# Interactive Fish?



## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

For Christmas I got a new tank (woo! :-D). It is a 40g long (48inch). 
Now..I am wondering what to do with it x)

At first, I thought betta sorority- since, bettas are lovely, obviously. But now i'm not so sure if I want to deal with the stress of one. It took me about a month to get over my solo-kept girls when they passed. Since sororities are so stressful and loss is more than likely (or so I hear), I'm not so sure they are for me. 

So my question is, what are some other fish that are interactive like bettas? Rather, personality filled, smarter, not-so-flighty fish. I've heard of Parrot Cichlids already, but i'm not so sure I like the look of them. Likewise, I know of Fancy Goldfish, but I prefer planted tanks (though that alone won't discourage me from a species). 

I have nothing for this tank yet, so everything will be bought around the species I chose specifically. For reference, I have bettas, angels, livebearers, pearl gourami, peppered cories, and neon tetra already. Only the angels seem to have any friendly personality apart from the bettas.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

What about a bichir?










The ones at my local aquarium are super friendly (ie, are great at begging for food) and sure are interesting to look at. 

They also can live up to 10 years. 

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/bichir.php


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Those are awesome! If I can find a species small enough around here, they definitely attract me  Awesome dinosaur-snake look to them that is somehow.. unexplainably cute


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

All my killifish have been as friendly as any betta I have owned. I have a tank full of sub-adults and juveniles and every time I put my hand in the tank I have to push them away because they are so curious. 

Depending on the species a pair can live quite happily in as little as a 5 gallon tank. Probably the biggest and most impressive killifish species is Fundulopanchax sjoestedti. I had a pair in the past and they were stunning.


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

Many cichlids would hit the bill, but they are a bit less friendly and many of the larger ones may bite you if you put your hand in the tank. Some of the smaller (I.E 8 inches or less) sunfish could also work, and resemble cichlids without (to my knowledge) the tendancy to bite the hand that feeds them!

I've heard that lone paradise fish are interactive, and can state from personal experience that at least one of my deceased paradise fish was quite aware of my presence and begged for food, but you cannot safely keep a lone paradise fish with tankmates. Of my current pair of paradise fish, the male, Bear, regularly watches me, but he seems to fear me and flees when I open the tank top...he might just not be used to me yet.


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## frankiefire (Feb 26, 2013)

I have a pair of bolivian rams and they always interact with me. Once they associate you with food they'll follow you all around the tank.


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## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

Well, nothing fancy, but all baloon mollies that I have ever had were super friendly. Just get girls tho because the babies are too annoying haha. Anyway, the baloon mollies wil follow me around the tank and swim right up to my hand. I trained mine to do tricks like swimming thru a hoop etc. they wil followmy hand and I have a special feeding thingy that they will eat out of. I think it's cute when they nibble on my fingers as well. 
Another good one is weather loaches. They enjoy being petted and interacted with
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

Mollies and other livebearers are often already pregnant at the store, so just getting females might still lead to a population explosion. An all-male tank would be better.


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## Crowntails (Feb 12, 2013)

I've never owned a German Blue Ram, but when I see them at the pet store, they were pretty interactive. They are also very beautiful fish.


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## JellOh (Mar 13, 2013)

I had some Zebra Danios and Rosey Barbs for a bit and they were a riot. If I stuck my finger in the tank they would come up and nibble it. Once they learn that you have food for them they will do back flips to get to you. I hear sea lions are also very interactive and have been called "dogs of the sea", but your tanks a bit to small for a sea lion


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Fundulopanchax sjoestedti are beautiful, are they rare? I almost never see any killifish around here, let alone a species so eye catching

I actually have a bolivian ram already, she's a new addition and i'm looking to get her friends for another tank. But by god, I looked for rams for months before I spotted her on a fluke, seems every time my LFS gets them in i'm never there and when I am, they're gone :<

As for cichlids or sunfish, any particular species? I've looked at a few cichlids, but always been (sort of) put off by their plant eating habits. I'm not afraid of being bit personally, more afraid of them biting eachother haha. I'm not much for aggressiveness :/ NW or dwarfs seem better for me I believe- And i'm already sold on Angels and Rams (other tanks) x> Yay for MTS

Edit: Lol, I think we posted at the same time!

I personally don't like the look of the average zebra danio, at all  Rosy barbs are great, though, but I think they'd be a better second focus schooling fish than the main thing of the tank. Definitely on the list if I just do another community tank  

lol the thing about sea lions. I don't think they'd make very good pets for me, though. I'm not much of a dog person xD


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Jack dempseys are the most friendly, interactive fish I know. Mine will eat out of my hand, but yes if I put my hand in with no food he will bite. Im training him to jump for krill. Also pictus catfish are very aware of who's outside the tank. If I approach the glass, they beg for food, anyone else they ignore. Also many loaches seem to bond with humans.
Good luck!
PS. My cichlids no longer destroy plants since I started feeding them fresh veg. I love new world cichlids and I think anyone who keeps them will too.


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

Orangespot sunfish, bantam sunfish, or any of the enneacanthus sunfish would work in communities with fish too large to be eaten (they get to no more than 5 inches, usually 4). Dollar, green, and long-ear sunfish would also work, but they are more aggressive and would do best in a specimen tank, so I think you would prefer the first three options.

I haven't heard of most dwarf cichlids (except for kribensis) destroying plants. I guess any cichlid could pose a risk to plants, but in dwarfs and other 'plant-safe' cichlids (such as angelfish), it depends on the individual fish. I love rainbow cichlids for their color personally, and they are very docile by cichlid standards, so - at the very least - a community would be possible with them, if not a planted tank (and I've even heard of that being done). The lake tanganyikan shelldwellers and julies could definitely work, but plants will need to be potted/tied to rocks since those species like to dig. Peacock cichlids and some of the smaller victorian cichlids (haplochromis sp. ruby green is a favorite...they eat algae OFF OF plants) could also work if those same guidelines are followed.


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## panthers24 (Dec 31, 2013)

I know it really depends on the fish but my brother used to have African Cichlids and he had 3 of them and one of them would not stop attacking the others. You could be standing in front of the tank watching them and he would attack them.


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

For most Africans, you need to keep at least 6 - 12 in some species - for exactly that reason. If you don't, the dominant fish will pick on his tank mates until only he remains. The fish I mentioned above are fairly docile by African standards and shouldn't cause any problems to one another if only 1 male is kept. The peacocks, at least, could even be combined with non-cichlids large enough not to be eaten, although I am not sure whether that includes bettas.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Plant your goldfish tank?


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## sponge1234 (Oct 29, 2013)

Wow! Olympia, that's a beautiful tank!

Have you seen mbuna cichlids? There from lake malawi. They will eat plants but just feed them a diet high in veggies. There are some real nice,not as aggressive but still aggressive, and really really pretty fish. Some species are Red Zebra Cichlid(metriclama estherae), yellow labs(labidochromis cearula)(I think that's the scientific name), afras(c.afra)
Hope that gives you some ideas!

Edit: already posted, but you have to overpopulate the tank so that the aggression will keep down. I keep melanochromis johanni ,which is one of the more aggressive species of mbuna, in with Iots of other mbuna and I rarely see any fighting.


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

I love that goldfish tank, but whether goldies would work in such a tank depends on the goldfish...some would view the entire tank as a salad bar, and many will eat the hornwort (that IS hornwort, right?) while ignoring the java fern.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Just to racap, i'm fine with this being a species only tank, there will be no bettas in it, and I prefer planted though that isn't necessary  Infact a species-only tank is prefered, but if the fish is small and fine with it, i'll probably put in a school of something aswell



rsskylight04 said:


> Jack dempseys are the most friendly, interactive fish I know. Mine will eat out of my hand, but yes if I put my hand in with no food he will bite. Im training him to jump for krill. Also pictus catfish are very aware of who's outside the tank. If I approach the glass, they beg for food, anyone else they ignore. Also many loaches seem to bond with humans.
> Good luck!
> PS. My cichlids no longer destroy plants since I started feeding them fresh veg. I love new world cichlids and I think anyone who keeps them will too.


The jack dempsey looks great, but at 10inches I would probably only be able to have one, and that only in the tank, correct? I saw some nice dark blue/black and neon blue-green babies in the LFS, they definitely are lookers, but i'm not so sure that's what I want if I could have a nice school or pair of something else 

Also, what kind stopped eating the plants once fed vegies? That's definitely a plus ^^ I assume you fed them actual vegetables, not wafers or whathave you?




Joshaeus said:


> Orangespot sunfish, bantam sunfish, or any of the enneacanthus sunfish would work in communities with fish too large to be eaten (they get to no more than 5 inches, usually 4). Dollar, green, and long-ear sunfish would also work, but they are more aggressive and would do best in a specimen tank, so I think you would prefer the first three options.
> 
> I haven't heard of most dwarf cichlids (except for kribensis) destroying plants. I guess any cichlid could pose a risk to plants, but in dwarfs and other 'plant-safe' cichlids (such as angelfish), it depends on the individual fish. I love rainbow cichlids for their color personally, and they are very docile by cichlid standards, so - at the very least - a community would be possible with them, if not a planted tank (and I've even heard of that being done). The lake tanganyikan shelldwellers and julies could definitely work, but plants will need to be potted/tied to rocks since those species like to dig. Peacock cichlids and some of the smaller victorian cichlids (haplochromis sp. ruby green is a favorite...they eat algae OFF OF plants) could also work if those same guidelines are followed.


So far I only really like the look of pygmy sunfish, but I assume they are too small to really look befitting in a 40 long. Kribensis are plant safe, arn't they? Atleast that is what i've seen when researching mostly.. I need to do more oO They are one of my top choice, since I find them beautiful 

Peacocks look great, I'll research those more too..And Haplochromis, very colourful. For the post part i've read that africans indeed need a populated tank not to bully eachother that badly- Does that mean the tank has to be bear, to keep up the swimming room, or would driftwood/rocks be good to break the line of sight? 



Olympia said:


> Plant your goldfish tank?


Wow, that's like a dream fancy tank! How do you stop them from eating the plants, though? I fear fancies definitely win if I can pull something like that off..probably lol 


Alright, here are my ideas so far: in no order

Non planted 

1)Mixed Peacock Cichlids (Six?) Still need research on those
Sand bottom tank, probably black Tahitian Moon sand, or a white cichlid sand 
Cichlid stones, driftwood(boiled, to get rid of tannis) or both 

2) Fancy goldfish, possibly 3-4 with multitude of filtration 
Black sand 
Mostly bare tank, possibly some small, short driftwood pieces that won't get in the way of their swimming
(Not prefered, as it sounds rather boring visually)

3) Fancy goldfish, 2 
School of White Cloud Mountain Minnows *if* they seem unlikely to get eaten, or preferably Longfin Rosy barbs (6)
Black sand 
Driftwood, fake realistic-looking plants 

Planted

1)Senegal* Bichir, number unknown
Black Tahitan moon sand + root tabs, or flourite black sand 
Plants, undecided except for Frogbit and Hornwart, which I have in access
Driftwood shapely enough to form a cave/hide of sorts 
* I saw some posts on monsterfishkeepers where people have said it would be fine to have 3ish senegals in a 48inch tank with proper filtration. Yet sites like liveaquaria say they need 90gallons. So I'm quite confused about this, perhaps I need to search for a smaller species?

2) Kribensis cichlid, start with 4 (two pairs)
Cherry barbs (6) or Leopard Danio (6) or Zebra Danio colour morph (preferably spotted)
White or black sand + root tabs, or a plant substrate
Lots and lots of hides, home-made caves, coconut huts and cichlid stones 
Plenty of driftwood 
Hearty, fast growing plants , frogbit, java moss, java fern/anubias for the driftwood, possibly a hairgrass or microsword carpet 
Liquid CO2 for the carpet if chosen 

3) Planted Goldfish?? 


-- That is not all for sure, those are just the ones i've looked into most. Other species i'm looking up on are :

Haplochromis

Rainbow cichlids

Jewel Cichlids 

Yellow labs 

Electric Blue cichlids 

Shelldweller 

Jack Dempsy

Killifish, especially Fundulopanchax sjoestedti

..Then there are the millions of other community fish options I could look into if not trying for especially human 'friendly' fish :lol:


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I saw you asked about killifish. You probably are not going to walk into a fish store and find anything but the more common species. Gold and blue panchax are what I usually see around here. Blue panchax are lovely, but they get quite large and can be quite aggressive towards each other and other tankmates. 

Otherwise, your best bet at finding something like sjoestedti, is to either look around for killifish clubs in your area/state, look on AB, or find a place like the Wetspot on AB that specialises in more oddball fish. 

Also if you get killifish you'll want a tight fitting lid for your tank. They are expert jumpers and will get out of very small gaps.


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

You want a lot of cover (I.E rock piles) with most africans to allow them to hide/evade from each other. Peacocks are an exception - they prefer swimming room, so only a few rocks should be present: open sand should dominate the rest of the surface, perhaps accompanied by potted plants. By the way, peacocks (except possibly for OB peacocks, which are hybrids between peacocks and mbuna, and _Aulonocara jacobfreibergi_) do not need as large a group as other cichlids due to their relatively docile temperments. A harem of 1M3+F would work nicely, and they would probably breed in that setup and give you more peacocks. Ruby greens also tend to be more forgiving of small group sizes, and if your tank is a 48" tank, you could even keep more than one male if the group is large enough.

On a side note, both the peacocks and the ruby greens are rather easy to sex when mature (which admittedly takes a while in peacocks)...only the males have a substantial amount of color. Female peacocks tend to be a brownish-grey color with stripes, and haplochromis ruby green females are silver with a broken darker line. Do not rely on eggspots to sex africans, as you are often told...females can occasionally have eggspots. If you see a fish 'holding' (both peacocks and haplochromis are mouthbrooders), you'll know for certain you have a female.

About the bichirs...they grow BIG. I've read they grow to over a foot and perhaps even 18" easily, so it might be best to save those for a bigger tank. By the way, the white clouds WILL be eaten as the goldfish grow.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

You -can- get smaller varieties of bichir, but yes, some do grow very large. Your tank is plenty room for a smaller variety.. Here's a good link with the species/sizes listed:

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/keeping_polypterus.htm

That planted goldie tank is just to die for, though, isn't it?

This thread is fast looking my own fishkeeping wish list, LOL. Can't wait to see what you end up with!


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## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

Wouldn't the goldfish devour all those plants...?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Joshaeus said:


> You want a lot of cover (I.E rock piles) with most africans to allow them to hide/evade from each other. Peacocks are an exception - they prefer swimming room, so only a few rocks should be present: open sand should dominate the rest of the surface, perhaps accompanied by potted plants. By the way, peacocks (except possibly for OB peacocks, which are hybrids between peacocks and mbuna, and _Aulonocara jacobfreibergi_) do not need as large a group as other cichlids due to their relatively docile temperments. A harem of 1M3+F would work nicely, and they would probably breed in that setup and give you more peacocks. Ruby greens also tend to be more forgiving of small group sizes, and if your tank is a 48" tank, you could even keep more than one male if the group is large enough.
> 
> On a side note, both the peacocks and the ruby greens are rather easy to sex when mature (which admittedly takes a while in peacocks)...only the males have a substantial amount of color. Female peacocks tend to be a brownish-grey color with stripes, and haplochromis ruby green females are silver with a broken darker line. Do not rely on eggspots to sex africans, as you are often told...females can occasionally have eggspots. If you see a fish 'holding' (both peacocks and haplochromis are mouthbrooders), you'll know for certain you have a female.
> 
> About the bichirs...they grow BIG. I've read they grow to over a foot and perhaps even 18" easily, so it might be best to save those for a bigger tank. By the way, the white clouds WILL be eaten as the goldfish grow.


As far as I recall, the only labled peacocks were labled as 'misc peacocks', and all were a blue base, with yellow on some and a few 'marbled' individuals, which I assume means they are hybrids of colours. As far as I noticed, though, they were all very colourful, does that mean they were all male? Oo

I got the feeling whiteclouds would be eaten, so those are definately out. I think I'll just avoid tankmates for goldies in general, just incase one decides to try and eat a large rosy barb and chokes to death.. I don't know if it actually happens often but i'd rather not risk it ahah 



Aus said:


> You -can- get smaller varieties of bichir, but yes, some do grow very large. Your tank is plenty room for a smaller variety.. Here's a good link with the species/sizes listed:
> 
> http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/keeping_polypterus.htm
> 
> ...


Marble Bichir have some nice patterns, they get 12inch.. The smallest is 11 inches.. If I got a bichir, I think i'd want more than one, so I think i'll just wait on those until my next tank adventure. Here you see the struggle and failed will of someone with bad MTS sydrome. I no longer kid myself that 'this will be the last tank', lol. 



squishylittlefishies said:


> Wouldn't the goldfish devour all those plants...?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I thought they would, but a previous post here has me madly in love with the idea, and this I started researching 

So far i've read it seems to help keep them from eating the plants, duckweed helps (as it grows fast and they love to eat), and also one needs to be choosy about their plants- which is pretty obvious I think. One must also make sure the plants can either float, or ancor them down and let them root before adding the goldfish. 

Perhaps putting rocks around the roots of plants would help? Just an idea. Though I suppose the goldfish could move them if they really wanted to @[email protected] 

Here are the plants i've seen suggested: 


Duckweed, to give them something to eat 'other' than the rest of your plants basically lol 

Giant Vallisneria, because it is large, robust, and grows fast

Amazon Sword, because of large, tough leaves 

Anubias, because they have 'thick leaves'

Java fern, because they appearently don't taste very good?

Hornwart, because it is fast growing and can live floating 

Anarchis, because it grows fast and can live floating 

Crypt species, especially Wendtii, Becketti, Aponogetifolia, because they have strong stems and leaves 

Hygrophilia species, may or may not work, an article suggests H. rosanervig

Ludwigia species, may or may not work, but has robust stems and leaves.
I feel it's mostly trial and error, what works for some may not work for others, some goldfish may go after some plants that others wont, some may seem fine then decide to snack on one of them someday etc. But if it is possible to pull off, even with issues, I think it's worth a try! And if worst comes to worst, I can just throw the plants in another tank, or do so to grow more.. Oh, and keep them well fed so everything doesn't look -quite- so tempting. 

So I may very well go with goldfish and try this ^^ Just need to do alot more research into each variety of fancy and make sure everythig will go smoothly. Since I need to order basically everything online, except the fish themselves, i'll have quite a bit of time to do so. Ah, waiting :< I'm going to keep researching into cichlids, too, to see if they would do better in the tank. And really.. heaven knows i'm indecisive


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Uhm for planting a goldie tank, usually if you introduce them when they are small it works a lot better. Also if you hadn't noticed, there is way more hornwort in there than they could possibly eat. xD It's a fast grower.
My goldie tank is a lot more barren than it used to be, it only has giant swords and water sprite which they do not bother eating either (unless it is very small amounts). From what I've experienced thought it's very easy to keep goldfish with plants as long as you have a lot of plants and don't mind a few rips in the leaves (though mine don't even bother ripping plants). 
Doing a barebottom/thin layer of sand is a popular choice, then many people keep floating plants or simply put things like swords into flower pots. I had some nice pictures of tanks but I do not know where they went hrmm..


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

goldfish will do fine with plants,as long as the correct plants are chosen. hornwort,anubias,swords,hygro,water lilies/tiger lotus.if given a varied diet with enough vegetables and edible plants like duckweed,it is easier to keep a planted goldfish tank.


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## Cotton19 (Nov 26, 2013)

Joshaeus said:


> Many cichlids would hit the bill, but they are a bit less friendly and many of the larger ones may bite you if you put your hand in the tank. Some of the smaller (I.E 8 inches or less) sunfish could also work, and resemble cichlids without (to my knowledge) the tendancy to bite the hand that feeds them!
> 
> I've heard that lone paradise fish are interactive, and can state from personal experience that at least one of my deceased paradise fish was quite aware of my presence and begged for food, but you cannot safely keep a lone paradise fish with tankmates. Of my current pair of paradise fish, the male, Bear, regularly watches me, but he seems to fear me and flees when I open the tank top...he might just not be used to me yet.


Paradise fish are a lot of fun, but the temperament is hit or miss. I have one who needs (and has) his own tank; he is aggressive and can jump 6 inches out of the water, but he comes swimming over if I even look his way to say hi. My other two are content living on opposite sides of my 55 gal community, and both let me pet them. If you find one or two with social temperaments, they would look good in the goldfish tank if you go that way, and are compatible with the water temps, but you would want to see them interact in a community for a couple months before testing that with fancy goldfish. I only had one albino paradise, and I agree with the general advice that says they are more docile.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

i would only keep snails or dojo loaches with most fancy goldfish. i would not even keep single tail goldies with fancies.there are a couple of fancys that should be kept with select few other fancies.pearl scales, bubble eyes and celestials would fall into this category.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

double post.sorry


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

Cotton19 said:


> Paradise fish are a lot of fun, but the temperament is hit or miss. I have one who needs (and has) his own tank; he is aggressive and can jump 6 inches out of the water, but he comes swimming over if I even look his way to say hi. My other two are content living on opposite sides of my 55 gal community, and both let me pet them. If you find one or two with social temperaments, they would look good in the goldfish tank if you go that way, and are compatible with the water temps, but you would want to see them interact in a community for a couple months before testing that with fancy goldfish. I only had one albino paradise, and I agree with the general advice that says they are more docile.


I hadn't mentioned this earlier, but from my experiences and research, pairs or harems of paradise fish are far more likely (though not guaranteed, as per usual for anabantoids) to work in a community than lone paradise fish. When kept alone, the paradise fish are a lot like tiger barbs - they don't have their own kind to bicker with, so they often get frustrated/bored and attack their tank mates. I have a 29 gallon with a mated pair of paradise fish, 12 zebra danios (some of them long-finned!) and several variatus platies, and I can say that the paradise fish have practically ignored their tank mates after the first few hours - they only pester each other. However, they need a 30", heavily decorated tank to be kept in a pair to avoid the female(s) being beaten up, and a 48" tank for a second male (you likely know the latter, though)


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

I decided not to go with goldfish after all- I think i'll wait and try a pond with them instead, after research 40g just seems a bit tight, I suppose. I've also decided to go with a definite planted tank, since I think a nice intense aquascape would really make the short and long tank pop. ^-^ I finally have the tank on it's stand (empty still), have the lights, and have ordered the substrate, filter and driftwood- so I won't be changing my mind again, thank heavens >><< 

I am back to considering a sorority.. My LFS keeps their females together, do you think that would make that easier for them to just move together into a new home? Or should I still buy cups and whathaveyou and introduce them the regular way if that is what I go with?

Are paradise fish more betta-like or gourami-like in personality? Or something else entirely? I need to read through the article on here about them again, I must've flew through it because I have almost no memory of it.*sigh*


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