Aquarium cleaner fish: description, features of maintenance and care, photo

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Any person who buys an aquarium with fish dreams of making his hobby enjoyable. People are ready to spend a lot of money on maintaining the aqua system, lighting and decoration. However, many aquarists do not consider it necessary to have aquarium cleaner fish to help him and share his daily worries.

What are they for

Sometimes, even with the most careful care, the inside of the aquarium is covered with a brown coating. The owners have to clean the walls every time with various chemicals. However, this can be avoided if you add fish that feed on plant remains in time. Such species will gladly eat garbage, as for them it is the main food. In addition to fish, snails and aquarium shrimp have this property. The most popular species included in the list of aquarium cleaner fish: catfish, girinocheilus, swordtails, guppies, mollies, Siamese algae eaters and seahorses.

Black mollies

It is considered, perhaps, the most sought-after aquarium fish. Molliesiaextremely unpretentious in care and breeds well in captivity. It is quite hardy and can be kept even in fairly hard water. This species does not tolerate changes in temperature, and as a result, it can get sick.

The main food of mollies is algae. Therefore, in aquariums with artificial plants, the fish usually feel very bad. In such cases, owners are advised to feed their pets with spirulina, spinach or duckweed.

If the aquarium also contains large fish, then the mollies will become uncomfortable. Experienced breeders recommend making small groups of these fish, which will include three females and one male. Usually each female gives birth to up to sixty fairly strong fry.

Colorful guppies

This is another hardy fish very popular with aquarium owners. It is believed that the main shades of guppies are cream, blue and white. From Central America, these fish came to Europe only at the end of the nineteenth century. They got their name in honor of the British scientist Robert Guppy. Due to their small size, these fish can live in an aquarium of absolutely any capacity. Experts believe that one and a half liters of water is enough for each individual.

They need a fairly long daylight hours, lasting at least ten hours. In addition to algae, guppies eat dry food, bread and pieces of meat. There should be enough plants in the aquarium so that these fish do not feel hungry. The water temperature is usuallydoes not exceed twenty-two degrees. In order to stimulate childbirth in a female, it is advisable to raise the temperature to twenty-six. They are viviparous fish. Moreover, the fry appear quite strong and hardy.

Girinocheilus fish

This is a fairly large aquarium cleaner fish. The list of varieties of girinocheilus is small. The length of his body sometimes reaches fifteen centimeters. When breeding these fish, it should be borne in mind that they are quite aggressive. Moreover, their attacks are sometimes directed not only at other inhabitants of the aquarium, but also at relatives. Because of this, the scales of neighboring fish are very often damaged.

The main food is plant food. If the gyrinocheilus does not have enough algae waste, then it should be fed with garden greens. The best option would be spinach and a fresh salad.

These fish-cleaners of the aquarium from algae live for a long time, and they have puberty only in the third year of life. Breeding girinocheilus is quite troublesome and many beginners cannot do it. First of all, the aquarium should be large enough, and in order to keep the eggs safe and sound, the female is transplanted into a special jig and a fungus solution is added to the water.

How to keep swordsmen

There are many types of swordtails, among which the most attractive are considered "Berlin", "lemon" and "comet". Despite the fact that the fish prefers warm enough water, the swordsmancan withstand temperatures of nineteen degrees. This fish is demanding on cleanliness, so aquarium owners have to constantly use a filter and regularly change a third of the water in the aquarium. They feed on any kind of food and are excellent at eating plant foods in the form of algae residues.

You can distinguish a male from a female by the tail in the form of a sword. Photos and descriptions of aquarium cleaner fish can be found in almost any literature intended for aquarists. It is practically absent in the female.

This viviparous fish is quite prolific, and its offspring are quite hardy. Thanks to these qualities, newcomers are very fond of breeding swordsmen. The price of this fish is quite low and therefore accessible to almost everyone. Fry are fed with egg yolk or regular dry food. After a month, they can be transplanted back into the aquarium.

Siamese algae eater

Today, these aquarium cleaner fish (see photo above) are considered the best inhabitants that eat vegetation waste. Externally, the algae eater looks like this:

1. He has a long, narrow body, reaching a length of sixteen centimeters. However, in aquarium conditions, the algae eater barely reaches fourteen.
2. This fish lives long enough (up to ten years).
3. He has silvery scales with a cute stripe. Each scale has a border.
4. Females tend to be larger than males.
5. The fins of this species of fish are matte in color.

Aquarists often refer to the Siamese algae eater as the "flying fox". Even the photo and the name of the aquarium cleaner fish speak for themselves. The main food of this fish is algae. Moreover, she can even eat such seemingly inedible species as girinocheilus and ancistrus. They are quite tough and seemingly unsuitable for food. However, this does not become an obstacle for the flying fox.

Algae eaters are usually peaceful and get along well with any inhabitants of the aquarium. They are quite active and mobile. Therefore, it is advisable for them to select a roomy aquarium with a small number of fish.

Unfortunately, the algae eater does not breed in captivity. It can only be purchased at a pet store, where it comes from those countries where it lives in natural conditions. The Siamese fox is very fond of clean water enriched with oxygen. During rest and rest, algae eaters lie on their side. As soon as the fish feels that it is in danger, it immediately hides in the vegetation.

Seahorse

This interesting and cute species of fish is very attractive to both experienced and beginner aquarists. It got its name from its resemblance to a horse. He has a peculiar characteristic head, a tail that helps to stay on any support, and a fairly large belly. The natural habitat of the seahorse is considered to be the coral reefs of the Caribbean. Its body is barely 1.5 centimeters long.

For the cultivation and breeding of a skate, proper conditions should be provided for it. First of all, inthe aquarium should contain a sufficient amount of algae, which serve as food for it. In addition, snags must be located at the bottom, for which he will cling to his tail.

How to care

These aquarium cleaner fish are quite voracious and if there is not enough plant food, they can also eat ordinary food intended for other fish. However, the best option would be shrimp that are fed with a douche or a straw. This process often takes a long time. Due to their slowness, skates can stare at food for fifteen minutes before eating it.

Because of the gluttony of seahorses, water is very often polluted, so aquarium owners have to clean the bottom regularly. Fast and aggressive fish scare seahorses. Therefore, it is advisable to place shy skates in a separate aquarium or select calm neighbors for them.

These aquarium cleaner fish are extremely difficult to breed as they are monogamous. Sometimes, after the death of his couple, the skate is in no hurry to create a new family, he remains alone. An amazing fact is that in skates, it is not the female, but the male who is engaged in bearing children. The female lays her eggs in the male's bag, after which all worries about future offspring are shifted to him.

Aquarium sticks

Cleaner fish are sometimes essential for aquariums. If the owners do not want to start fairly simple guppies or mollies, then you can opt for catfish. He has a rather interesting mouth insucker form. The body consists of a kind of scales, which is otherwise called chain mail. Thanks to the fins located on the chest, this fish can swim against a powerful current. In addition, the tail of the aquarium sticky has no less power.

Care and maintenance

These aquarium cleaner fish are very picky about cleanliness and good filtration. In the wild, its height reaches fifteen centimeters, however, in captivity, it barely grows to ten. In addition to the waste products of algae, catfish also require special food for sucker fish. Owners can also feed it with root vegetables and garden greens. They prefer to be nocturnal.

When breeding, Ancistrus lay eggs, and the male carefully guards the clutch. After five days, fry appear from the eggs, which for some time feed on the reserves of their own gallbladder.

They are quite unpretentious and easy to keep. However, sticky catfish need to be kept clean, which means owners have to change some of the water frequently and maintain good filtration.

Diseases of cleaner fish

Among the infections carried by cleaner fish, the most common disease is ichthyophthyriasis. Convex spots appear on the body of the fish, as a result of which it may die after a while. Most often, this disease is introduced from the outside. Therefore, the purchased fish is previously kept in quarantine and only then they are released into the general aquarium. Usually up to eight days are allowed, during which the disease is stillcan prove himself.

Sometimes fish like catfish suffer from microsporia. Often this disease is confused with ichthyophthyroidism, since tubercles also appear on the body. In order to get rid of these diseases, you should place the fish in warm water with a temperature of no more than thirty-two degrees and add s alt. Typically, the ratio of s alt to water is two grams per ten liters of liquid.

However, it should be borne in mind that when the disease is advanced, cleaner fish in the aquarium are not cured, but, on the contrary, die rather quickly. In addition, you can use the help of malachite green. As a rule, the dosage required for treatment is indicated on the package. Using this composition is quite convenient.