Arowana fish

Arowana Fish (sometimes called dragon fish) can be a great choice for those that think big. Some varieties can grow up to Four feet long (120cm). They can be feisty, though become tamer with age to the point of eating from your fingers, and not the fingers themselves. The Arowana Fish comes from somewhat primitive origins (Jurassic Age), and some varieties are nicknamed “Bony Tongued Fish”.

Arowana fish are carnivores, though will generally eat nearly anything. Young Arowana Fish may be fed frozen or live brine shrimp, black worms, and even small fish. When older, some larger fish will do. Baby Arowana Fish should be fed maybe 3 times a day, medium sized twice a day, and adults once a day, or even once every other day. Variety is important for a well balanced diet in Arowana Fish just like for most other fish.

The Arowana eating habits produce a lot of waste and you should therefore, pay extra attention to water conditions (Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate) in your aquarium. Changing 25% to 33% of the water weekly is advisable, or better yet, 20% twice a week. You should maintain the pH neutral. Pay particular attention to the temperature and pH ranges suggested below on the various species, since if you have it too warm, it might cause them to age faster, look less Arowana, and even shorten their life. A to cold temperature might on the other hand kill them.

Generally, a good healthy Arowana Fish will grow to be at least 24 to 30 inches (60-75cm). Some varieties can become 48 inches (120 cm) in the wild. They may be aggressive (definitely not good community fish), and Arowana fish can sometimes be best kept alone in an aquarium. Remember that other smaller fish in the tank may become their dinner.

Arowana fish will often swim in the top of the aquarium, and are capable of jumping from the aquarium. Keep the aquarium well covered to avoid coming home to a dead pet. Silver Arowana Fish in the wild have been known to jump at insects in trees.

Arowana Fish may live for many years, and if well cared for Arowana fish may live longer than 20 years in captivity. If you keep the aquarium temperature towards the lower end, they may look young longer than they would in a higher temperaturel. Please pay particular attention to each Arowana Fish’s needs below.

The Asian Arowana or Golden Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is considered an endangered species. Care should be taken to follow the law in purchasing and transporting them. Asian Arowana fish generally can grow to about 36 inches, and are often much more expensive then the other Arowana species. These are well known and popular South East Asia where they are believed to bring luck. Feeding them healthy Guppies, Gold Fish, Frogs, or Shrimp makes a good stable diet. The temperature is best kept between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C), and a pH level between 7.0 and 7.5 are advisable.


Asian Arowana - Scleropages formosus. Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

The Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) comes from the Amazon Basin. They can grow to around 48 inches in the wild, and are usually the cheapest Arowana species. Silver Arowana can be more jumpy then the other species and more than one Silver Arowana have jumped to their death in a badly covered aquarium.

Silver Arowana may take a while to adjust to non-live food. Sometimes to the brink of starvation. Feed them meaty food like, fish, crab, or Shrimp (try to avoid the salt). This Arowana Fish thrives in temperatures between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C), and pH between 6 and 7. Young Silver Arowana should not be in a tank shorter then 36 inches/ 90 cm, and as they get older, 48 inches/ 120 cm though when your Arowana fish reaches 15 inches/ 40 cm they will need a much larger tank. These Arowana Fish can become aggressive towards similar species and should be kept alone in the aquarium tank unless it is very big. They can also be kept with larger catfish and a few other species. They are a definitely predator and will eat smaller fish. As juveniles, they may be suitable for smaller home aquarium, though with growth, they are likely to outgrow the home and become suitable only for large public aquariums.


Silver Arowana - Osteoglossum bicirrhosum. Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

The Spotted Arowana (Scleropages leichardti) is mostly found from Southern Australia. They can grow to around 36 inches/ 90 cm (they do however only seldom reach this length in an aquarium), and are less sought after then the Asian Arowana. They are also called Dawson River Saratoga, Southern Saratoga, Spotted Barramundi, Australian Spotted Arowana, and Leichardti Saratoga. They tend to stay closer to the bottom than other Arowana fish species. This means that it sometimes is possible to keep them with Silver Arowana fish. As far as food, they are capable of eating most things that will fit their mouth (crickets, Hikari pellets, insects, etc). This Arowana fish species prefers a temperatures between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C), and a pH level between 6.5 and 7.5. They may be territorial and aggressive.


Spotted Arowana - Scleropages leichardtii. Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

The Northern Arowana (Scleropages jardini) is found mostly in Northern Australia. They can grow to around 36 inches/ 90 cm. They are also called Northern Saratoga, Jardine Saratoga, Gulf Saratoga, Australian Gold or Pearl Arowana and Jardini Saratoga. They eat similar food as the Spotted Arowana (Southern Australia), and are less likely to jump out of the tank than other species (though they might). This variety of Arowana Fish is best kept at a pH level of 6.0 - 7.5 and temperatures of 72 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (22-27 C). While less aggressive then others, they are still predators and will likely eat anything that will fit in their mouths. They will eat Crayfish, Fish, Insects, and pellets with a little effort to get them started.


Northern Arowana - Scleropages jardinii. Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

The African Arowana (Heterotis niloticus) comes from western and central Africa. They grow up to around 40 inches/100 cm. They are more rare than other Arowana Fish species. They are predators known to eat small fish. This Arowana Fish prefers temperatures between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C) and a pH level of 6.7 to 7.5 (7.0 preferred). They eat shrimp, fish, live worms, and insects in captivity.

The Black Arowana fish (Osteoglossum ferreirai) comes from South America in the Rio Negro basin. They grow up to around 40 inches / 100 com, though they seldom reach this length in captivity. The Black Arowana fish eat live fish, large insects, spiders, Tubifex worms, and may also eat pellets and flakes (not all specimens accept pellets and flakes). Young Arowana fish of this species tend to be delicate, though older fish tend to be more hardy. They prefer a pH level of 5-7 with 6.4 being the optimum level, and temperatures between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C).

Flower Horn Fish

Flower Horn Fish is basically from the Cichlid family, which is classified under the genus of Cichlasoma, which is commonly found in South America. This beautiful hybrid is thought to be the end product of cross breeding between the Cichlasoma Trimaculatus, Cichlasoma Festae, Jingang Blood Parrot. To date, many of the better quality Flower Horn have been produced due to the intensified eagerness of breeders to produce the best show quality fish for the market.


As stated in some reports, the Flower Horn Fish is also known as a "mutated" breed of fish. Rest assured that this is just a claim. Flower Horn Fish have gone through intense selective cross breeding in order to have the best characteristics of the respective strains of the Cichlid Fish family. For instance, most breeders are striving to produce Flower Horn with a bigger nuchal hump on the forehead, better coloration, bolder black marking on the body (which at times resembles Chinese characters), more elegant fins, and wider body. No chemicals, or bio-genetic engineering have been incorporated to improve on the traits / characteristics of the Flower Horn. Thus, the claim that this is a mutated fish is unfounded.

In addition, this fish is very hardy, and can endure water conditions that are not suitable for most breeds of aquarium fish. This is also part of the reason why the Flower Horn is well received by many tropical fish hobbyists. But the ideal pH level in the water required, should be around pH 7 to pH 7.8 with water temperature ranging between 27 to 32C. For temperate / colder climate regions, they just need a water heater.


The Flower Horn is from the South American Cichlid family, and this fish is very territorial. They are also very aggressive in nature. Co-existing with other fish is not advisable, especially smaller fish. Some parties have claimed that we can "play" with the Flower Horn. In actual fact, Flower Horn is actually trying to get rid of the "intruder" (be it a stick or a person's hand). Therefore, it is advisable that we keep our hands to ourselves as the fish has quite a nasty bite depending on the size of the fish.

Here are some varieties of Flower Horn
Zhen Zhu = RD and BD

JK = Golden FH

Kamfas = Synsphillium or Parrot x ZZ


ZZ = Zhen Zhu

RD = Red Dragon

POTO = Pearl of the Orient

RC = Red Crystal

RG = Red General

SDK = Super Dragon King

RPD = Red Pearl Dragon

TB = Tunder Bolt

SP = Super Pendian

RD = Rainbow Dragon

FD = Fiery Dragon

BD = Blue Dragon

BCD = Blue Comet Dragon

DBD = Diamond Blue Dragon

BFD = Blue Face Dragon

KB = King Baccara

EM = Eastern Maiden

OGD = Oriental Green Dragon

GFF = Golden Fire Face


KAMFA

SRS = Super Red Shock

RM = Red Monkey

RS = Red Shock

JH = Jin Hua

RK = Red Kamfa

OK = Orange Kamfa

OP = Oriental Phoenix

RP = Red Phoenix

RBK = Rainbow King

HBK = Hell Boy Kamfa = Eastern Maiden X KKP

Buffalo = KKP+ RD = Kamfa bred by 65rivi


PARROT

BP = Blood Parrot

KKP = King Kong Parrot

Mammon = High Quality King Kong Parrot (Happy Breed Farm)

Darmo = High Quality King Kong Parrot (Rarefish)

DD2 = Desert Dynasty II
CGY = Colorful God of the Year
GD = Golden Dragon
JPG = Jing Ping Guo
JG = Jaded Griffin
KDC = Kimdingchu

Golden Monkey ALSO called KAMALAU
Kamalau is a Cantonese term which is the same as GM. In Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia, this term is commonly use among hobbyists.

GM = Golden Monkey

KGM = King of Golden Monkey

MGM = Marine Golden Monkey

MK = Metallic Kamalau

BKM = Blue King Monkey

DM = Diamond Monkey

KGM1 = King of Golden Monkey Generation 1

KGM2 = King of Golden Monkey Generation 2

KGMF = King of Golden Monkey Flowerness

SML = SonMalau = New Generation GM

Diff b/w kamfa and ZZ
1.KAMFA

















2.ZZ(Zhen Zou)


Sexing of FH.
#Age and length
2 months
(1mm - 30mm) .

#Characteristic
1. Juvenile stage.
2. Colors and body patterns are not noticeable.

#Sexing Method
No known method.
Observations shows larger sized fish within the same batch tend to be males.

#Age and length
2 - 5 months
( 30 mm - 150 mm)

Characteristic
Colors and body patterns are becoming more distinctive

#Sexing Method
1. Distinctive black marking on the dorsal fin indicates that it is a female. However, this is not foolproof. The same pattern does exist on some male Flowerhorns.

2. Observations on the shape of the genital papillae. V-shaped papilla indicates a male fish, while a U-shaped papilla indicates a female fish. Gently squeezing the abdominal region may reveal the papillae.

3. Male Flowerhorns will have broader body with higher dorsal, anal and caudal fins. It is also observed that male Flowerhorns will have thicker jawline and more distinctive body color.


#Age and length
5 months and above
(150 mm - 600 mm)


#Characteristic
Flowerhorns begin to mature. Distinctive and rather prominent head humps are visible on the male fish.

#Sexing Method
Female will start to lay eggs even without the presence of a male.


Some more characteristics to be observed.

#1 dorsal black spot:

flowerhorns are hybrids,therefore this method will not be 100%accurate.this method is usally use on pure bred cichlid
however the rest of the method we are going to talk about here will not apply to fries under 3 in therefore this one is included.

90%of fry with out dorsal spots,will be males.
60% of fry with dorsal spot will be females.

#2 body structure.

male flowerhorn often have more angular and muscular lines ,while females often have a rounder,smoother body line.

#3 Dorsal spine method.

look at the first 6 dorsal spines of your fh, males often have rounded and thick spines, while females have a more flatened and thiner look to the first 6 dorsal spines.

#4 pelvic fin and pelvic spine method.

female flowerhorn need to use their pelvic fin as a fan to fan the eggs while breeding,therefore when you touch the pelvic fin and pelvic spine of your fh,if it is soft,and the spine is not as hard that will make you bleed,your fish is highly possible to be a female.

#5 chest line(chin line) method.

if you view your fish from the side,behind the gill jucture and before the pelvic fin,right under the petoral fin,this is the chest of your fish,if your fish have a bulkier chest,the it is more possible to be male,females often have a smaller,and smoother chest(unlike human)...lol

#6 anal venting method.

hold your fish upsidedown,look at the anal vent,males have a V shape and females have a U shape.
now look from the side,males should have their tube pointed toward the back ,while females have straight tubes
Male organism


Female Organism




Source of Sexing of fh : FLOWERHORNUSA,AROFANATICS

Common Flowerhorn Diseases and Treatment

Caring for your Flower Horn is not just about feeding it, it's also about watching for potentially serious health conditions. Below are some of the problems your Flower horn might experience.

White Spot Disease

Cause and Symptoms

* The cause of this condition is Ichthyophithirius multifilis (ICH ) , a ciliated protozoan .
* Bad water quality can increase the likelihood that your fish will be victim to this parasite.
* Low water temperatures (< 25°C) are ideal breeding grounds for ICH.
* The most common way Flower horns get ICH is when they are fed live or frozen food that has already been contaminated with the parasite.
* The most prominent symptom of this condition are the pure white spots that will appear all over your fish. You may also notice the fins are clumped together, and they act a bit more lethargic than usual. Moreover, it's common for them to lose interest in food when ICH infects.

Treatment

The parasites resides under the skin of the fish, hence it is not affected by water treatment or direct treatment applied to the fish . Break the breeding cycle of Ich by washing the tank thoroughly to remove the cysts of the parasite. Keep in mind that this is a highly contagious condition, so your entire aquarium must be treated.

To cure white spots:

* Place Kordon Ich inhibitor in your tank.
* Add aquarium salt at 3g/l of water every 3 days together with the medication.
* After 3rd day, tank must be washed thoroughly to eliminate the causative agent.
* Add Kordon Malachite Green treatment to your tank.

Preventive measures:

* Add Kordon Prevent Ich Fish Disease Inhibitor and Preventative to your tank.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Hole-In-The-Head Disease

Cause and Symptoms

* The cause of this condition is Hexamita Protozoa , parasitic organisms that are highly contagious.
* These parasites thrive with poor water quality management.
* If your fish has this condition, you will notice the appearance of small pits and pimples mainly on the fish's head. These pits will simply grow and form bigger pits.
* The pits are white in color, and sometimes mucous are visible around them.
* In addition to losing weight, becoming lethargic, and losing their appetites, the fish will produce white, stringy feces.

Treatment

* Add Dimetrydazole (5mg/l) or Metronidazole (7mg/l).
* Repeat treatment once every 3 days.
* Do a 20%-30% water change.
* It is sometimes necessary to inject Metronidazole, but injections near the affected area should be attempt only by qualified personnel.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Mouth, body and tail fungus

Causes & Symptoms

* This condition is caused by Saproglenia and other related bacteria.
* Bad water quality only causes these kinds of bacteria to thrive.
* Sudden changes in the water condition can also cause this condition in your fish.
* If your fish has this condition, you will notice cotton like tufts at the mouth, body, fin and tail.
* You may also notice your fish losing weight.

Treatment

* Add Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Aquarium Salt to your tank.
* Adding Jungle Labs Fungus Eliminator will also help.
* Be sure to treat the whole tank, but quarantine the most seriously ill fish.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Dropsy

Causes & Symptoms

* This condition is caused by a bacterial infection.
* Poor water quality, overcrowding, and stress can make your fish more susceptible to this condition.
* If your fish is affected, he may appear bloated and stop eating

Treatment

· Do not add aquarium salt to your tank.

· Use a commercially prepared treatment available at your local pet shop.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks to avoid the introduction of new, dangerous bacteria.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Fin & Tail Rot Disease

Causes & Symptoms

* This condition is caused by Pseudomonas and other related bacteria.
* Poor water quality causes these bacteria to thrive in your tank.
* If your fish is affected, the fin and tail appeared eaten away and white edged. You may even notice the fin or tail beginning to literally dissolve.
* The color of the fish may dull, and the fins may clump together.
* This bacteria is highly contagious.

Treatment

* Treat the whole tank, but quarantine and treat the heavily infected fish.
* Tetracycline should be added.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Air Bladder Disease

Causes & Symptoms

* This condition is caused by a number of things, but the most likely problems are a virus or a bacterial infection.
* If your fish has this condition, you may notice they have trouble swimming correctly, or they tend to swim upside down.

Treatment

* Because it can be hard to determine the cause of this problem, it can also be difficult to treat it, but in general, an antibiotic agent should take care of the problem.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.

Velvet Disease

Causes & Symptoms

* This condition is caused by a fungus living in your tank.
* Poor water quality causes this fungus to thrive in your tank.
* If your fish is affected, he may stop swimming, and he may begin to look ill.

Treatment

· Add Copper Sulfate (Blue Crystal) to your tank. Be sure to use the ratio of 1 g Copper Sulfate and 0.25g Citric Acid to 1 litre of distilled water. Dosage instructions: 12.5 ml to 10 litres of aquarium water for 10 days. Administer half of this on days three, five and seven.

Preventive measures :

* Change your water regularly.
* Quarantine new fish for three to four weeks.
* Avoid cross-tank contamination.


Ammonia and the Nitrogen Cycle
With some fish, high ammonia levels are a horrible problem. It is astonishing, though, that Flowerhorn fish have good tolerance towards high ammonia levels in a water system. However, in order to optimize your Flowerhorn's potentials and beauty, good water quality management is essential. The nitrogen cycle is a big part of water quality management, and understanding it will truly help increase the success level of your tank.

All organisms excrete ammonia as waste. Proper waste management is crucial in order to maintain a healthy living environment. In aquatic environments, aquatic organisms excrete ammonia into their own living system. The nitrogen cycle takes place throughout a mature system in a man-made tank. In this environment, nitrogen products are recycled by different colonies of beneficial bacteria into different forms. The highly toxic forms of these nitrogen products are ammonia and nitrite.


In a matured fish tank system with a well circulating nitrogen cycle, many other toxins, mainly ammonia, are converted into harmless nitrate, nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas. This cycle will make sure that the nitrogen level in the water is in check, hence, maintaining it below the toxic level in your fish tank.

Normally, in a newly set up tank, the nitrogen cycle may not yet be mature, which means it may not be a complete one. There will be a surge of ammonia and nitrite in the water system (New Tank Syndrome) mainly due to amount of food the fish are fed and the wastes that are produced. This may cause your Flowerhorn to die if the ammonia level in the tank reaches the toxicity point. This is commonly known as ammonia poisoning. For a new tank, frequent water changes (partial wayer changes) are advisable even if there is a proper bio filtration system in your new tank. It normally takes about 1-2 month's time for the cycle to stabilize, then less frequent water changes are necessary.


While the surge of ammonia in your tank is a problem for your fish, it will encourage the growth of nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas sp., to process the ammonia into less toxic nitrite. The resulting surge in nitrite will encourage yet another group of nitrifying bacteria, Nitrobacter sp . to convert them to even less toxic nitrate. Nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas will then be produced with the help of other bacteria and aquatic plants. The complete nitrogen cycle will normally take 1-2 month's time to mature and fully stabilize. After this period, a healthy population of beneficial bacteria will then be able to work on harmful ammonia and nitrite in the water system. Nevertheless, the number of fish and the amount of food given to those fish is an important factor in contributing the amount of ammonia in a system. Too much food will be a problem for you fish. Moreover, you must be moderate when it comes to the cleaning of your bio-media filters. If your system is too clean, the beneficial bacteria will be eliminated. Partial water change and constant removal of excess food and solid waste from the filters are crucial to the health of your tank.


Deworming
Deworming is basically an preventive measure to get rid of some common worms/bacteria/pasasites. Starving the fh once in a week is good. Apart from starvation, deworming can b carried out as follows..


Metronidazole, main ingredient of Metrogyl tablet, is best fed thru food than thru tank water. Also, under normal circumstances, fish will readily accept it thru food. Plus, by feeding metro thru food, we r preventing the nitrogen cycle from being wiped out.
Same with the other antibiotics like Terramycin (Ingredient- Oxytetracycline)



Metrogyl/Flagyl - for intestinal parasites/bacteria - One treatment of 3 days once in 3 months.


Terramycin - for gram-negative bacteria and columnaris virus - One treatment of 3 days once in 3 months.


Potassium Permagnate - as a 5 second bath - for most external parasites and worms - Once in a month (BE CAREFUL!!!)


Common salt - as long duration bath - as general tonic and stressbuster
as half an hour bath in concentrated solution - to get rid of ich - Once in a month.


Epsom salt - as laxative Once in 3 months.

Metrogyl treatment and Terramycin treatment is separated by at least a month. Other treatments can be carried out along with Metro/Terramycin treatment. Epsom salt treatment works great with Metrogyl treatment.

Note: This deworming procedure, suggested by our fh professor cum lover-Girish Bhai.
Common traits of a gud Fh
# Body Shape
Body of the flower horn fish should be thick and oval. Some new variants being almost round. Stomach should be full and not tucked in.

# Coloration
Most flower horn fish, red is predominant from cheek to abdominal region. However, its background colors would do well to complement the red highlighs.

# Black Horizontal Markings (flowerline)
It will be ideal if the flower horn fish has a strong and thick black horizontal marking on its body. However, be aware that not all flower horns has this criteria. We should look at the overall of the fish.

# Head
Irregardless of shape, size and coloration, a good nuchal hump is preferable. It will be ideal if the nuchal hump is proportionate to the size and shape of the fish.

# Eyes
Positioned on the sides of its head. Eyeballs and the eye linings should be alert and distinct respectively.


7) Tail & Fins
The tail and fins should stay erect most of the time

star fishes

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Cleaner Shrimp

, Lysmata amboinensis, is a native of the entire Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea. Also known as the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, this shrimp is a highly effective scavenger. Cleaner Shrimp help to keep the aquarium clean of uneaten debris. It is also well documented that these shrimp are able to clean parasites from fish and eat aiptasia anemones. These cleaning duties make these shrimps very desirable as members for the reef community. They are generally tolerant of others of their species in the same aquarium. All shrimp require Live Rock or similar aquarium decoration to use for hiding, especially when molting. This species must molt in order to grow. Molting generally occurs at night, the shrimp will lay on its back and exit its exoskeleton. A new exoskeleton is excreted and will harden over a period of several hours. The animal is vulnerable at this time and should not be disturbed. Proper iodine levels assist with successful molting.

Bristlenose catfish

Bristlenose catfish - Probably the most "common" fish in aquatic shops. Usually dark, sometimes with a small moustache, there is nothing sharp in the aquarium at all. It often sucks the bottom of the tank. But these are just the first impressions.

When you take a more in depth look, you will see how superlative this fish is. Ancistrus is a fine and good-looking fish which complements many freshwater aquariums.

I have kept ancistrus fish for more than 4 years and they have become an integral part of my tanks and my hobby. At first I bought only 4 of them and I didn’t know how to differentiate males from females. Fortunately, my aquarium was suitable for them and they did well. As time went by, the males acquired a moustache, all of them grew larger, and they all got a very nice coloration. After 2 years of successful keeping this nice species of fish, I decided to buy a larger tank. They liked it, because I saw small tails after few months. They sucked on wood all days long, and they showed me how beautiful they are. Generally speaking, people say that breeding ancistrus fish is not an easy task, but the environment in my tank did what I expected. The number of ancistrus in this tank has increased since this moment.

What do people need to know if they decide to keep Bristlenose catfish successfully? You can find a lot of information about water hardness, temperature, etc. in books. You may hear the same in shops and aquarists would tell you it again and again. I’d like to tell you a shortened version of these facts only including the most important information.

What kind of aquarium is most suitable for Bristlenose catfish?

I prefer tanks with many hiding-places, so they will be able to breed in peaceful conditions and small newborns will survive even if there are also larger fish in the tank. When you keep scalare or gouramis, then you will do better if the tank is planted heavily. I have 2 tanks and it happened to me, that gouramis ate all the newborn ancistrus but one. This one is still in my aquarium. The fish tank can be low, it won’t effect their normal activities. Bristlenose likes oxygen and the young need it at the bottom of tank. You can’t expect them to swim to the surface, because larger fish may eat them easily. When ancistrus grows up to 2 cm, it shouldn’t be considered as a dinner by other fish.

What about the temperature of the aquarium?

Bristlenose will survive in 18°C water, but I don’t recommend you to keep them under 21°C. I just forgot to close the window one night during winter... I keep water temperature between 22-25°C. Of course, summer means higher values. They feel better when temperature is higher.

What does Bristlenose eat?

I don’t want to make any advertisement campaign, but I fed them with Sera tablets since I bought the first one (first 4). I use only the meat and vegetable varieties. It is full of vitamins and is a really good solution, and I am yet to have mass disease in my tanks (fortunately). More ancistrus, more tablets.

Water hardness, ph and what else?

I have never measured any ph or dh in my tanks. In my opinion, an aquarium has to be something natural, not something that looks like a lab. I just keep them, I’m trying to satisfy their needs and I want them to feel good. I haven’t changed any water in my tanks for more than 2 years and I just top up water that has evaporated off.

Of course, I recommend to keep aquarium, fish and plants healthy.

What should you know before buying Bristlenose catfish?

1. This fish lives usually 8+ years. Don’t buy any Bristlenose if you plan to keep your aquarium for only 1-2 years.

2. Bristlenose is very peaceful fish. But it still needs its area. Adult males sometimes fight other males when they meet each other. But they don’t fight to the death. Naturally, when Bristlenose fish breed, the tank would become full of fish. This is not a reason to sell them or to give them to other people. I recommend to sell/give them when they’re adult or when they grow up to 6 cm. Two reasons why: firstly, they will easily survive in the new tank; secondly, they will cost more when they are adult as they are larger and more beautiful.

3. Bristlenose likes tablets! Often the shop assistant sells this fish and says “It will eat all algae in your tanks.” This is not true for adult fish. Unlike adults, newborns like algae much more. Until they are 2-3 cm long, they will eat it all day long.

4. Bristlenose catfish needs wood! Once I had two Bristlenose catfish without wood and they didn’t do well. When I moved wood into that tank, they became more active immediately. It is place where they can hide and where small fish can eat algae.

Video

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Pictures

Here below follows the photogallery added on 11/30/2006. You are allowed to use any of the pictures below on your own web site. However, you should place a link to aqua-fish.net in such case. Click on any image to enlarge.

Chinese Algae Eaters

“Chinese Algae Eater” is the most common name for the Gyrinocheilus aymonieri which is also less commonly known as the “Indian Algae Eater” and the “sucking loach”. This fish is often mistaken for the Siamese algae eater which is a similar species yet quite different. Saying that G. aymonieri are Chinese is misleading because this fish does not come from China, in fact in comes from northern India and central Thailand. Additionally, this fish is not a loach so the name “sucking loach” is an inaccurate use of terms, although some of its characteristics are quite similar to that of a loach.

Regardless of where it comes from, this algae eater, in its youth is very useful in clearing aquarium surfaces of algae. It quickly inches its way along every surface all the while sucking the algae in its path. Once the task is done, the algae eater starts at the beginning to clean everything all over again. The job is never done for this diligent young worker.

As the algae eater matures he gets tired of working so hard. The sucker fish that used to be helpful and hardworking is now a pest, and quite a large one at that. This fish has the potential to grow up to 12 inches in length although captivity usually brings them up to only 6 inches. Mature algae eaters prefer meatier foods and they prey on the fish with broad, flat sides so that they can suction their mouths to it. They are quick enough to chaise down and suck slime coats off tankmates as they go by, stressing everyone else out and weakening their immune systems. Many fish die as a result of the algae eater’s behaviors and this gives them a bad reputation in the aquarium industry.

Aquarium set-up

Mature G. aymonieri are territorial fish and need plenty of space to defend. They require hiding places and a wide variety of sustenance. These fish will fend for themselves if adequate nourishment is not provided by their caretaker, which is why many aquarists find their aquatic community numbers diminishing. The Chinese algae eater will not hesitate to pick a fish from the crowd to suck on.

To keep G. aymonieri happy it should be kept in a minimum of 25 gallons. A larger tank is even better to maximize algae growth. An algae eater will dwell in any region of the aquarium that has a surface to cling to but it is unlikely to swim in open waters unless it is busy chasing a fellow tankmate. This fish is not very particular about water conditions although consistency is always the key. Keep your pH between 6.0-8.0 with soft to hard water and a temperature somewhere between 72-82ºF. These are wide ranges for water conditions which means this highly adaptable species would be capable of surviving in a wide variety of places.

In the wild, Chinese algae eaters are found in Northern India and Central Thailand. They inhabit rivers and streams in places where the current is quick moving. Algae eaters use their disk-shaped mouths to suction themselves to solid surfaces to keep from being swept up in those currents. Their mouths are located on the underside of their heads which is a highly prolific trait possessed by bottom feeders. Also useful is their flat bellies which allow them to rest comfortably on flat surfaces. There is a small spiracle on the head that allows water to pass into the mouth and over the gills yet still allows enough suction for the fish to hold on. The Chinese algae eater has a long, thin body of bronze coloration with hues of yellow and brown. There is a black stripe from nose to tail fin, sometimes with equally distanced spots breaking up the stripe. Sometimes there are black spots located on the caudal fin while the pectoral, anal, dorsal and pelvic fins are usually clear of any markings. This species is also represented in a golden strain which is a little more attractive than the common version. This gold algae eater has a bright yellow back and a silvery-white belly. There is no dark stripe running along the flanks of this variation of algae eater.

Sexing

Sexing this species of fish is quite hard to do. Theories that males are slimmer than females have been discussed. Female fish in general tend to be plumper especially when getting ready to lay her eggs; however, I could find no evidence to back up this theory for this particular species.

Breeding

Information about proper breeding conditions for this fish is elusive and hobbyists have documented only accidental spawning. Those that have noted these accidents have specified that they tried and failed to duplicate the process. Optimum water conditions and breeding preparation procedures have been speculated but never proven successful. For now Chinese algae eaters must be caught in the wild to maintain the aquatic industry supply.

Pictures

Two pictures were provided by pitugo.

The Glass Bloodfin Tetra

Tank requirements

This tetra comes from South America, the Amazon river, exactly from its affluent – Maderia. So the natural environment for them is tropical freshwater aquarium. This fish is easy to keep in aquarium with moderate hard water, about 10°dGH and with pH bit more than 7. They don´t get on well in soft and acid water, where they start getting white and they slowly die. The temperature can vary between 22 to 28°C. The aquarium has to have many hiding places, but also many places for swimming. These fish are little athlets and they need place for training. Glass bloodfin species is small, so they don’t require much place for living (however they need a lot of space for having fun), but they need company, and more fish you keep, more place they demand. And how large the aquarium should be? For example we have about 30 tetras in 81 L aquarium and they look happy, but we had about 20 tetras in the same aquarium and they were just fine too. Last, we had about 15 tetras in 54 L aquarium, but they had not much place for swimming.

The aquarium must be covered, because the Glass bloodfin is a very good jumper. The shape of the body is made of muscle and it’s speciality is fast swimming and jumping out of the aquarium when they are scared. This happens especially when you clean the tank, or if you put your hands into the fish bowl with or without any reason. This species needs to be kept in shoals, because it is a shy and fearful fish. Despite the previously mentioned fact, you should place your aquarium into a place, where you are or other people are often. It is because if the fish is accustomed to plenty of movement, it will be not as nervous as if it was in a quiet place. The scare of this fish is a problem a bit. It includes trying to jump from the tank when you are doing something inside, but they look like they were in panic and they try to hide in the face of you. They try to get into the substrate, into the plants and sometimes they stuck in there and they can´t get out of such place. I do even think, that they sometimes try to act dead, but I´m not sure. I don´t like when they are doing these things. I am afraid of their safety during such moments.

Sexing and description

They are from 5 to 6 cm long and they look really terrific in planted aquarium. It is because they have see-through body with red tail fin. They have an about half centimetre big spot on their gills. This spot is very nice, because it produces colours reflexing. Maybe one fish doesn´t look very good, but their strength and beauty is in amount. As they move in one shoal with their red tails, they really look nice. Glass bloodfin is maybe not for people who like plenty colours in their tanks. But these tetras look very natural especially in tanks with plenty of plants.

The male is smaller and slimmer than the female. Also, the female is bigger and rounder and she may have larger first anal fin with white beams.

The Glass bloodfin species likes every kind of food. Live, frozen, dried. We feed them flakes, which they like to eat from the surface together with Black skirt tetras. They look like little piranhas. But don´t think I don´t feed them often, I am feeding them two times a day, so they aren´t hungry. When we started with bloodfins, they did not take their food from the surface and they only ate food from the water. We give them granulated food and frozen food too. Bloodworms are guaranteed success.

This tetra prefers breeding in the morning hours, when the aquarium is lighted with sun and when they are in shoal, not in couple. The breeding tank shouldn´t be small, maybe 30x30x80 cm is optimal. Spawning happens under the water over or in the soft aquarium plants like Java moss or even between green silicone silk. During one spawn they can lay up to 200 or even 350 eggs. The eggs are clear and not very adhesive, only few stay stuck to the spawning place. The eggs usually fall down to the substrate. They eggs are about 0,90 mm long and they hatch by the temperature 27°C very soon, even after 14 - 15 hours and little fry are about 2,25 mm long. They detach sticky secretion on their heads and they try to stuck to the walls of the aquarium or on the plants on shaded places. Sometimes they stuck to the water surface. In the age of 84 or 85 hours they swim free. From this time you have to feed them with live nature food, or just hatched sea monkeys. The breeding behaviour is similar to the breeding behaviour of the Aphyocharax anisitsi and rathbuni species. They creep on the plants, aquarium glass or aquarium equipment with the bellies up side down. But they grow faster than anisitsi and ratgbuni. When they are 7 to 8 weeks old, they start to swim just like their parents in shoals in the whole aquarium. In this age they can be fed crushed TetraMin for instance. With good food they grow up after 4 to 8 months. If they get less food, they grow up after 8 to 10 months. You should take care, if they have crystal clean water, the water should not contain much nitrogenous and the pH should be about 7 to 7.8, all the time while the little things are juveniles.

This tetra needs to be kept in a species shoal. However they like the company of Black skirt tetra - Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, or Flame tetra - Hyphessobrycon flammeus. Be careful, if kept with neon tetras, Glass bloodfins will probably die. Maybe it is because of the fact that neons detach some kind of secretion which is acid and Glass bloodfins don´t like acid water. Black and Flame tetras like harder water just like bloodfins do. They can be kept with some aggressive fish too. I would recommend a fish with smaller mouth than bloodfins are. Generally, Glass bloodfin are very fast fish and it is difficult to catch them, especially in a big aquarium with lot of plants.

The Blue Crayfish

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Introduction

Blue crayfish is the same species as normal coloured crayfish. Sometimes they are called lobsters as well, because everybody knows what lobster is and crayfish is something unknown, but it in not the same. Lobsters have two claws where each is of different size, but crayfish have claws of the same size. The blue colour is caused by gene mutation just like albino form of any animal or human species. However, just like other artificial colour mutations, this blue colour causes that an animal with blue colour is eaten very quickly. It is like an animal which has a light panel with a title: I'm here, come and eat me. The blue colour can by different at various geographic locations. They can grow to the size about 15 cm in an aquarium.

Aquarium and origin

Crayfish lives in Australia in warm and freshwater waters. However, in home aquarium they can live in ordinary room temperatures, or even cooler waters from about 12 to 22°C. Bear in mind that the water has to be clean and well aerated, so that you need a good water filter and aerator. Crayfish prefer soft water much more than hard water which is not very suitable for them. Additionally, a bit acid water is much better than alkaline. The tank should be large and there should be places for hiding as well. They don´t need dry land, so normal kind of fish tank is satisfactory. You should keep only one crayfish species in one tank. They are very aggressive and they will try to eat everything what moves, or they will try nip fins of fish inside the tank.

Feeding

As I have mentioned above, crayfish will eat everything. They find their food at the bottom levels. Blue claw lobsters will eat death fishes, special food or they will hunt other fish. They even may eat vegetables or aquarium plants, so growing plants in such tank is not the best idea. You can find various foods which are suitable for Crayfishes in aquatic shops; These include special tablets for bottom-dwellers fish (catfish tablets for instance).

Sexing

The crayfish male has a red mark on it's claws, but the female doen´t have so. The red colour is very expressive on the blue crayfish' body. Crayfishes lay eggs and one female can lay from 10 up to 250 eggs at once. The eggs are stuck to the females' body (under her back part) where are swimming legs, also called pleopods. When the fry is born, they look very similar like their parents do, the only difference is that the fry is smaller. You don´t have to worry about their food because they eat almost everything like their parents, just in smaller size. The first day of their life is critical and not every specimen survives this period, and those who survive maybe first 14 days have a good chance to grow up and mature in general. Crayfish specimen gets it's colour only when it reaches maturity. Until that time they are grey. Their colours are required for breeding purpose only, so there is no need to get it sooner.

Important

When you're going to keep a crayfish, you have to be careful because it might not be legal to keep them at home in your country. For example Cherax Quadricarinatus is the only legal crayfish in the UK. It is because they can escape and extend diseases. But you should check it anyway, because I don´t know the legislation.

Picture

The Silver Shark (Bala Shark)

Characteristic and tank requirements

Scientific Name
Balantiocheilos melanopterus

Common Names
Bala Shark, Silver Shark

Size
Up to 13 inches long (33 cm)

pH: 6 - 8
Temperature: 22°C - 28°C, I have known them to be quite happy in much cooler waters.
Water Hardness: 5° to 12° dH,
Lifespan: 8 - 10 years
Origin: South East Asia

Temperament, breeding, compatibility, feeding, pictures & final word

Temperament
Peaceful and can be kept with smaller fish. However, will eat fish if they are small enough to take in their mouths

Breeding
Breeding is rare in the home aquarium due to their size.

Tank
75 gallons minimum.

Compatibility
Will get on with most other fish.

Diet
Will eat most foods including flakes, pellets and live foods. They also love shelling snails! My Bala Sharks have great personalities and mix well with all sorts of other fish. They are rarely quiet, always rooting around and playing in the plants and ornaments. They are now around 12 months old, so still babies, but have found the snail tube and love to extract the snails from their shells. Indeed they are very adept at it.

Of course, they are not really sharks. They get their name from the dorsal fin and their shape. They are actually part of the Cyprinidae family. They are good fun though, but make sure that you cover the top of the tank, as they can jump!

Pictures

RAMSHORN SNAILS

Snails in an aquarium are not to everyone’s taste, a lot of fish keepers regard them as a nuisance that gets out of control, other keepers believe that there are good points out weigh the bad points so therefore they should be included in the tank. I have an open mind on this as I have kept them and still do but I can see both sides to the argument.

Ramshorn snails can include a variety of species of snails that all get classed as one breed in the aquarium trade, the differences between the snails is negligible so many keepers are quite happy with this general classification. Their shells are planispiral, this means that they are similar to a coiled piece of rope or a rams horn, hence the name that they are given.

They all belong to the Family Planorbidae which is the largest family of aquatic pulmonate gastropods; they can be found on most continents throughout the world. They are lung breathers, having no gills they have a large pulmonary sac for the gaseous exchange, this is found on the outer whirl of the shell, and if you shine a light through the shell it should be possible to see the air filled space. The air is collected and trapped by large folds of skin. Another distinguishing feature is that they only have one pair of tentacles which host an eye at the base of each. It is reported that the Planorbidae species can be hosts to pathogenic nematode worms but whether this is correct I cannot say.

Normally these are found with two different skin colorations, either black or red. The red coloration is the color of their blood, unlike other snails that have a green coloration (this is caused by the presence of hemocyanin), these snails blood actually contains hemoglobin. The lack of melanin in the skin reveals the redness. Their shells can be found in a wide range of different colors, opaque right through to a dark brown or black, and with a mixed collection of these I think that they are very pleasing to the eye.



Introduction to the aquarium is often by them being brought in with aquatic plants as clusters of eggs or even juvenile snails, but they are also sold to keepers who purposely wish to use their tank cleaning abilities and prize them for this.

As I have just stated they will rid the tank of algae, also cleaning surface algae of the plants, in general they will not actually eat healthy plants apart from the delicate species such as cabomba or anacharis.

They will travel about digesting rotting leaves or even any fish carcasses that have been missed so they are to me classed as part of a good clean up crew.

When keeping these as wanted guests in the tank fish like loaches or gouramis should not be added as tank mates, they are keen snail eaters and will wipe out any you have. Even adult apple snails are a threat to the Ramshorn snail so be wary if mixing the two.

Suitable tank mates are danios, guppies, and neon tetras, all of these are quite happy to share the tank with Ramshorn snails.

Once introduced into the aquarium they will breed prolifically, they are hermaphroditic, this means that if the tank only contains two snails they will manage to reproduce regardless of whatever sex they supposedly are. The red Ramshorn snail is not so common as it was a few years ago in the aquarium trade, there is a reason for this. Interbreeding with the brown or black Ramshorn snails has proved to be detrimental to the red snails as the brown/black snails seem to have more dominant genes, hence the higher ratio of brown/black offspring. If left to their own means they will reproduce away to their hearts content without the fish keeper having to get involved and as long as there are no predators in the tank they will soon start to over populate the tank. For serious Ramshorn snail keeping the water should be slightly alkaline with the temperature ranging from 75 to 80 deg F (24 – 26 deg C).Their preferred diet consists of green vegetables like spinach or lettuce (this is best rinsed under warm water to break down the cells slightly), algae, and left over food from the fish. If kept with sturdy plants there should be no damage to the plants, try not to add the delicate species as they will damage them will looking for algae. If they are being kept in a breeding tank siphon any detritus on a regular basis and replace the water with treated fresh water.

When the clusters of eggs are laid, depending on the water temperature, they should hatch any time between 2 weeks right up to 5 weeks.

There are a couple of methods of controlling these snails if you start getting too many, or if they arrived in your tank as unwanted visitors. There are snail traps available to buy, these work quite simply by adding some food into a chamber that the snails can get into but can’t get out. Crushing the snails or removing the ones near the surface will prove effective in time, but the best way of avoiding them if you really do not want them in your tank is to check any plants that you buy carefully for eggs or juveniles. Rinsing the plants under water will help but the best method I have found is to give the plant a dip in saltwater for 5 minutes and then rinse, this should remove them.

In some pet stores there are available to buy Giant Ramshorn or Colombian Ramshorn snails, these are not the same snails as the small Ramshorn. They are actually a species of Apple snail, quite easy to spot the difference as these have two pairs of tentacles and will grow large. Adding these to your tank will mean the days are numbered for your genuine Ramshorn snails.

Feel free to visit Care of Ornamental Snails at firsttankguide.net too!

Cleaning the aquarium

Why do people decide to clean their aquariums?

Generally, there are three basic reasons to clean the fish tank. Firstly, the tank smells. The reason for the smell varies depending on the fish; excrement fails to be filtered, pieces of old food gather on the bottom resulting in dead fish somewhere in the tank. It is important to install a strong enough filtration system in order to keep good conditions in the tank. Still water naturally smells and there are even aquariums without filters which contain many plants, which bring stable chemistry.

The next reason to clean the aquarium is that it is overgrown with algae.

You should bear in mind that algae usually grow in tanks where there are not enough plants, nitrification bacteria, or there is very bright lighting. In this case, you should buy some algae eater, pleco fish, cory fish, etc. The algae is a natural part of aquariums and it helps to keep good water conditions and chemistry. Fish excrement falls to the bottom of the tank and it becomes the part of substrate. If the substrate is of good quality, it eliminates harmful wastes and changes them into nitrates which mostly consist of oxygen. If the aquarium contains enough aquatic plants, algae will not grow because all the fish wastes will be eliminated by these plants and nothing remains for algae. On the other hand, if you have bright light in the tank, many plants will not stop growing algae, because light naturally supports growing all the plants, even algae.

The third most common reason of cleaning tanks is that the water becomes brown/yellow.

Such colours are caused by driftwood, roots and other decorations. There is no need to clean the water, because it is natural and many biotopes in the world do not have crystal clear water. For example, South American rivers and creeks flow through rainforests. A natural part of these waters are trees and which keep them a brown, yellow or black colour. Even driftwood causes dark water colours, it is welcome by pleco fish and cory species. I recommend you place some roots or driftwood into the tank, because it means new places here fish can hide. Some species are active through the night and they don’t like light. Ancistrus species need shelter for their happy life, breeding and for playing around. All plastic decorations may be nice, but they won’t replace the need for a more natural environment in the tank.

People usually clean their tanks every 2-4 weeks. I don’t clean my tanks and only add the amount of water which has evaporated. I decided for this strategy years ago, because my fish were stressed during the cleaning process. Fish are stressed because of cutting plants and cleaning the filter. Imagine yourself and your family as fish and imagine your house as an aquarium. What would happened if any "higher power" came to your home once per two weeks without your asking. What’s more, you would not know why and when. I think you would get dizzy about it (however, I wouldn’t object if someone cleans up my house).

Nitrification bacteria exist for of a reason and they’re needed in all aquariums.

You shouldn’t kill these organisms as they help to maintain water clarity by consuming waste. It usually takes 2 months until they are able to efficiently filter the water. In cooperation with a good filter, they guarantee stable conditions without disease. All my fish are healthy and they’re not dying. However, you could help this process in the first two-three months of running the new tank by changing 10% of water each 2 weeks.

By the way, when we’re talking about setting-up a new aquariums, we should focus on the importance of using clean decorations, tank parts and the tank itself. Everything what you put into the fish tank should be clean of bacterial organisms and any potentially harmful objects like sharp shells and so on. Because of this you have to boil all the new objects before introducing them. Don’t forget to completely clean the whole tank if you suspect there is any disease. You will avoid losing all fish and plants.

As you can see, there’s really no reason to clean the tanks on a regular basis. Unlike cichlid aquariums, community tropical aquariums don’t need to be cleaned much. Since cichlid tanks don’t contain many plants at all, nitrification bacteria need more time to establish a large colony. This is why you need to change 10%-20% of water on a regular basis each 2 weeks. In nature, there are lakes without plants or filtration and even they allow fish to live. So generally, every tank could exist without cleaning, which might be more harmful than helpful in some cases. Of course, small aquariums need to be cleaned because their ecosystems aren’t as stable as ecosystems in larger tanks. In my opinion, larger tank means less problems.

Piranha fish

Introduction

As everyone knows, the Piranha species is a very noted fish especially from TV. It’s aggression and hunger for everything what moves in the water are well known facts. They are shown as cruel and merciless beasts in the TV. So why do people keep them? Aren’t such people only criminals who drop their victims into the tank with Piranhas in order to hide their crime? Not everyone knows that Piranhas bite only if they are hungry, or something bleeds in their aquarium. So basically, a wise and skilled fish keeper will not be bitten or even eaten (it’s a myth that few Piranhas can eat the whole man’s body). Their attacks towards humans are very rare in the wild. The natives from the locations where Piranhas live are swimming with them a lot and they haven’t been harmed. However, nowadays it is not recommended to do so because as the environment changes all around the world, the fish’ behaviour may change as well. Generally, they have less food so they can be much more aggressive against humans than before. There are no reports of killing a human by Piranhas, only when a human died in the water and they eat him later.

An illegal fish

Did you know that they are illegal in some states in the U.S.A? It is in the states with warm environment. Some people could put them into the rivers and they could destroy the normal environment in those waters because they would not have natural enemies there.

In order to understand this fish, we have to learn more about them

Piranhas are freshwater fish and they come from the Amazon, Guiana and Paraguayan basins in the South America where we can find innumerable living creatures (including fishes). These geographical locations are even the most settled places in the world, so you can imagine how much dead animals can fall into the water. This is the reason why Piranhas have to have such big appetite. Naturally, such rivers require fish which eat dead animals, so the decomposing meat will not contaminate the water. They have very sharp teeth so they can eat all the meat from the bones of the dead animal. Of course, they hunt for live food too, but usually smaller fish.

Conditions in the aquarium

In aquarium they require temperature between 24 – 28°C. The pH value should be a bit lower, just like the dGH. The aquarium has to have places for hiding; Something like caves, some driftwood, plants and everything what you can find in their natural environment besides an strong filter. They produce many excrements so the filtration must be very effective. They also need a big tank. If they haven´t got enough place they turn into cannibals.

Do they eat meat only?

There are many types of Piranha fishes. You can even find Piranhas which eat vegetables only. Moreover, we even don’t know all the Piranha species because new and new species are found often, but right now we know more than 70 different kinds of them. This difference consists in in the colours, and in the behaviour as well. In addition, some of them are more and some are less aggressive.

The Body

They are from 15 to 30 cm long. Piranhas can have many different colours and shapes of the fins, but they have something in common. The most visible characteristic are their teeth. Their mouth is a bit open and you can see their triangle small sharp teeth. They have round body with massive mouth.

Feeding habits

This fish is a meat eater. A mature individual can eat pieces of fish meat, beef meat, chicken meat, or you can feed them with feeder fish especially if those fish are alive. But if they are small, they eat flakes and some worms. On the other hand, if you keep vegetarian piranhas, they eat plants in your aquarium, some vegetables, or vegetable flakes and tablets.

A community fish?

People think, that they are shoal fish and that they aren’t aggressive towards each other. But it is not true. They are in shoals only if they feel danger, for example if they are chased by river dolphins, or if they are going to eat a big animal. They should not be in one aquarium with other fish species, because they will eat them. Of course there were some cases when smaller non-piranha fish have nipped fins of the bigger Piranha, but it is nothing strange when an aggressive fish is not aggressive to fish with which it has lived from the juvenile age. But not every time it can work, so you shouldn’t risk it. They are very territorial fish and because of this you should have them in a big aquarium, so every fish has it’s own place.

Pictures

Special thanks to Richard Smith for pictures!