree with tommy. At my work they have baby plecos which are only like 1 cm and they have the adult ones on display which are massive!. It often fools customers when they see the baby plecos they want one but when i show them how big they get they usually just agree that they get too big

The guy at PetSmart told her hubby that you can't put balas in a 10 gallon. He also told him that gouramis & plecos won't get along (really...I have a 4" pleco in my 7 gallon hex w/my adult pair of paradise & they get along fabulously). They also didn't have any blue paradise fish...they said they'd never heard of them! Every petstore I've been in here has them for $3 or less!

They ended up getting a pleco & some striped fish & an atomic something or other. Needless to say she was rather diappointed.

They don't have a computer so no internet yet. I told her about this forum & some other sites & that when she gets online she needs to check them out.

Can you please just tell her that she will eventually have to get rid of the pleco. ahhh, petsmart.....

She knows it'll eventually outgrow the tank. I already told her. I told her next time to go to a lfs & get something good. She argued about the 14-day guarantee but I told her that the chain stores do that becasue they know their fish are gonna die. I told her BIS has a 3-day guarantee but they are confident in their fish & take good care of the tanks & such. That's all they specialize in...and dog grooming.

She said she would eventually take the pleco in & trade him for something else when he got bigger (if he lives that long I said). I can't complain though, that's where I got my last 2 paradise fish & they're doing ok. I think it depends on the fish & your own setup at home.

I told her before jumping into anymore fish decisions to let me talk to my cronies first. She promised.

ok as long as she realises she will have to get rid of the pleco. Well done val

Does she know what other fish she has besides the pleco? the discriptions werent very clear.

Ok I think I got some fish info outa my suster...here goes...

She has 2 loaches that they told her will get up to 11" long, a pleco & 2 of what she says are gouramis of some kind...pink & yellow she says. I told her in a 10-gallon I wouldn't add anymore especially if 3 outa 5 are going to exceed the tank size. I told her if this is the case that when they get no longer than 6' or so to trade them into a LOCAL fish supplier (not PetSmart) for something else. I also told her that I know I'm no expert but PLEASE talk to me befoer getting any other fish, as I am somewhat :huh: knowledgeable & have a place to go for reference if need be.

She also says her water stinks & they've had the tank less than a week. It has a Whisper filter (I think it may be a 5-10 gallon capacity) that came with it & they're feeding them 3x a day. I told he I feed my kids' tropicals once every other day before bed & that I only have the light on at night so they'll eat (as I've been told they only eat when they have light). She asked how often I feed my fish & I told her 3x/day for both tanks & she asked if my tanks stunk & I said no but I do a 50% weekly change in the adult tank & have 3 CHinese algae eaters in the baby tank. I also told he that my paradise have voracious appetites & eat their food quickly & the filer for their tank is adequate.

I think now she'll start listening to her big sister when she has fish questions. Thanks for everyone's help...Lorrie doesn't know squat & I have alot to learn.

These crazy fish...Adam will build a nest during the day when the light is off but when I turn the light on in the late afternoon he lets it disintegrate. Maybe he just needs to learn the finer points of nest-building.

I am finishing up on the Hikari First Bites w/my 5 remaining fry from Pari's last brood. Then I will go to ground up flake food & frozen Daphnea (sand flea larva). They do seem to take to the ground up flakes so I give them to them 2x a week.

Eve is absorbing her eggs & looks very healthy now. Maybe she can maintain a healthy size & reabsorb any eggs from here on that don;t get fertilized.

I've updated my website in the last week or so. Have a nice day!

Val

The paradise fry water is getting very cloudy so last night I took the airstone out & put the Whisper filter back in. It looks a bit better this morning & they fry have benn good about not getting into it. I also took out over 1/2 the java moss so I can somewhat see them.

Eve has totally reawbsorbed her eggs. Now she is being receptive to Adam's advances but he still isn;t building a nest like he should. This might be a good thing as I need to let the fry I have get big enough to sell.

I'm putting together a notebook of my experience & I've printed out some websites on paradise fish to add to it plus my own pics. My daughter (Ruth, 7) has said she wants to help me & maybe do it when she gets older so I'm giving her some background info to go on.

Y'all have a nice day!

Well I still have 4 of Pari's fry left & Adam is still too young to spawn w/Eve. One of the fry is half the size of the otehr 3 & he/she is going into a tank that I've sert up at work in the 4th grade inclusion classroom. Thinking he/she is being bullied & not getting to the food like he/she should. I call this one Runt. Bruiser is 3/4" long & the other 2 are slightly smaller but not much. They are now about 8 1/2 wks old. They're eating tropical fish flakes & ground cichlid pellets right now. Bruiser looks so much like a paradise fish now. Runt still looks like a tadpole & they're from the same brood. At the end of the school year I'll find a deserving student to take him/her home. It'll be neat to watch Runt grow & the teacher has requested info on this fish so he can help teach the kids about it. I'm psyched. My husband says everything is a teaching tool for me :P

BTW Tommy...Lorrie only has the 2 gouramis & pleco left in her tank. The loaches died & the larger gourami (both female from what she says) is bullying the larger one. When Eve bullied Angel I gave Angel to my niece. Angel has killed all Krys's other fish & she's alone right now. She never had a male & never formed an attachment to another fish like Eve did to Pari. I still thnk she misses him because she hangs out at the filter intake where he used to build his nests & Adam isn't making any nests. This does lead me to believe these fish are highly intelligent & do form bonds.

What kind of gouramis does she have? IF they arent a smaller species(honey, sparling, croaking) she should return one of them. All gouramis besides the ones i have listed shouyld not be in a 10 gallon or are too aggresive to be with another gouramis in a 10 gallon.

She has no idea what kind they are...she says they go from pink to blue when they swim. Kind of opalescent she says.

Well Eve died yesterday. She was perfectly fin when we left for work/school yesterday & when we came home she was nose-down in the tank. I netted her out & took Adam out, totally washed out the tank & the filter system, put him back in w/fresh water. He seemed ok but as they have shown me they are emotional fish I went & got anotehr female 1/3 his size.

I watched them for awhile & they played the usual chase games that come w/new fish inaan estab;ished tank. Then we left for about 3 hrs & went & bought me a new car. When we came back he had a HUGE nest going & she seemed to plump up dramatically. This morning he's just going gung-ho on the nest, stopping only to chase her on occasion & let her know he's the boss. Typical guy!! Lol

She was the only blue at the lfs & they had oodles of albino girls but I wasn't wanting to go that route. A gal in anothe rforum has cross-bred w/some success but I wanna stick w/blues. Now I need to name this one. Give ,me a few days to get back to y'all on that.

Adam is now reminding me of a littller Pari. He was a nest-building fool.

oh so sorry that Eve died :( do you know why? well anyway i hope that the 2 you haver now will spawn and make you happy..R.I.P Eve :(

Thasnx Tim...I was very fond of Evie. The new girl however got pregnant overnight & Adam immedialtely built a humungous nest. I got her on Friday & she laid eggs last night! Now I have to sell the other babies...

Well I sold the remaining fry from Pari & Eve. My friend from work took them. $5 each. She was SO excited. I also printed some info for her off the internet so she wouldn't go into it blind.

I named my new girl Nevaeh (Heaven spelles backwards). Yesterday I put her down in the 10-gallon w/the pleco & left Adam in the top tank for a couple more days. When it's time he'll go into the bottom tank w/Nevaeh (sounds Hebrew huh?) Ususally I move the fry instead...we'll see what happens.

The fry hatched out white & very very tiny. It's been my experiience that when they hatch out white they don't live very long. Nevaeh is very tiny as well & this is the first spawn for either fish. When the fry hatch out all black they seem to live longer & be healthier & bigger.

Thisi is a completely new set of parents so they'll be no relation to the ones I sold Shelley. Adam now has the nest taking up half the surface area of the 7-galloon hex. He's taking his daddy role very seriously...to the point of killing the Chinese algae eater for getting too close to the nest. Chi was just doing his usual cleaning up near the surface & he got too close for Adam's comfort. Adam rushed up, threw Chi out of the water, he hit the hood, splashed in hard, floated down and quivered once & died. I'd never seen anything like it. Tha male paradise's paternal instinct are very high the first few days. They wil ldefend their nest to the death it seems. He hasn't stopped building onto the nest either.

I love these emotional, intelligent, crazy fish. Sorry for such a long post...had some catchngup to do. Y'all have a nice day.

It's been 2 days since the fry hatched & it looks like some have turned black. This is a good sign. It's hard to say right now how many I have but I'm guessing over 100. I started them on Hikari First Bites this morning.

I moved Adam down to the 10-gallon w/Nevaeh. They seem to like it ok but I think Adam still prefers the 7-gallon. Normally I'd move the fry but I wanted to try it a little differently this time. Adam's really restless. He was letting the nest disintegrate though & that's when you need to separate the fry from their parents.

This is their first spawn so we'll see how it goes.

My fry are 5 days old now & I got some really good video on my digital camera of them swimming around the surface of the tank. I wish I could put it on here for y'all to see. I figure I have just about 100 or so left. Hopefully the mortality rate will be lower since I moved mom & dad insteadof the kids. We'll see....

sounds good val keep us posted with the updates!! GOOD LUCK!

The new babies are doing very well. It looks like there have been minimal casualties & they're growing rather quickly. I can see them from 10 feet away now. Mom is pregnant again but there's no nest so she'll probably reabsorb the eggs.
Shelley says the babies I gave her are doing werll also. The Runt at school is doing great. All's well it seems. Y'all have a good day!

Thats great news val!! Well done. Hope everything says going well.

Tim

Well it's been 2 weeks & the fry are doing great! They're about 2x the size they were when they hatched. Am feeding them 5cc of First Bites & water 2x a day. I can see them from 15 feet now.

Adam & Nevaeh still have no nest in the 10-gallon. I think the 7 is the way to go. Maybe when the fry are a month or so old I'll move them to new quarters & move mom & ad back up to the hex to spawn again.

Y'all have a great evening!

Val

Thats great news Val!! Wel done!! Hope everything remains on track and the babies grow up well.