Archive for the ‘Freshwater Fish’ Category
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Black salifin molly or Poecilia Latipinna is an excellent fish for the beginner being easy to care for and they get along well with most other fish due to their peaceful nature.
These fish have short fins and are all black in color with patches of gold or silver when young, turning to all black when they reach maturity. They can grow up to 3 inch in length and have a lifespan of 5-6 years.
Mollies are native to central/South America, Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast of Florida.
Housing
The tank temperature should be kept at (6.8-8.2) with good water filtration and a ph of (7.0-7.8) filled with at least 20 gallons of freshwater with 1 teaspoon of salt at every water change. Mollies like to hide among the bushes and plants, ideal plants that live in salt water are Anubias, Vallisneria and Java Fern.
Black mollies are schooling fish therefore need to be kept in groups of 5 or more. The ideal housemate’s for Black Mollies are small Angel fish, Moons, Tetras and any other small peaceful fish.
Feeding
These fish are omnivores therefore prefer meaty foods like Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, and Tubifex. Flakes and small pellets can also be given but feeding should be small and frequent. It is also necessary to add some greens to their diet, a Spirulina base flaked food will be sufficient.
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Galaxy Rasbora or Celestickthys Margaritatus is a small Minnow type fish with a beautiful colored body, the top half is black with tiny gold spots and the lower half of the fish is red, the fins are red with black stripes, making this a very handsome looking fish. They grow up to 1 inch and live between 4-5 years. They are native to Myanmar.
Housing
The tank size should be a minimum of 8 gallons and the temperature of the tank should be kept at (7.2-7.9) and the water should be soft acidic with a ph of (6.0-7.9) These fish like a dark bottom substrate, ideally a peat mix and live plants should be used in the tank. A good plant for the aquarium is the Crytocaryne plant as this gives good coverage and being shy fish these plants are ideal for the fish to hide among when feeling threatened.
The Galaxy Rasbora or Fireworks Rasbora is a very popular sought after fish, but due to its popularity it is very difficult to find in even the best aquarium centre’s, this is because it was discovered in a small secret place in Myanmar in 2006 and since then it has been massively over fished and within a very short time this particular species of fish is therefore in danger of disappearing altogether. It is advised that anyone interested in purchasing the Galaxy Rasbora should only do so if they have the experience to breed these wonderful fish
These fish are shoaling fish and should be purchased in groups of at least 7-8 in order to shoal, they are also very strong swimmers therefore they should be given plenty of swimming water which must be well filtered with regular partial water change. The lighting should be subdued as these fish do not like bright lights.
The Galaxy Rasboras can be kept with Mollies, Moons, Barbs, Danios, Tetras, Catfish and other Rasboras as these fish all have a similar gentle nature.
Feeding
These Rasboras can be fed a variety of foods, flakes, live and frozen foods like frozen bloodworms, Brine shrimp, and Mosquito lava. To keep the fish in top condition feed daily with Daphnia and Cyclops.
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Harlequin Rasbora or Trigonostigma Heteromorpha is a small Minnow type fish. The slender lozenge shaped body is salmon-pink or orange with a black triangle starting half way down the body and finishing at the tail.
The Pelvic, Caudal, Anal and Dorsal fin have a red tint with splashes of yellow. They grow up to 2.5 inch and live between 4-5 years.
They are native to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore; there are around 70 different species. These little fish make a wonderful adition to your fish tank and the fish care requirements are not to bad either. Read the rest of this entry »
Demasoni Cichlids
Fish Care Description
(freshwater)
The Demasoni Cichlid is a very striking fish with a black body and white vertical striped bands. They are native to Lake Malawi and grow up to 4 inch in length. They are quite easy to keep for beginners but can be quite aggressive so need to be put with fish of a similar nature. Read the rest of this entry »
Cichlids
Fish Care Description
(freshwater)
The White spotted Cichlid gets its name from its dark gray to black body and white spots running in vertical rows, when the fish becomes adult the spots fade and change to larger patches and bands across their body.
The head of the White spotted Cichlid also turns a lovely deep blue color taking on the appearance of a totally different fish. They live in the fresh waters of Northwest and Central Africa where they can grow up to 5 inch. Read the rest of this entry »
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Upside down catfish or Synodontis nigriventris are one of the most unusual fish to have in your aquarium.
This is due to the unique way they swim upside down almost all of the time around the tank, the only time they swim in the normal position is when they are looking for food to eat.
The body color of the Upside down catfish is light brown with darker brown mottled patches; they have a large dorsal fin, big eyes, and 3 barbells. Read the rest of this entry »
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Twig catfish or Farlowella acus gets its name from its colour and long thin shaped body which has the appearance of a stick or twig; this is useful camouflage in the wild from any predators.
The Twig Catfish has a long brown body with a very long thin pointed snout. They are quite difficult to keep and not really suitable for beginners.
The Twig catfish is native to South America and Venezuela and can grow up to 7 inch in length.
Housing
The Twig catfish should be kept in a minimum tank size of 30 Gallons of Soft to Medium water with a ph of (6.5-7.3) These catfish are very sensitive to large amount of water change so to be on the safe side only change a quarter of the tank water each time.
The temperature should be (7.0-7.7) the tank can be planted with lots of leafy plants as the catfish will clean the algae from the leaves without doing any damage. They should also have a piece of wood on the bottom of the tank to graze upon to help with their digestion.
They are very shy gentle fish and live happily with most other fish of a similar nature. When first placed into the aquarium they tend to hide and do not move around the tank a great deal and because of their camouflage they are difficult to spot when hiding among rocks and driftwood, but after a few days they will adjust and happily swim around the tank
If you have a tank with a lot of algae then a couple of Twig catfish will have it looking like new within a day or two as they are excellent algae eaters.
Feeding
These catfish are middle to bottom dwellers and like to feed from the bottom of the tank, they prefer a vegetable diet of zucchini, spinach, romaine lettuce, cucumber, boiled peas and algae wafers. They are not greedy eaters and being of a shy nature may miss out on food that is quickly eaten by the other fish in the tank, make sure to keep an eye on them at feeding times so they don’t miss out.
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Bristlenose Catfish is a very unusual looking catfish. The male has flesh like bristles around the chin area giving the appearance of a moustache with extra bristles running along the central part of the head.
The females only have bristles around the edges of their chin, this makes it very easy to find the sex of these fish. Read the rest of this entry »
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The beautiful Glass catfish or Ghost catfish as they are sometimes called really do live up to their name as their skeleton shows through their glass like long slender body. Glass catfish make a fascinating addition to any aquarium and are an ideal choice for families with children. Read the rest of this entry »
Fish Care Description
Freshwater
The Snowy Hypancistrus Catfish or Snowy Catfish is a much sought after fish due to the unusualy bright markings of the Hypancistrus; it is dark black in color with tiny white dots covering the whole of the body and fins.
The Snowy Catfish or Hypancistrus are native to South America and quite hard to get hold and would need to be ordered from a specialist, they are worth purchasing as they are very easy to keep from a fish care point of view and ideal for beginners. Read the rest of this entry »
