Paradise Fish & Friends

[jeffthefish]

On my desk at work I have a tall 3 gallon tank that houses 1 male Paradise Fish (with one eye), one GAE and one oto.

I've read that Paradise are very aggressive, but he has never even touched either algae eater. Because of his good behavior, I'm considering putting a few Corydorus pygmaeus in there. They're roughly the same size as an oto, so I'm hoping it will be ok.

Does anyone have any actual experience with this or a similar combination?

[spypet]

Originally Posted by jeffthefish

I'm considering putting a few Corydorus pygmaeus in there. They're roughly the same size as an oto

you can fit about 4 adult pygmy corys into the space of one Otto,
however they do get along just fine. while Otto's like company,
pygmy corys will actually school together if you get a few of them.
like Otto's, pygmy corys are sensitive during new tank acclimation.
If your paradise fish is used to eating live food, don't put in a pygmy.

Corydorus hastatus:

[kevbshields]

As for Paradise, they're one of my favs . . . I, too, would advise against the pygmy corys. Although he may not eat them today or next week, one of mine from the past had a "trick" he'd play with tank mates. He'd be unaggressive, non-threatening and then slowly eat his way through a school of smaller fish, sometimes taking months to eat them. It wasn't that the big guy was being starved, just that he seemed to have a predatory streak he couldn't control. He seemed to enjoy living awhile with his future prey.

kev.

[mistergreen]

If you can find a high quality paradise fish i'd recommend buying one just for the beauty of the thing but if not, I wouldn't bother. They're too aggressive for a community tank. Maybe if they were with other aggressive fish of the same size, maybe.

[jeffthefish]

Sounds like he needs to see a therapist, Kevb. ;-)

[retoid]

I used to have 2 paradise fish in my tank, they both fought so i removed one, after that the remaining one starting attacking my gourami so i removed that one. No paradise fish = healthy peaceful fish

[kevbshields]

I've found they do best either on their own (as my current specimen is kept) or alongside some sort of bottom dweller that's too big for them to eat or too hardy for them to hurt. Some have a tendency to be aggressive, irrespective of "eating" their tank mates.

I do find them fascinating little critters, with lots of personality and character. Unfortunately, they can make a menace of themselves. For instance, shrimp will always become a quick meal for them! You could consider any fish of relative size, not a fast swimmer and one that doesn't require a lot of water movement. NOt sure that helps.

No other gourami species with them--EVER. They will not stand for that. I've seen them successfully kept with larger Cichlid species, but I find the Paradise show their best color when confined to their own territory--where they have a very slight water movement (near to none is even better) and no interference with other fish.

It's difficult to find a good specimen, but occasionally they do show up. You know you're getting a good one when in the dealer's tank the fish is displaying nice color depth, decent fin extensions and active curiosity. Good luck with your endeavor.

[jeffthefish]

I'll just keep him as is for now. Thanks for all the input!

[JenThePlantGeek]

In a 3 gallon, the 3 fish you already have push the stocking capacity of the tank. If you were talking about a 10 gallon with some hiding places, those pygmy cories would probably work a bit better.

*poke poke* You know you want another tank.

[jeffthefish]

You didn't have to poke! I knew already!

But I already have 2 tanks on my desk at work...maybe I'll just upgrade one.

Or, another idea I got was to replace the Gold AE (if I can catch him) with a Peacock Gudgeon. I haven't been able to find any info on this fish that doesn't relate specifically to breeding, but from my own observations they seem to be a moderately aggressive fish that stays more or less near the bottom, so I think it MIGHT work.

Either that, or I'll get a few ctenopoma, male bettas, and trichogaster sp. for my 3 gallon.