So how can I choose my first tropical fish or should I need to change my tank population? There are many families of tropical fish, cichlids, catfish, bottom feeders, Characins, cyprinids, labyrinth fish, livebearers and much more. Make sure that your desired fish suit to your tank size and just pick one. Betta splendens is a good option; it is very hardy and tolerates species.
In the wild, bettas males have very shorter fins that those we usually see in stores, these are called by the Thai people "Plakad" (meaning- "Fighter"), and are used in Thailand for show-fights (just like roosters). The betta is very hardy and durable to low water conditions, though; long-finned strains are more susceptible to high amounts of nitrogen compounds in water and will quickly suffer from fin-rot, dropsy and other illnesses. In large fish tanks Betta splendens requires good filtration system with low to moderate water flow. If water flow is too strong, the betta will settle in a spot where flow is lowest and will hardly move from it. When kept in a jar, water should be changed every week or even twice a week- the amount of water changed, depends on the jar's volume. Some people buy dry leafs of a tree called Ketapang/Indian Almond-tree (Terminalia katappa) and put them to the betta's jar. It is said to help preventing infectious illnesses and getting the betta into breeding-mood. When feeding these fish, avoid over-feeding, as these fish tend to gorge itself, which might end up in a bloated fish suffering from deadly incurable Enlarged-leaver.
Another great common tropical fish is the Labidochromis caeruleus. This fish is one of the most beautiful Mbuna that exist in the hobby, its yellow and black colors along with the fact That it is one of the least aggressive cichlids makes it very popular all over the world. The Labidochromis caeruleus requires at least 20 gallon tank size.
The Labidochromis caeruleus should kept in large community aquarium with other small Mbuna type fish like the species from the Labeotropheus Melanochromis. Decorate the tank with rocks, woods and other hiding places. These fish prefer hard alkaline water with a fairly high PH. The yellow lab will appreciate water changes on a weekly basis and well filtered water. The yellow lab is an omnivore, in captivity they will accept any food given, flakes, pellet, frozen or live food, they also need green food such as lettuce, cucumber.
The last one and one of my favorites, belongs to the livebearers family,the famous Guppy fish. This amazing tropical fish has an elongated body. This fish available in many colors. The guppy is one of the most popular and sought after aquarium fishes all over the planet. with many standardized varieties. This species offers a large selection of colors with no two fish similar. It is a small member of the Poeciliidae family (and like all other members of the family, he is livebearer). The most notable characteristic of this group is the presence of a copula-tory organ in males the andropodium or gonopodium, this organ is formed by the anterior rays of the anal fin. It easy to distinguish between male and females, Females are dull grey while the males are very colorful and have large fins. Guppy is an omnivore, The guppy eat almost everything, flakes, pellets, frozen foods and live foods. It is highly recommended to feed them in small amounts at least 2-3 times a day.
There is nothing special to setup if you want to breed guppy, the only thing you need to consider is to bring one male and three females, the reason you need to bring more than one female for the male not harass the females to the point of exhaustion. Like all livebearers when the female is in pregnant it will develop a dark triangular shaped gravid spot near her anal vent. As the pregnancy progresses this dark triangular shaped gravid spot will get larger and darker. At the time the fry comes out recommended to move them or the parents to another tank or else the parents will eat their own fry.
In the wild, bettas males have very shorter fins that those we usually see in stores, these are called by the Thai people "Plakad" (meaning- "Fighter"), and are used in Thailand for show-fights (just like roosters). The betta is very hardy and durable to low water conditions, though; long-finned strains are more susceptible to high amounts of nitrogen compounds in water and will quickly suffer from fin-rot, dropsy and other illnesses. In large fish tanks Betta splendens requires good filtration system with low to moderate water flow. If water flow is too strong, the betta will settle in a spot where flow is lowest and will hardly move from it. When kept in a jar, water should be changed every week or even twice a week- the amount of water changed, depends on the jar's volume. Some people buy dry leafs of a tree called Ketapang/Indian Almond-tree (Terminalia katappa) and put them to the betta's jar. It is said to help preventing infectious illnesses and getting the betta into breeding-mood. When feeding these fish, avoid over-feeding, as these fish tend to gorge itself, which might end up in a bloated fish suffering from deadly incurable Enlarged-leaver.
Another great common tropical fish is the Labidochromis caeruleus. This fish is one of the most beautiful Mbuna that exist in the hobby, its yellow and black colors along with the fact That it is one of the least aggressive cichlids makes it very popular all over the world. The Labidochromis caeruleus requires at least 20 gallon tank size.
The Labidochromis caeruleus should kept in large community aquarium with other small Mbuna type fish like the species from the Labeotropheus Melanochromis. Decorate the tank with rocks, woods and other hiding places. These fish prefer hard alkaline water with a fairly high PH. The yellow lab will appreciate water changes on a weekly basis and well filtered water. The yellow lab is an omnivore, in captivity they will accept any food given, flakes, pellet, frozen or live food, they also need green food such as lettuce, cucumber.
The last one and one of my favorites, belongs to the livebearers family,the famous Guppy fish. This amazing tropical fish has an elongated body. This fish available in many colors. The guppy is one of the most popular and sought after aquarium fishes all over the planet. with many standardized varieties. This species offers a large selection of colors with no two fish similar. It is a small member of the Poeciliidae family (and like all other members of the family, he is livebearer). The most notable characteristic of this group is the presence of a copula-tory organ in males the andropodium or gonopodium, this organ is formed by the anterior rays of the anal fin. It easy to distinguish between male and females, Females are dull grey while the males are very colorful and have large fins. Guppy is an omnivore, The guppy eat almost everything, flakes, pellets, frozen foods and live foods. It is highly recommended to feed them in small amounts at least 2-3 times a day.
There is nothing special to setup if you want to breed guppy, the only thing you need to consider is to bring one male and three females, the reason you need to bring more than one female for the male not harass the females to the point of exhaustion. Like all livebearers when the female is in pregnant it will develop a dark triangular shaped gravid spot near her anal vent. As the pregnancy progresses this dark triangular shaped gravid spot will get larger and darker. At the time the fry comes out recommended to move them or the parents to another tank or else the parents will eat their own fry.
About the Author:
Rotem Gavish is a fish expert. Dedicating his life to this beautiful hobby, his expertise is in all related to aquarium world such as tropical fish , fish tank, marine fish, plants and invertebrates. Rotem established his site sections just for cichlids and for all goldfish species.
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