Tropical freshwater fish. Warm water beauties

In this section, you can get to know various types aquarium fish and their description, find out the names, conditions of detention, behavior and compatibility with other inhabitants, how and what to feed, differences and recommendations for breeding them. Decorative fish that are kept in aquariums are aquarium fish with bright and varied colors, various forms body and size. In nature, each body of water is a habitat for representatives of the "fish kingdom", and thanks to their diversity, aquarists have been able to keep a wide variety of tropical fish in home aquariums. The section for the convenience of finding information is divided into categories by type aquarium fish, such as "Catfish", "Barbs", "Goldfish" and others. Here on the pages of interesting, illustrated and informative articles of the section "Aquarium fish" you will find a lot of useful information, selected especially for people who are passionate or taking their first steps in such an exciting activity as Aquarium.

Acanthophthalmus Kühl- a fish with a very unusual body structure and bright colors. It is better to keep in a flock, and the more fish, the better their individuality is manifested and the freer they feel. For an aquarium, it is not so much about ...

shark ball- a beautiful and hardy fish of the carp family appeared in domestic aquariums recently, in 2002. Large sizes require keeping at least 200 liters in a spacious aquarium, the fish are peaceful and compatible with any calm...

Ancistrus, belonging to the chain catfish family, is very popular among aquarists. Due to the special structure of the mouth, it was called the sucker catfish. Very peaceful and can be kept with any fish similar in terms of conditions...

Apistogramma Borelli beautiful dwarf cichlids from the Amazon basin. They are great in the aquarium and are generally quite peaceful. Keep one male with several females as they are polygamous. They are one of the calmest dwarfs ...

Apistogramma cockatoo- one of the most popular cichlids in the aquarium hobby. Very beautiful and bright fish with many color variations, it is so named for the peculiar structure of the dorsal fin, reminiscent of a cockatoo parrot. He likes shelters made of stones and ...

Butterfly Ramirezi one of the most elegant cichlids, this, along with its small size and peaceful demeanor, makes it extremely popular with aquarists. Ideal for moving into an aquarium stylized as a rainforest pond...

Astronotus- despite the rather large size, the fish is unusually popular due to its unusual intelligence - it is not only able to recognize the owner, but even allows itself to be stroked. The volume of the aquarium for one individual should be at least 100 liters ...

Pleasing to the eye with their bright colors, freshwater tropical fish have firmly established themselves in the hearts of both amateurs and professional aquarists. But if you are a beginner, then how not to get lost among such a variety of shapes, colors and requirements for keeping conditions? Let's talk about everything in order.

The main groups and the most popular types of tropical aquarium fish

Among the popular representatives of the characin-like order, one should single out such as distichoid, kerry, congo, nanostomus, phylomena, chilodus, etc. This group also includes piranhas, but not every professional decides to keep this type of tropical fish in his aquarium.

Popular representatives of the catfish order are species such as the so-called grumbling catfish (armored family), mohokiella, hiloglanis, hoplosternum, dianema, and others. Such tropical fish in an aquarium are valued for their functions - cleaning the bottom and walls of their habitat.

Order perciformes in tropical group presented. Depending on the variety, the size range of individual fish can vary from 2 to 90 cm, and those belonging to this species have been consistently popular for many decades.

The most common tropical representatives of the carp order can be called,. Basically, these tropical fish are schooling, so it makes no sense to keep them alone.

Order carp-tooth-like: spawning pachypanhax, jordanella, and cinolebias, as well as viviparous, molly and known to almost every aquarist. Viviparous tropical fish of this order are considered an excellent option for beginners.

Video - tropical aquarium fish

And finally, the labyrinth squad: gourami, fighting fish, macropods, iris, atherine family. A feature of tropical fish of these species is the ability to breathe atmospheric air.

General conditions for keeping tropical fish

The main features of tropical fish are the demands on the temperature of the water in the aquarium and its oxygen saturation. An exception in terms of temperature conditions are macropods that can tolerate a significant drop in temperature, while labyrinths can do without aeration at all, but for other types of tropical fish, these rules remain relevant. Therefore, it is better to immediately purchase an automatic heater with the ability to control the temperature and organize proper aeration.

Otherwise, freshwater tropical aquarium fish do not require anything extraordinary. What can not be said about their marine and oceanic counterparts. That is why only 1-2% of the entire large army of tropical fish fans are engaged in them, while the rest prefer freshwater ones.

No matter how many abilities fish have, there is one universal rule: They are tied to water. Mangrove rivulus have found a way around even this immutable rule. A small tropical fish that lives in the mangroves of Northern and South America, can live about 66 days without water and still be active

Small tropical fish Marble rivulus (lat. Kryptolebias marmoratus)

Marble rivulus reaches about 7.5 cm in length. Photo credit: D. Scott Taylor.

Marbled rivulus find shelter in shallow pools formed, for example, in crab holes or coconut shells. But when their habitat dries up, they settle in fallen trees.

Before right place fish get there by jumping, pushing off the ground with their tail, and in the same way they get into trees through holes made by insects.

On land, marbled rivulus undergo changes in gill morphology and their gills cease to function. After that, the fish breathes through the skin, and the animal becomes able to retain moisture for a long time and nutrients in your body. However, as soon as they are back in the water, they begin to breathe with the help of gills.

According to scientists, during the week spent on land, these fish do not have a decrease in metabolic rate at all, and they remain quite active.

However, marble rivulus are remarkable not only for their ability to live without water. long time. These fish are hermaphrodites, and can produce both eggs and sperm, laying eggs fertilized by themselves.

Interestingly, some other fish can also live without water. For example, the frog clariid catfish, which inhabits water bodies in southeast Asia, can be on land for many hours.

And some lungfish living in the waters of Australia, South America and Africa (in particular, the protopter) are able to live out of water longer, but only at rest, they have to fall into a state of dormancy, a kind of fish hibernation.

As for the reason why the mangrove rivulus jumps onto land, Canadian scientists have suggested that he does this in order to cool down, since in hot climates the water temperature sometimes rises to 38 degrees Celsius.

To better understand this strategy, Canadian scientists at Brock and Guelph Universities heated water and then filmed the behavior of the fish with a camera that measures body temperature.

The fish were thrown out of the water when the temperature reached about 36 degrees Celsius. It became clear to the researchers that it was a reaction to heat. For 30 seconds, the fish rested on the damp filter paper they landed on.

The researchers did not repeat the experiment in wild nature, but they believe that the same thing happens there.

Ordinary fish die when overheated, so it is quite possible that this mechanism was developed by animals to escape in hot conditions.

Rivulus have also been found to leave the water for other reasons. Fish that live in small pools among mangrove trees jump to the ground if the water becomes acidic - when there is too much carbon dioxide (CO2) or too little oxygen.

They can also leave water if they want to avoid confrontation with the enemy. In order to make their maneuver, they arch their tails, and on land, enterprising fish move around wriggling their whole body.

A scientific paper on the rivulus' unusual strategy was published in Biology Letters.

Biologists also add that other "amphibious" fish can do the same. However, scientists have not caught any of them yet.

Content:

Tropical fish are exotic representatives of aquariums, originally from the southern warm countries and with a bright attractive color. These fish are natural conditions accustomed to living in warm water, can live in both fresh and salt water. Exists great amount various types of tropical fish that can be kept even by novice aquarists. Aquarium heat-loving fish have become universal favorites and objects of study for professional aquarists.

flock of neon

Kinds

The variety of species of tropical fish for every taste has made them available for keeping at home. Aquariums often contain labyrinth fish, from the order of characins, perciformes, cyprinids, catfishes, carp-tooths, atherine-like and others. The most popular aquarium fish from the family of haracin, platy, cyprinids, cichlids.

Surgeon fish

Surgeon fish

The surgeonfish, a member of the surgeonfish family, is named after its distinctive caudal fins, which are equipped with sharp, blade-like scalpel-like scales. In a calm state, the spikes are pressed to the body, and in cases of danger, the fish releases them to the sides, thereby protecting itself from the attacker. Surgeons have a bright and various colors: lemon yellow, rose red, bright blue. These fish often live in reef aquariums, as they naturally live in coral reef platforms. Aquarium fish-surgeons are peaceful not only with relatives, but also with representatives of many other genera.

neon

These small tropical freshwater fish from the Characin family got their name from the bright neon red or blue stripes on their bodies. They reach a length of up to 2.5 cm, keep in a flock. The most popular types are ordinary, red, blue, false red neon.

Helostoma

Aquarium helostomes or kissing gourami from the labyrinth suborder live in fresh water. In size they reach up to 15 cm in the aquarium, they have movable lips, on inner surface which are hundreds of miniature horny teeth. Like others, the kissing gourami is able to breathe atmospheric air. The fish is peaceful and well compatible with many aquarium inhabitants.

Molliesia

Aquarium mollies are viviparous and require careful care. The most popular is the black velvet mollies, which resembles a swordsman, but without a sword. The body color is jet black, even the eyes are black. With a lack of oxygen, the fish rises and captures atmospheric air. High-finned mollies are even more capricious in care, but in good conditions grow up to 12 cm, resistant to hard water.

Melanochromis auratus

kissing gourami

To keep freshwater tropical fish, you will need a quality aquarium of the appropriate volume for a certain number of selected fish. Currently, biotope aquariums are becoming popular, exactly reproducing a copy of any water area in nature. Such aquariums will be optimally suited tropical inhabitants making them feel most comfortable. Devices and instruments will also be needed to maintain the desired climate in the aquarium: a filter, aerator, thermometer and heater.

For beginners, unpretentious species such as guppy, zebrafish, swordtail, macropod, spotted gourami are recommended. Thorns, Sumatran barbs, mollies, pearl gourami will require more careful care. Cichlids need increased aeration, a spacious aquarium and dense vegetation.

Tropical fish are very sensitive to the temperature in the aquarium and the oxygen supply. Usually optimal temperature regime ranges from 21-28°C. Depending on the type of fish, suitable plants and substrate are selected, the aquarium is decorated like their native habitat. Some species are not recommended to live together with other species, so you should carefully study the nature and habits of the selected fish.

For marine tropical fish, you will need a special seawater aquarium large volume and requiring more careful care and skills to create the desired water parameters. In reef aquariums, endemic coral reef fish will do well.

Compatibility

Molliesia

In order to choose the right neighbors for tropical fish in an aquarium, you need to find out compatibility in terms of water parameters and, in particular, its temperature. Cold-water fish are not suitable for keeping with tropical ones. These include goldfish, rotans. In addition, you need to pay attention to the size of neighboring fish and their character. Large cichlids can get along with catfish and large catfish, but they will eat small fish.

It is good to plant tetras, as they have a good disposition, do not conflict with relatives and look great due to their colorfulness. The sea angel is combined with gourami and rainbows.