introduced paradise fishes

They sparred immediately. I wish I'd filmed it, but my camera battery was dead. For a long time they went in slow spirals broadside to each other, fins and operculum flared, shaking their heads and thrusting tails at each other. Darting and dashing at each other, circling close. Locked lips and drifted down as they tested each others' strength. Didn't seem to actually be getting torn apart, so I let them try and settle it. When things appeared to be getting frenzied, I put a stick in the water between them. Then Lady followed Perry close around the tank, pushed him into a corner. For a long time he cowered behind the filter box.

Then a curious thing, she came up behind the filter box and just lay on the substrate, facing him, a few centimeters away. They rested like that just staring at each other- Lady breathing hard, Perry slowly beginning to flare his fins. She moves around the tank now exploring, darting to the surface, attacking and eating ramshorns. If Perry leaves his corner she chases him back.

It's been on and off again like that for hours. No more lip wrestling or circling, but Lady definitely seems to think its all hers-

As far as I can tell, there's no serious damage. Lady has a scrape on the top of her head, and a few scales missing on her right side above the pectoral fin.

Perry has nips on both sides, but nothing major. He seems very intimidated, though.

It occurred to me later, of course they are probably both stressed as much due to the new environment as finally meeting each other, so I put up background panels to dim the tank. Perry ventured out of hiding, and Lady promptly chased him back. The blur is his red tail- she's the shadow right behind.

I am doubtful, but I do hope they can work it out. I take it as a good sign nobody had their fins ripped yet, but it wouldn't be a happy situation if Lady kept Perry in the corner all the time, and he constantly feels stressed or is bullied from the food. I'll have to wait and see, keep a close eye on them, do frequent water changes for a while (I've heard this reduces the hormones and things fish release in the water to signal to each other, and can reduce aggression for angels- so why not for paradise fish too). Meanwhile, I've kept the 10g quarantine tank running in the basement, with snails and plants, so if it gets bad between them, I can move one fish out.