Large aquarium fish: names, description with photo, compatibility and content rules

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

Thousands of species of fish live in the waters of the earth's seas and oceans, in rivers and lakes of the continents. Amateur aquariums contain not only wild species, but also those modified by humans through selection and hybridization. Moreover, fish farmers do not refuse to admire not only delicate bright small handsome fish. They are also passionate about large aquarium fish.

Many large aquatic pets need at least 100 liters of water for normal comfortable keeping. But there are individuals that can only live in aquariums with a capacity of half a ton. The lion's share of inexperienced people seeking to learn how to keep their wards in large vessels, starts with the maintenance of large peaceful aquarium fish.

The first problem newcomers seek to solve is how to acquire specimens that can get along with each other in the same water. Large peaceful aquarium fish are in great demand. And for thatso that the fish do not fight, they are raised from fry.

Whom to get?

In two hundred liters of water in an aquarium with vegetation, up to 8–10 Schubert barbs, up to 10 cross barbs, up to 7 glossolepis, up to 10 Boesman or three-banded melatonia will fit together. Large unpretentious aquarium fish in the same flock will not compete, but will breed. In one large aquarium, there can be a dozen speckled catfish.

It is the dream of every aquarist who is fond of big specimens, so that guests in his house could see how beautiful large aquarium fish circle around each other. Many fish cannot be kept outside a school.

Schubert's barb

The Schubert barb, nicknamed after breeder Tom Schubert, cannot be found in natural waters, although it once occurred in South Asia. This is the kind of fish that cannot be kept outside the flock. Alone, she becomes shy and does not survive well, she can jump out of the aquarium, so she has to close it in this case.

Large aquarium fish - Schubert barbs - have a bright colorful appearance. These creatures should not be allowed into an aquarium with fish with long tails. They can harm them by biting the ends of their veil-like tails.

Glossolepis red

Purchasing red glossolepis (other names: New Guinea iris, red atherina, iriscomb, red iris), you get a pet that you knew about at the beginning of the 20th century, but brought to our region from Indonesia only at the end of the 70s. These fish have a bifurcated tail, large eyes, the eye iris in males is red, in females it is golden. As is most often the case in natural conditions, the female is not as bright and beautiful as the male, which is distinguished by its rich red color. To keep 7–8 individuals of glossolepis in an aquarium, underwater plants saturated with green color are planted along its perimeter. These large aquarium fish look spectacular against the backdrop of lush greenery, decorated with decorative stones and grottoes. They love space, are very shy, the aquarium with them should be kept closed.

Boesman's Rainbow

Knowledgeable aquarists classify Boesman's omnivorous melatonium or iris as a beautiful large aquarium fish. Although beauty comes to this breed of fish only when proper care is organized for its representatives. By themselves, these are large unpretentious aquarium fish. But beginners are unlikely to cope with their content. The bottom in the aquarium for iris should be covered with cleaned sand, on which algae are planted, snags are laid. The center of the aquarium must be free. It is better to place it on the sunny side of the room.

Boesman's rainbows are demanding on habitat indicators. They do not tolerate high levels of nitrates, ammonia, and other toxic impurities in water. Large aquarium fish love the current. The water temperature should be between 23-26°C. Atsignificant changes in water heating, fish get a weakened immune system and can get sick.

Experienced lovers of large fish keep individuals of different species equal in size and activity in one large spacious aquarium. Fiery barbs and scalars coexist with iris. Now we will talk about the latter.

Scalars

They have a non-standard body shape, very similar to a crescent moon. Large aquarium fish, thanks to their flattened shape, easily hide in the green spaces of their shelter. Angelfish are invisible due to the transverse stripes of their color. A reverent attitude towards their offspring, unpretentiousness, livability, grace and beauty of the colors of the scales have become the key to the demand for this breed of fish. Breeders have created several species of this large aquarium fish.

Scalars are predators ready to eat fry of other fish. They are fed with live food - tubifex, bloodworm, daphnia, mosquito larvae. The diet must be strictly observed in the norms for each species. Due to overfeeding, the fish will not be able to breed. In the ovaries swollen with fat, the caviar dissolves, the reproductive ability stops. During the spawning period, angelfish become aggressive. You can stop aggression only by putting the fish in another container. A feature of angelfish is that they can try to breed even in the absence of males of their species in the aquarium. Same-sex couples are created, and the eggs remain unfertilized.

Aggressive large aquarium fish cohabit more easily with other species if they have had a common maturation. But adults cannotto live with newly settled newcomers.

Red-tail catfish and spotted pterygoplicht catfish

Red-tailed catfish is a voracious predator. It grows up to 1.5 meters, so the volume of required water reaches up to 6 tons. In neighbors, he can only have large aquarium fish. Small individuals will become easy prey for this meat-eater. During the day, catfish hide because they do not like to be in the light. They burrow into the sand and lead an inactive lifestyle. It is best for such fish to be in a zoo or aquarium. The older the representatives of this species, the more inactive they are.

The most colorful type of aquarium catfish is called the spotted brocade pterygoplicht. An elongated body with a large head is covered with black and dark brown spots. The small eyes are on the top of the flat head, the mouth resembles a sucker, the large dorsal fin is the shape of a sail. It feeds on plant foods, likes to eat mucus from snags laid out along the bottom. Aquarium water must be at least 23 °C and not more than 30 °C.

Aravana

Aravana is an orange fish that bends like a snake while swimming. The female grows up to 1 m in free waters. In aquariums, these fish do not grow to this size. The male is always smaller than the female. The fish are very aggressive. Contain them only with larger species. They feed on insects, lizards, defrosted pieces of protein food. An aquarium for keeping an Arawana should always be closed, with devices for filtration and aeration. into itit is necessary to fill in soft water and maintain a temperature of at least 25 ° C. Peat filters can be used to lower the pH of the water.

Conclusion

Now you know the name of large aquarium fish, their photo is presented in the article for clarity. Beginning aquarists are advised to start with peaceful individuals. And after that, experiment with various large fish.