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So in your case I would :
Take away the things you can take away without making the tank a total mess, or take away as much as you can and leave it to settle again.
Clear an area up to the front glass so it is easy to get a net down there without getting it entangled in something.Wait untill the fish you want to catch is happily swimming in the area, slowly get the net down behind it. It may of course dart like an arrow to the back of the tank, – and then you missed the opportunity, but if you don’t stir up everything and make the fish totally scared, it will come again. Or you can try when you feed.
Use a medium size net, not the small ones, – the small one is fine, but its easier to target it with a bigger net.
If you have to, in the end, clear most of the tank, – well, then so be it, but leave it to settle, maybe a day, – then you have a chance of seing which fish it is you have to catch. I must say, – for me, – sometimes it just takes a long time, more days, before I am sure I get the right fish, and I am able to catch it. In your case, I quess you could decide that it doesn’t matter if it takes a bit of time, better to do it without too much disturbance.
I have heard that some people think catching them in the net can cause damage to the skin, – but I have no idea how you would catch them without a net :S … even I would like to.You are completely right – simpel question – not simple answer and not easy to do.
Given the difficulty we have had to actually determine what is what in your four fish, you are right, – in a cloudy tank with four scared fish it will be next to impossible to be sure that you take the right fish.
I remember in my beginning time with paroes catching them was a nightmare, – and they hide like I had never seen any fish do. You could have a 12 liter tank and think you had stripped it of everything, – leaving just a little bit of brown dust settled on the ground, maybe a few bits of leaves, – and there should be 6 fish in the tank and I could see none :blink:
They could disappear under the tiniest bit of leave or dirt and look totally invisible.
But then when you stirred them they would dart like a racket around making it so difficult. Well .. sorry 😛 ..
But – why is it then not at all that difficult for me anymore, – I must have learned some tricks, – and I will see if I can give some on to you. You sound like you have quite a lot of experience with fish and that should be helpful ..Sometimes – quite often – I simply strip the tank, – but then my tanks now are without too much. So I can lift up the javamoss, take away the wooden piece and then thats more or less it. But often I still have leaves in there.
But the things that can be taken away easy, I will take away. Then leave the tank to settle.But I do first try to see if I can catch the fish without doing any changes, and it really seem not so difficult :whistle:
But I do know its a matter of having done it many times. But if you have a good area up to the front glas where it is possible to get a net down thats helpful. The best way is to get the fish up towards the front glass and get the net over it there. Often the fish, when not disturbed, swim around the front glas anyway, and if you get the net down behind them, they will seek up to the frontglas, probably hiding in the corner or under some leave (so none of these at the front glass)
Then get the net over them, – so they are caught between the net and the front glass. To get them to seek inwards into the net I have learned that to annoy them with a small torch-light is helpful, they dont like the light right in their eyes.If you take something out, like a bigger root or something, be very careful, because they can hide in these, or actually cling so tight to them that you dont see them, – they will travel right up with the root and end on the floor.
I think the male not colouring up could have two reasons
1 – he might be young, only just maturing. Some paros are slow in maturing. The female might also be young, so the courtship behaviour is not all that strong yet.
2 – The two ‘extra’ fish might also disturb his behaviour, one of them might be another male..Again, I think the best way would be to give a potential couple the tank on their own, provide an attractive cave, – then it will probably show up more quick if something is going on.
Hello Stefanie.
I do think that you have a male, the band in the caudal is not to be seen in females.
The behaviour you are talking about with the one female, well … I think that if its spawning behaviour its a good suggestion that theres a male in the tank. Females alone will not do that.I have found that if you keep more fish together the courtship between one female and one male is a bit prohibited, – it will occur, but if you seperated the pair it might show up much more clear. So if you have a feeling that theres one female showing courtship behaviour, let that one female be the only female with the male, and see what happens. With one male, you also really might want to make sure that there is offspring 😉 – and this is much more likely to happen with just the one pair in the tank. Two extra females is going to make it difficult.
Actually, I sometimes have the same problem with my ‘own’ offspring. I have species which produce a very uneven number of the two sexes, – in particular p. harveyi. Most of the offspring are males. And of course, I also reflect over this situation that I think one or more factors are ‘wrong’ – and I am trying to figure out which and change it.
So of course it really makes sense what you are writing Peter, – that one could worry that enviromental changes could have this effect on the fishes in the habitat.
That sounds very worrying.😉 Without a doubt a male !
Thats good news, it really is annoying when it sometimes happen that you end up with only one sex. I have tried it with some species, as I think I have written earlier somewhere, – but that has always been males only. And for this reason I have become really careful now when / if bying fish in stores.
Because many times you also are unable to get more fish that with certainty is the same species, so its really an unfortunate situation if theres only one sex.
Now for sure you have a male – and I would think more females, – but then it would be really good if they got offspring.
At some point I found some p.nagyi in my shop, wildcaught, and I had to buy some. I got back with at least 12, – two females. They developed a lot of problems, took long time before they ‘thrived’, so I lost so many of them untill in the end all I had left was one pair. They fortunately spawned and had two offsprings. Two males. Then the old male died. Now I had the mother and two sons.
I really wanted to keep this species, so I was hoping … and luckily, now, I still have the mother, the two sons + 3 new offsprings. And I really hope one or more will be females, – then there might be a chance of keeping on having this species in my tanks.I congratulate you with the fact that you do obviously have at least one pair. Which species is still to me something which will be for a later point to determine.
I know my photoes are not to be very proud of :whistle: but these of p.parvulus I took with one hand pointing a little torch to spot the fish. At least they show the red spots more than most of my other images of parvulus.
For id-purpose it may be a way to do it, – not for taking beatiful pictures really 🙂http://www.pragtgurami.dk/en/gallerier/fisk.html (top 3 to the left)
Even its nice photoes, its really impossible to see precisely how the fish look, its too dark. The first photo is better, but then the fish is not showing too much.
I dont know if its helpful, but I sometimes have taken the photograph by simply putting the lens totally up against the glas, – and then using the flash, – you can be lucky and get a real clear sharp image with the colours showing clearly.Yes, okay, – I trust you 🙂 … but it really would surprise me, – to me it looks like a male. Do you keep them in one tank together and no other fish ? As a pair ?
Hi Bartian.
Your exercise with the camera sounds interesting 🙂 … at one point I had a flash light glued to my camera 🙂 .. It looked a bit weird, but any trick goes.I like your photoes, – the ones of the little one is really good.
I have to say, I would really think those quindecims are two males. I know the female quindecim shows some pattern and some colours, but mine usually looks like this https://parosphromenus-project.org/en/quindecim.html (last two images ) .. infact those are mine 🙂I would say, no to that it might be p.phoenicurus, – that seems to me to be a very colourful paroshromenus, and I would think this would show up at the size your fish have, – so that you would not be in any doubt.
I really think its difficult, judging from the photoes, even to be sure that there are males between, – one may look so, I agree, but not clearly showing it yet.
Thanks for the hints, – sometimes I get ahead of myself here, – actually the pages of p. gunawani and p. phoenicurus is ‘in working’, – I just thought I would set in the photoes, – but we are working on the details still.Actually yes, – I was about to write that, – that even small, you do see similar behaviour with the licorice gouramies as in many labyrints, – and they are also territorial to some extend. They are small, so agression is seldom fatal, or really I have never experienced it, – but there are always dominant males and also dominant females.
I just had four very young p.parvulus in one small tank together, two males and two females and noticed that they werent really feeling optimal, – some of them staying in the back of the tank, not coming to feed properly and so, looking a bit dull and grey. So I decided to seperate them into two pairs, – and it has taken one day, and the two males are now colouring up nicely, chasing each his female, very eagerly. When together they didnt seem to have the hieraky sorted out. They are very young, but this definitely helped them ‘grow up’ quicker.Hello RayCaruana
I cannot help you with the question regarding the excact species that you have, I am sure other will be able to.
But to your last question regarding the male behaviour to the female, – Yes, its quite normal behaviour for the male to be somewhat agressive – or I would maybe not call it agressive – but pushing, chasing, testing out the female somewhat. I think its part of the whole play towards getting ready for spawning, – at times, if the female is not ready, it may seem a bit hard, the male may seem a bit hard to her, but its never too much. And is probably part of the male activating the spawning reaction in the female.I am certainly not annoyed 🙂 .. I know the feeling of being just a little bit impatient and studying those new paros for hours to wait for them to ‘show their real colours’ or flash a little bit … its just a sign of how passionate we become about these tiny fishes.
However… though I can see the male is colouring up, – I am still not very much wiser with regards to what they will eventually be.
But following the unfolding story is great, so just keep the pictures coming.
