fish sex and breeding

Question
QUESTION: how do you know if a paradise fish is  male or a female???

ANSWER: Good evening Jared,

Here's what I was able to find about sexing paradise fish.

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/paradisf.htm
"Males have brighter colours and much longer fins than females"

http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Macropodus_opercularis.html
"The male is more colorful with longer fins"

You can read more about them and their care at both these sites. You can also find out much more by typing their scientific name - Macropodus opercularis - into google.com or a similar search engine. I hope that helps!

Take care,
Nicole

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: what color should the male be in breeding time and should he make his fins spread apart in front of the female.

Answer
Hi Jared,

You can find lots about betta breeding online from fine sites like www.bettatalk.com and the process is very similar. Paradise fish are actually in the same family.

Male paradise fish will indeed show intense colors during spawning - and just like any Anabantoid (bettas, gouramis) will build a bubble nest when he is ready to spawn. He may display for the female and may perform courtship rituals - it all depends on whether he feels the female is "ready" or not. If the female isn't ready, he will chase her away and you should remove her to prevent injury. If the two form a pair, then you should expect to see displaying.

You can read about reproduction among Anabantoids:
http://www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish/pfish
http://www.fishinthe.net/html/section-viewarticle-8.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/GouramiReproFAQs.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/parad.htm#bred

Those sites will help you understand what to do during the breeding process. If you are successful in rearing the fry, you will need to have a diet ready for them. Crushed flakes, a bit of cooked egg yolk - these will work as soon as they are a bit older but their first foods really need to be microfoods such as infusoria. Baby brine shrimp can be offered soon afterwards as well as commercial preparations (Liquifry, Hikari First Bites) if you so desire.

Read more here about feeding the fry:
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/common_foods.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Essential-Tips-for-Rearing-Betta-Fry&id=503542

Some of the foods listed will require starter cultures - vinegar eels, for example - or eggs and a hatchery in the case of baby brine shrimp. If there is anything you are uncertain about (for example, if you didn't know what "rotifers" were) just type the word into google.com - you can add the word aquarium or fish to the word if the results you receive don't seem to be related to pet fish at all.

I hope that helps, good luck!
Nicole