Fish domestic. Types of aquarium fish, compatibility and content

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

There are several thousand varieties of aquarium fish in the world. Small and large, predatory and carnivorous, bright and not so bright, with bushy tails, long whiskers and bizarre fins - all these inhabitants of the underwater world attract with their beauty, and watching their unhurried movements in the water column helps to relax and take a break from everyday problems.

In an effort to create a living corner in an automated environment, residents of metropolitan areas are installing an aquarium at home. Someone enjoys a miniature fish house, where 2-3 representatives of the waterfowl species can be placed, and someone creates a real underwater world in the apartment with a volume of 200, 300 or more liters. Preferences in choosing the inhabitants of the aquarium also differ, some inhabit it with flocks of miniature fish, the length of which does not reach 2 centimeters, others grow large catfish that grow up to 1-2 kilograms in weight, others buy piranhas and other predators that eat fresh meat.

Getting readyto join the ranks of lovers of the underwater world, it is important to decide which fish can be kept in one aquarium, what the water temperature should be, what to feed and how to care for. To answer these and many other questions will help to study the characteristics of the types of pets that will be populated in the aquarium.

South American angelfish

The body of the fish is disc-shaped with an elongated dorsal fin. In artificial reservoirs, the length of a pet rarely reaches 10 centimeters. The flesh color of the angelfish as a result of many years of selection work can be varied - from black to rich golden. The visiting card of the species is dark vertical stripes that run throughout the body. According to their saturation, one can speak about the state of he alth of Pterophyllum scalare. Angelfish are calm, peaceful, keep in groups of 5-7 individuals. Harmoniously coexist with small and commensurate non-aggressive waterfowl.

Optimal conditions of detention: the volume of water - from 100 liters. The species needs a clearing for free swimming, vegetation for shelters. Intricate snags, labyrinths and other structures can be placed at the bottom as decorations and shelters. Prefer dark soil. Insensitive to water hardness. Suitable temperature is 25-27 degrees Celsius. The light should be subdued, without sudden changes.

Dry algae prefer living food. Angelfish are prone to overeating, which they suffer from, it is important to feed systematically and in portions.

Terra is a real decoration of the aquarium

Domestic fish of this species reach 4-5 centimeters in length. The body is slender, elongated, with a characteristic dark horizontal stripe. The caudal fin is divided in two, there is an adipose fin. The anal fin is slightly elongated. Body color - rich lemon. The dorsal fin is black. Females are fuller than males, pale in color. The lemon tetra is a schooling peaceful fish. It does not impose special requirements on the volume of the aquarium, it loves living vegetation, it needs a territory for free swimming.

Optimal conditions - dark soil, you can use small pebbles or medium sand, closer to the coarse fraction. Peat filtration is shown. A ¼ part water change every 7-10 days is recommended.

Lemon tetra is unpretentious in food, prefers both dry and live food. May eat the leaves of aquarium plants. It is prone to obesity (which is why females suffer from infertility), so it is periodically necessary to practice preventive fasting lasting a day (once every two to three weeks). It is also important to provide them with enough space for active movement.

Neon of the genus Hyphessobrycon (Hyphessobrycon)

Fishes belonging to this species are distinguished by a dorsal vertical fin. There are no scales in the fin area. The body is laterally compressed, high. The caudal fin is deeply carved, the anal fin is rectangular in shape. Neon red is distinguished by the splendor of its color, mobile, peaceful.

Optimal conditions of detention -small aquarium with soft water. Representatives of the species are hard to tolerate its change, it is necessary to do this as rarely as possible. The installation of a peat filter is shown. Priority is slight shade, areas densely planted with underwater vegetation should alternate with water areas for swimming. Temperature range - 22-25 degrees.

Neon red prefers dry algae, bloodworms, enchitreus, crustaceans and small insects as food.

Gender differences are weakly expressed, an experienced professional can cope with the task.

Golden carp - the most popular aquarium fish

The body of a waterfowl is elongated, in shape it resembles its ancestor - crucian carp. The caudal fin is single, rounded, straightened, the size does not exceed ¼ of the body of the fish. The pectoral and pelvic fins are paired, the anal fin is short and single. Goldfish have a characteristic orange-red coloration, red-white albino individuals are rare.

Optimal conditions of keeping - water of medium hardness and acidity, safely endure a temperature drop to 10 and an increase to 28 degrees. Prefers more space for swimming. The aquarium should be equipped with bright lighting, use fine soil, driftwood, stones, etc. The high endurance of the breed allows it to be kept in an open decorative pond.

Goldfish are omnivores. They eat live, vegetable food, concentrated food.

Battle Fish

Cockerel fish receivedits name comes from aggressive males that fight among themselves like roosters. At home, in the countries of the East, they are bred for fights, and real trainers prepare participants for competitions. Representatives of the species have an elongated body, rounded in cross section. Mouth with swollen lips. The color is dark brown with rows of green spots with overflow. In the aquarium reaches a length of six centimeters. Life expectancy - 1.5-2 years.

One water area is supposed to contain one male and several females. Buying two males involves installing a glass partition, otherwise victims cannot be avoided. The aquarium should be closed from above so that the air above the water surface is warm and the pets do not catch a cold. Top lighting, dark soil, thickets of living and non-living plants, houses, caves, and so on. Permissible temperature is 25-27 degrees.

Cockerel fish prefers live food in the form of bloodworms. Feeding options with a dry plant product are practiced. Representatives of the species are prone to overeating, which, combined with insufficient space for active swimming, can cause the development of diseases. Specialists in the field of aquaristics recommend that fighting fish have fasting days in the form of fasting no more than once a week.

Barbs - the keepers of calm and comfort in the aquarium

The torso of a black representative of the species is oval in shape, elongated and squeezed on the sides. Above the pectoral fin and in the tail area are silvery spots. Mesh pattern printed on the bodyscales. The female black barbus fish is larger than the male in size, the color is pale. Individual flock, calm. It is recommended to keep five to seven fish in the aquarium at once. Float in the middle layers of water.

Optimal conditions of keeping: in the water area it is necessary to create an atmosphere of twilight, choose a dark image for decorating the back wall, use a dark background of soil and brown algae. Dim the top light, move it to the front wall. Domestic fish are undemanding to the quality of water. The temperature range of comfort is 18-28 degrees Celsius. The properties of water do not matter.

Barbs love spacious aquariums from 50 liters with privacy in the form of plants and structures. Filtration and aeration recommended, 20% water change weekly.

Fish are unpretentious in food. Eat dry, live and concentrated food.

Common catfish

The body is stocky, shortened. The back, head and fins are covered with numerous dark spots. The dorsal fin is high. The line of the back is arched, the abdomen is almost flat. Two pairs of antennae on the upper lip are a distinctive feature of all catfish. The eyes are mobile. The back, head and tail are light brown, the abdomen is pink with a golden tint. In captivity, males grow up to six centimeters, females - up to seven or eight. This is a schooling species, it is supposed to contain at least five to seven individuals in one water area.

The speckled catfish is one of the most unpretentious species. Comfortable temperature range - 2-35 degrees Celsius. special wayintestinal respiration allows the waterfowl to exist comfortably in dirty water, a small aquarium, in the absence of aeration. Permissible acidity - no more than 8, 2, hardness - up to 35. Domestic fish do not tolerate s alt water. The soil should be selected fine, they are happy to dig in it. Real or artificial plants are required, in the shade of which the species rests and takes cover. Bright light is not required, daylight is sufficient.

Food - vegetable, live (bloodworm, coretra, tubifex). They prefer to pick up food that sinks to the bottom.

Small and daring guppies

Representatives of the species are viviparous fish that do not spawn, but produce live formed fry. The described fish are one of the smallest inhabitants of the aquarium. The largest males reach 4 centimeters in length, the females are larger - up to six centimeters. Guppy fish in the aquarium are presented in a wide range of species. The main difference is in the color and shape of the fins. Of particular interest to aquarists are train, round-tailed scarf, fork and veil guppies.

Optimal housing conditions: small waterfowl safely endure adversity. The permissible temperature regime is 23-26 degrees, the daily deviation is no more than 3-5 degrees. They live in packs of 8-10 individuals. It is recommended to change a third of the water once a week. The maintenance of elite guppies provides for an aquarium of fifty or more liters. For a comfortable existence, a liter of water is enough for a male, two for a female. Requiredintensive filtration and aeration.

Prefer dry and industrial canned food. Domestic fish can endure a week-long hunger strike, overfeeding often causes death.

Macropodus opercularis - representatives of the labyrinth family

Representatives of the class can be recognized by an oblong, laterally flattened body. In length, individuals reach six to seven centimeters. The head and body are in proportion. The fins of the back and anus are of the same size, the pectoral is pointed, the tail is lyre-shaped. The color varies from brown to dark yellow. The transverse stripes running through the body tend to change color.

The volume of the aquarium should start from 20 liters. The bottom should be densely planted with plants, arrange several snags. Representatives of the labyrinth order have an organ thanks to which they breathe atmospheric air, so there is no need to install an air compressor. A weekly change of 20 percent water is shown. Those who have a macropod fish at home are interested in compatibility. She gets along well with commensurate gouras, barbs, colises.

Predators by nature prefer to feed on fish fry, mollusks and invertebrates. In an aquarium setting, the preferred diet should consist of black mosquito larvae, tubifex and bloodworms. In order to increase the brightness of the color, it is worth periodically adding carotenoids to the food (live daphnia, chopped shrimps, cyclops).

Aquarium fish compatibility

Question of combining different kindswaterfowl in the same water area is one of the most burning and debatable. The right combination of species of domestic fish will ensure not only the comfort of the existence of each of them, but also protect them from death. The recommendations of professionals will help protect the newly minted owners of a closed ecosystem from gross, sometimes irreparable mistakes.

The key to creating a favorable microclimate in the water space will be the use of knowledge and compliance with the list of waterfowl compatibility criteria:

1. The need for different environmental conditions. Inexperienced users should start settling the aquarium with river and marine representatives of the fauna. They are less demanding on aeration, acidity and water hardness, they will safely endure 1-2 days of fasting and do not need constant water changes. Exotic creatures are more demanding in terms of living conditions and need careful care.
2. Suitable temperature. Cold and heat-loving fish are bad neighbors. Some will suffer from overheating, while others will freeze. Such experiments will lead to a rapid reduction in the number of inhabitants of the aquarium.
3. Character. An attempt to combine aggressive and peaceful waterfowl will lead to the fact that the former will attack the latter, and in the case of physical superiority, they will eat. Experienced aquarists advise choosing fish that are similar in size, since cases of cannibalism are not uncommon even within the same species, when one individual is significantly larger than the other in size.
4. Schooling fish need special conditions. They arefeel comfortable, safe, and ready to breed exclusively as part of a group. A single fish without relatives will experience extreme stress and die.

It is important to understand: the purchase of an aquarium, as well as the selection of its inhabitants, should not be accidental. First you need to decide which representatives of the fauna you want to see in your own home pond - predatory, peaceful, decorative or schooling. Assess your capabilities in the matter of care, what conditions you can create with the condition of constantly maintaining them at the initial level.

After answering these questions, you can start choosing a specific aquarium model, its size, functions, properties. When the equipment is put into operation, you should not fill it with inhabitants to the limit. Practice on a small number of unpretentious fish and gradually increase the population, remembering the basic rules of compatibility.