They quickly get used to the conditions of a wide variety of aquariums, both cold-water and tropical, with wide range hardness and acidity, can tolerate even lightly salted waters. The color of these fish is amazing - metallic blue with iridescent overflow. Young roaches are especially good. The darker back is colored from velvet black and emerald to various shades of burgundy. Silver sides shimmer with shades of all the colors of the rainbow, constantly changing so that the eye is not able to fix any particular color. Roach is a peaceful fish with a balanced character, calm and sociable, easily getting used to the owner and willingly demonstrating its affection. She prefers to stay in a flock of her own kind or other non-predatory fish, willingly coexisting with heads, bleaks, mustards and breams. Such a flock then condenses and begins to live as a single organism, sometimes, breaking up into small groups, fills the space of the aquarium with the sparkle of living sparks. The most ordinary domestic fish turns out to be surprisingly beautiful and interesting when kept in an aquarium, especially since roaches resettled from natural reservoirs take root without problems. The fish quickly master in captivity and begin to actively feed on any food, both live (invertebrates, suitable in size) and dry, produced for various kinds fish. Roaches do not spoil plants, do not dig up the soil - in a word, they are ideal for any, especially office, aquarium.
Fish feel great in a tropical aquarium at temperatures up to 26 ° C. Of course, a flock of large danios or barbs can be supplemented with several roaches, but the true beauty of the fish will appear only in a specially designed aquarium for domestic fish. In it, shelters should be combined with open space, dense shade with spots of bright light. In an aquarium, it is desirable to use side and / or diagonal lighting with dense thickets in the background. In low general illumination, brightly highlight individual groups plants. In dark places, it is better to use snags or ridges of large stones, however, significant spaces - up to 2/3 of the volume - should be left free. Roach prefers to stay in the middle and bottom of the aquarium. In order for the fish to gather in a flock, an aquarium with coastal thickets can be supplemented with a medium-sized predator.
As the most suitable design options, we can recommend:
- section of the river with a rapid and a backwater; the rapid is organized by a pump that creates a current along the front glass or diagonally of the aquarium, and the backwater is formed by dense thickets of plants in the background, slowing down the flow of water; areas with different conditions will form in the volume of the aquarium;
- a section of a lake with a stream flowing into it, organized by an overflow filter;
- coastal thickets of chastukha, arrowhead with duckweed and water-colour.
This fish in each reservoir is unique in its own way and slightly different from specimens caught in another reservoir. These differences are clearly manifested in the shape of the body (elongated / high), and in the color of the fins (especially the dorsal), and in the color of the scales (more or less blue). Juveniles (underyearlings) are similar in color and shape, differing only in the intensity of the blue shade of the scales and the brightness of the orange color of the eyes, while adult fish differ significantly in both color and shape. The body of the roach has the shape of a symmetrical, elongated petal, compressed from the sides. Body height from 1/4 to 1/3 of length. The length of the caudal peduncle is always greater than the height of the head and ranges from 1/6 to 1/4 of the body length. The scales are large or medium, tightly seated. The lateral line is complete, with a slight curve towards the belly. The dorsal fin begins above the base of the ventrals. The width of the dorsal and anal fins is approximately the same. Dorsal fin with 7 to 11 branched rays, anal fin with 7-13. Behind the ventral fin is a keel covered with scales. The color of the body, fins and eyes of this fish has countless variations depending on the age and conditions of the biotope. The back is dark with a blue or greenish tint, the sides and belly are silvery white or silvery blue. The dorsal and caudal fins are gray, sometimes with a red tint, the others are faded orange or faded red, the ventral and anal fins are usually brighter. The mouth is oblique, almost terminal, the apex of the mouth is higher than the lower edge. The iris of the eye is yellow to red. With age, the color of the eyes and fins becomes brighter.
Roach inhabits a variety of water bodies: rivers, ponds and lakes, reservoirs. This is a schooling fish living on the border of thickets of aquatic vegetation and open water. She loves areas of a reservoir with a slow current or stagnant water, willingly settling among thickets of water lilies, near bushes flooded with water, snags, in deep barrels. Roach tries to avoid cold and fast-flowing sections of rivers, rifts, preferring stretches and calmer, warmer water. It rarely rises to the surface, more often it stays in the water column or in the bottom layers, in small rivers and reservoirs it prefers a settled life and is not prone to big travels. Small lakes with an unfavorable winter regime are used by roach in spring for breeding, in summer for feeding, and wintering goes to rivers. Roach food is varied and changes with the seasons. In summer, her favorite food is green algae, at the end of July and in August she willingly eats duckweed, and at the end of August and autumn, with a decrease in water temperature, she switches to feeding on mosquito larvae, caddisflies, and mayflies. Semi-anadromous forms and large individuals in reservoirs feed on mollusks. In winter, fish gather in deeper places and continue to feed, although less intensively.
Sexual dimorphism during the year is weakly expressed, manifesting itself only in the shape of the body. In females, the body is higher, has an elongated symmetrical, almost rhombic shape, in males the body is less symmetrical, rather triangular. By the time of spawning, clearly visible whitish tubercles (nuptial attire) appear on the body and head of males, and in females the abdomen is noticeably rounded. The roach breeds in the first half of May, when the water temperature rises to 6–8°C. In warm spring, spawning is friendly, during cold snaps it stretches for several weeks. Spawning grounds are located in shallow waters, where fish come in large flocks. In male roaches, by this time, clearly visible whitish tubercles appear on the body and head - a kind of marriage outfit. Spawning males are usually smaller than females. Caviar sticks to herbaceous plants, on the rhizomes of trees and shrubs. The eggs are pale yellow, about 2 mm in diameter. At the moment of laying eggs and milk, the female and male keep side by side and make a short throw through a bunch of grass or sedge. The fecundity of roach, depending on the size of the female, ranges from 2.5 to 100 thousand eggs. Their development at a temperature of 11–16°C lasts 7–14 days. The average length of the larvae at hatching is about 6 mm. At first, the larvae hang motionless on aquatic plants. After resorption of the yolk sac, they switch to feeding on external food - planktonic crustaceans.
Juvenile roach keep in flocks in small bays along with juveniles of other cyprinids at the very edge of the water, it is easy to observe and catch from the shore. The size of adult fish in small water bodies does not exceed 25 cm, usually 12–20 cm. major rivers and vast reservoirs, roach reaches 35 cm and more than 1 kg of weight, and among semi-anadromous fish there are even larger ones, up to 50 cm and 2 kg of weight. Roach lives in favorable conditions for quite a long time, up to 20 years, reaching sexual maturity at the age of 2–4 years with a length of more than 10 cm.
The northern border of the range runs along northern Sweden and Finland, the Kola Peninsula (lakes Imandra, Lovozero, the Ponoi River) and almost all the mouths of the rivers flowing into the Northern Arctic Ocean. The southern border of the range runs north of the Alps up to the Azov-Black Sea basin, where it is distributed everywhere, except for the coast of Asia Minor, there is in the basin of the Caspian and Aral Seas.
Common roach is one of the most widespread and numerous species of cyprinid fish in Eurasia. It occurs from the Pyrenees in the west, to the river. Lena in the east. There is on Yamal (the Seyakha River). It is found in Lake Baikal, lakes Khubsugul and Zaysan, as well as in many isolated lake and river systems in Altai, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Settled artificially in a number of places outside its natural range. Not in the Far East in the Amur basin.
Keeping fish from local waters
Can I use well or spring water? Usually, a significant amount of mineral salts and other substances are dissolved in the water of these sources. Therefore, before using this water, check its properties. How do they do it? In a glass jar (or some other glassware), water settles for three to four days. Then it is thoroughly blown. A control fish is placed in a vessel with the test water and observed for several days. If she feels normal, then the water is suitable for keeping fish. The water temperature in an aquarium with fish in local reservoirs should be plus 15-18 ° C, that is, much lower than for exotic ones. Water hardness and pH values are allowed to be the same as for aquariums with exotic fish. Water treatment methods are also the same. What native fish can be populated in the aquarium? Crucian carp, common carp or various breeds of carps bred from it, mustard, silver top, loach, tench, rudd, fry of a number of other local fish - as you can see, there is a considerable choice.
When settling in an aquarium, it should be taken into account that the most viable under its conditions are fish from stagnant lakes, ponds or reservoirs with a weak current. In addition, it must be borne in mind that fish caught in the autumn are more enduring than fish caught in spring or summer: the latter are less able to tolerate sharp fluctuations in temperature. Most of our native fish are more durable than exotic ones. So, for example, a carp lives about 40 years, other cyprinids - 10-15 years. Keeping fish from local reservoirs is also interesting because they are attractive for their appearance, habits and other characteristics. When populating an aquarium, one must remember that it is impossible to place predatory and “peaceful” fish together. Predatory fish are considered to be those that feed on live fish. Peaceful fish feed on invertebrate animals or plants.
Predatory include: pike, perch, pike perch, catfish, burbot. To peaceful - bream, roach, rudd, ide, verkhovka, mustard, loach, crucian carp, carp and others. The most common inhabitant of stagnant waters of local reservoirs is crucian carp. Let's start our story with him. Carp. There are two types of crucian carp: common (golden) with golden scales and silver, in which the scales cast silver. Crucian is a bottom fish and feeds on bloodworms, algae, small mollusks; very unpretentious, which is explained by the difficult conditions of his life in natural reservoirs. Muddy reservoirs, the bottom of which is covered with silt, coastal thickets of swampy reservoirs are favorite places for crucian carp. Here he grows, multiplies, feels great.
In some reservoirs, the weight of crucian carp reaches 500-600 g. But more often its weight is 150-200 g. In an aquarium, one should not get carried away with the size of the fish. On the contrary, we must try to make it smaller. However, there is no reason to fear that crucian carp will grow significantly in a medium-sized aquarium. In aquarium conditions, their weight will not exceed 100 g. Gorchak. Found mainly in slow flowing waters. interesting fish, silvery-green in color with large scales, oval, zigzag body, high back and slightly flattened sides. It has long been noticed that where bivalve molluscs of barley and toothless are found, one can also find mustard. This is due to mutual interest. The relationship of these animal species was discovered more than a hundred years ago by the professor of Kharkov University A.F. Maslovsky.
We recommend to settle in the aquarium at the same time the mustard and the toothless, which takes root better than barley in aquarium conditions. The female bitterling with a fuller abdomen tries to get into the slightly ajar doors of the toothless with her long ovipositor. The male, helping her, taps his nose on the shell of a mollusk, as if asking: “Open, please!” And a miracle happens: a stubborn, shy mollusk hospitably opens its valves so that the female bitterling can put caviar into the folds of his mangia, which the male immediately fertilizes. Inside the toothless, as if in a shelter, the eggs are preserved and develop until the offspring of the mustard hatch out of it. But the most amazing thing is that without the participation of the toothless, the reproduction of the mustard is impossible.When you look at the mirror surface of the river in summer, it is easy to notice small and frisky silvery fish. These are tops. They are called so because they swim near the surface of the water. It is not difficult to keep ve, rovok in an aquarium, as they are unpretentious. Greenish-yellow, as if covered with a fine mesh, the scales of the apex shine and sparkle with every swift movement of the fish. It is necessary to populate the tops in the aquarium in flocks, since these fish do not tolerate loneliness. It should be remembered that the aquarium in which the tops live is usually only half filled with water and carefully covered with glass. The point is that in warm moonlit nights tops are brewing on the river fun game: they quickly jump out of the water and, flashing with silver scales, dive into the water again. The fish do not give up these habits in the aquarium either. No matter how high it is, they jump out of it and, falling to the floor, die. Therefore, it is recommended to fill the aquarium with water only halfway and cover it with glass.
Aquarium water should be clean, clear and well aerated. Tench. The tench has a different character. In contrast to the top, he prefers solitude. He got his name from the amazing property to change its color. Taken out of the water, it becomes covered with dark spots. The greenish-yellow color of the tench with a golden tint is the lighter, the clearer the water in the aquarium. Lazy and slow in movements, tench is a homebody. Once he has chosen a corner for himself, he does not seek to leave it. It is very interesting to observe his habits. With the onset of cold weather, the tench begins to look for company, and the fish gather in flocks. Roach, Silvery white with a pinkish sheen, roach is distinguished by a difference in the color of the fins: the dorsal and caudal fins are greenish pink, and the pectoral fins are light yellow or orange. The roach loves long journeys across the expanses of water. Being deprived of this opportunity in an aquarium, she still feels good in it.
Keep it until it grows up. Sticklebacks. These fish are so named because their front dorsal fin is transformed into sharp spines: three in a three-spined stickleback and 7-12 in a nine-spined one. The stickleback is remarkable not only for its appearance, but also for its habits and way of life. These fish are found in the basins of the Black, Azov and northern seas, in rivers and lakes of the Leningrad region and in other water bodies. Sticklebacks love calm currents and are found in both fresh and brackish water. During spawning in males, the sides and abdomen become thick, black, and the abdominal spines are snow-white. The stickleback is especially interesting during the spawning period.
In spring - in April or early May - stickleback males take on a brighter, mating color: the abdomen becomes bright red, and the back is green. They move away from their plump girlfriends, who swim in flocks. Each male chooses a place to build a nest. He usually finds it at the bottom or among plants. Most often, he digs a hole in the mud and strengthens it. The sticklebacks are particularly fond of the thickets of water lilies. Tearing off pieces from them, the male skillfully lines the side walls, and then the vault of the nest, gluing “ construction material» secreted by his body mucus. The most interesting thing is that, having built a nest, the male carefully smoothes, levels, preens it, throwing out the excess and expanding the inlet.
The posterior opening remains narrow, and sometimes completely absent. The finished nest of the three-spined stickleback is a ball, which is not easy to notice in the water. Built from plants and attached to them, the nest blends into the general green background. When the nest is ready, the male returns to the flock to choose a mate ready for laying eggs. Playing with her, he drives the female into the nest. The female swims into the inlet, lays a few eggs and swims out through the rear hole. At this time, the male is in an extremely excited state. As soon as the female finishes spawning, he, in turn, swims into the nest and pours milk over the eggs. But the male does not calm down on this. Soon he brings another girlfriend to the nest, then a third. This is repeated until the nest is filled with eggs. However, the troubles of a caring male do not end there. He vigilantly guards his nest, jealously protecting it from enemies. This continues for 10-15 days. At this time, the male selflessly works: swinging his fins, he creates a movement of water in front of the inlet of the nest, thereby ensuring ventilation and water circulation. A few days later, stickleback fry begin to swim out of the nest.
In the first days, the father nb allows the babies to move away from the nest and vigilantly watches them. Only after making sure that the fry have become independent, he stops guardianship and leaves his “post”. It should be borne in mind that sticklebacks need a spacious aquarium with a thick layer of sand on the bottom and plants: water lilies, egg capsules and others. Puberty in sticklebacks occurs by the second year. Sticklebacks are exceptionally voracious. As soon as they are given food, they rush to it in a race, often injuring each other in the struggle for a tidbit. Putting sticklebacks in a common aquarium with other fish is not recommended. So that sticklebacks do not get sick with fungal diseases, it is necessary to add table salt to the water (a tablespoon of salt per 8 buckets of water). And, of course, you need to make sure that the aquarium is always clean.
Gudgeon.
Who does not know this modest-looking fish with large scales, short antennae on a thick head? Leaning on the bottom with its elastic fins, the minnow lies motionless at night and on hot summer days. For hours he can lie quietly, not moving, in a secluded place in the river. The minnow usually lives in reservoirs with sandy soil. The body of the fish is elongated, greenish-brown, and sometimes yellow. The mustache is the organ of touch for the gudgeon. He is unpretentious and willingly feeds on the remains of the dinner of other fish. In the aquarium, the minnow is a diligent orderly.
It is necessary to feed the minnow with live food: daphnia, cyclops, tubifex. In the aquarium, this fish eats little. This is apparently due to the fact that it is difficult for the gudgeon to immediately acclimatize in a new environment. The second reason is the fearfulness of the fish. Therefore, when feeding and caring for a gudgeon, silence should be observed. You can catch a minnow like this: put a piece of bread in an empty liter milk bottle and lower it to the bottom of the stream downstream. In search of food, the gudgeon goes against the current. Smelling the smell of bread, he swims into the bottle. And then it remains only to pull out the bottle by the rope.
If you look at the bottom of a fast small river, you can see schools of small nondescript gray fish. Try to catch a few pieces and look at them already in a glass jar. They are transformed: the scales shine in different colors, shine. The fish are getting better. In spring, when nature puts on her rich attire, the minnow is also very beautiful. Along the black stripe that runs through his entire body, scattered like buttons, iridescent mother-of-pearl spots and dots. The minnow's mouth, gill covers and abdomen are crimson red. Round balls and dots are cast on the sides of his head with silver. Such is the minnow's spring attire.
Several plants from local reservoirs should be planted in pre-settled water, after which the fish can be placed in an aquarium. Minnow is undemanding, easily gets used to life in an aquarium. The minnow should be fed with bloodworms, flies and earthworms. He has a good appetite. Therefore, you need to be careful when feeding, so as not to overfeed the fish. The minnow is easy to catch, as is the minnow. A liter empty milk bottle on a rope must be lowered to the bottom. At the smell of bread or a piece of a fly placed in a bottle, a minnow will swim up and sooner or later fall into the bottle. All that is needed is patience. For the aquarium, you should choose only healthy fish with intact scales.When keeping minnows in an aquarium, it must be borne in mind that at first, while they get used to the new living conditions, it is recommended to clean and change the water daily. First, a quarter of the water changes, after a couple of days - an eighth. Later, when the minnows are acclimatized, you can change the water less often. Rudd. This fish got its name due to its crimson-red fins. An inhabitant of flowing water bodies densely overgrown with aquatic plants, the rudd is unpretentious and takes root well in the aquarium. This beautiful, mobile and cheerful fish loves the backwaters of rivers, where it can hide for hours in dense underwater thickets. In the aquarium, the rudd diversifies the fish society with its bright outfit. The male is especially beautiful during spawning. Grainy spots appear on his head - warts, painted colorfully and brightly. Rudd should be fed live food.
To breed them, you need an aquarium densely planted with myriophyllum, which is necessary for spawning. After its completion, the producers must be removed from the spawning ground. After 7-8 days, larvae appear, which hang upright, glued to plants or aquarium ledges. It takes only one or two days for the fry to learn to swim on their own. In a cheerful flock, they briskly swim around the aquarium, catching ciliates and other small live food. We have already talked about how important it is to properly position the aquarium. This is of particular importance when it comes to keeping fish in local waters. It should be remembered that they, in contrast to exotic fish, cannot stand high temperatures. Therefore, we must try to create conditions for them in the aquarium, possibly close to natural.
In order for them not to hibernate in winter (as happens naturally), it is necessary that the aquarium has summer conditions throughout the year. And, of course, we must not forget about the plants. The underwater flora of our local reservoirs is so rich and diverse that there is no need to look for plants on the side.
Water lily.
Who does not know her, a beauty, with silver-white fragrant flowers floating on the surface of ponds or river backwaters? The leaves immersed in water cast a golden crimson. In the aquarium, the water lily feels good all winter. However, before planting in the ground, it must be thoroughly washed, rotted leaves removed and the roots cut shorter. When favorable conditions are created in the aquarium, the water lily grows rapidly and finally blooms with magnificent flowers. As observations have shown, a water lily grown from seeds in an aquarium takes root better.
The cup is small.
It is a relative of the water lily. It is distinguished by large leaves, which differ from each other in shape and location. Leaves grow from the creeping rhizome of the capsule. Some of them are heart-like, others are round, almost transparent, light green, and live in the water column. When the aquarium is sufficiently lit, the egg-pod grows well and even blooms with yellow flowers that look like a large ranunculus. Seeds of egg capsule, as well as water lilies, must be collected in the fall. Duckweed. This plant is usually introduced into the aquarium with live food or with other plants. Green rounded plates of duckweed gradually fill the entire surface of the water in the aquarium.
In our reservoirs there are: small duckweed, three-lobed and multi-rooted. One or more thin roots extend from the underside of its plates. Duckweed is an unpretentious plant. It reproduces very intensively in upper light. In small quantities, duckweed is not harmful to the aquarium.
In winter, many plants of local water bodies die off. The duckweed does not die. However, in winter it develops only under the condition of additional artificial lighting. Topnyak. This plant got its name from the swampy swamps in which it is found. It is of great interest for observing the movement of juice. Like glass, thin cranked stalks of the topnyak are completely devoid of leaves. Only in the places where the knees are joined, bundles of twigs grow, covering, like a ring, the stems of the plant.
In an aquarium, the topnyak is very effective and useful in that it actively participates in the biological processing of water, creating a favorable environment for its inhabitants. In the cold of winter, when many plants die off, the marsh still retains its bright green color. Topnyak reproduces very quickly. One has only to throw his twig into the water, as it begins to grow and develop. No special conditions are required for this topnyak. The only thing he can't stand is transplants. Therefore, once you have placed a topnyak in the aquarium, you should not disturb it anymore.
Hornwort.
The leaves of this aquatic plant, due to their large dissection, have the ability to purify water. Turbidity settles on the leaves. It is worth putting a few branches of hornwort into muddy water, as in a few hours it will become transparent and clean. But before introducing the hornwort into the aquarium, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the plant with running water. It is best to plant it in the summer. This plant got its name from its horn-like leaves. Collected in dense bunches (whorls), they sit on the stem at equal distances from each other. Hard, with short serrations, forked, bright green leaves of the hornwort are submerged in the water column and only their upper bunch in the form of a crown slightly peeks out above the water.
If you look closely at the hornwort, you will notice that its leaves are inflated with a tube. They have air. In order for the hornwort to develop and grow well in the aquarium, as soon as it grows to the surface of the water, it is necessary to cut it from below and deepen it into the ground so that the top of the hornwort does not touch the upper layer of water. In addition, it is recommended to change the water less often and keep the hornwort away from the light source. The choice of local aquatic plants in the summer is quite large and varied. Unfortunately, many of them die off with the onset of winter, leaving behind seeds or buds. That is why such plants as marshmallow, jellyfish, often hornwort, as well as other plants that continue to live and develop normally in an aquarium in winter, are especially valuable. Hornwort is an extremely useful plant not only for aquariums with inhabitants from local reservoirs. It also serves to spawn many exotic fish.
Aquarium preparation for domestic fish is the same as for warm-water fish. In both cases, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarity of the soil. For fish that stir up the soil, it should be pebbly. The possibility of never heating the water makes it possible to focus on the use of moderately heat-loving plants of the tropics and plants of local water bodies.
Delivery and acclimatization of fish for keeping in an aquarium can be successful if they are brought home in the water of the reservoir from which they were caught, and placed at home in an aquarium with settled tap water, half mixed with that in which they lived. To make it easier to cope with the acclimatization of fish, they must be caught from water bodies poor in oxygen (in pits, ditches, bays separated from rivers, etc., where the fish lived for a long time under a reduced oxygen regime), or at a time of the year when different reasons, even in vast reservoirs, there is a lack of oxygen: in summer - in great heat or when the water “blooms”, and in winter during “freezes”, forcing fish to accumulate at holes or vents in search of an environment rich in oxygen.
Better than others, small fish 3-4 cm long tolerate transportation and acclimatization. But it is most reliable to catch large fry in the spring. True, in this case it is not always possible to recognize which fish fry are caught, but it is to be hoped that among them there will be those that are recommended for keeping in captivity.
The delivery of fish home must be so reliable that the brought specimens remain frisky, without any damage. For this, preference is given to wide and low dishes. In a 4-5-liter dish, you can bring three to four fish. During a long journey, it is recommended to use "camping" aeration, pre-mounted from a hose, a sprayer and a pear for a spray gun.
Acclimatization of fish begins with what they are created best conditions existence close to natural: water must be constantly fresh, periodically replaced with a mixture (50% natural water with settled tap water). Freshness - saturation of water with oxygen - can be maintained by aeration. From natural water, even poor in oxygen, the fish wean gradually, at the same time getting used to the new living conditions in the aquarium. Over time, their need for the usual conditions of existence in nature completely disappears, and keeping fish in an aquarium becomes easy.
At first, observing the behavior of acclimatized fish, one has to either lengthen the aeration time to round-the-clock, or shorten it, minimizing it. If, despite aeration, the fish still captures atmospheric air from the surface of the water, it must be replaced - about 1/3 of the total volume of the aquarium.
Sometimes there may be critical moments in acclimatization or in general in the life of domestic fish in an aquarium. This happens when the water temperature rises in summer (there is little oxygen in warm water), in which case it is necessary to lower the temperature - dilute warm water with settled cold tap water. All the difficulties of acclimatization begin to recede after two to three weeks.
Fish are fed mainly with live moving food (cyclops, daphnia, bloodworms). Fish are reluctant to take fixed food, but over time they get used to it - the smaller the fish, the sooner.
In favorable conditions of large aquariums, domestic acclimatized fish live for a long time, reaching considerable sizes. This complicates their maintenance, and over time, large fish have to be replaced with small ones. With suitable temperatures (moderate in summer and cool in winter - seasonal change), good food and dense vegetation, some of these fish, laying eggs, give birth,
An association different fish in one aquarium it is quite possible, but it must be done taking into account a very important feature - the demands on the amount of oxygen in the water. One group can be made up of the most undemanding fish: crucian carp, tench, loach, loach and even char. A fish no longer than 4 cm requires at least 3 liters of water. With partial aeration, this rate is reduced to 2 liters. The group with an increased oxygen requirement should include roach, rudd, verkhovka, bleak and gudgeon. Here, a fish also up to 4 cm long requires up to 4.5-5 liters of water, and with partial air blowing - 3 liters. Perch are most sensitive to lack of oxygen. Hence the landing rate: for each fish of the specified length, 5-6 liters of water are required. Partial blowing reduces the rate to 4 liters. An increase in the size of fish requires an increase in the amount of water for each of them.
Golden carp, Silver carp
In the aquarium, crucians are fed cut worms, bloodworms, raw scraped beef, enchitreus, grains of millet porridge and crumbs of white bread, all this in limited quantities. Crucian also takes dry daphnia when it gets wet and sinks to the bottom. He willingly eats green algae from glasses and plants. The best temperature for keeping carp is not higher than 22 °. With a sufficient amount of oxygen in the water, the crucian easily tolerates its temporary overheating.
Tench
For an aquarium, they take small molts, because large ones (in case of hunger) can attack small fish. The tench picks up food from the bottom, feeding on cut earthworms, scraped lean beef, bloodworms, enchitreuses. Accustomed to life in an aquarium, tench, according to some observations, becomes an omnivore. With a significant decrease in temperature, it becomes lethargic and eats poorly.
Verkhovodka
It is not difficult to get perched water by catching the upper parts of the reservoir with a gauze net. Caught fish cannot be picked up, as the delicate silvery scales immediately disappear. From the net to the carrier (dishes for transport), they are moved by shaking. Also, you can’t recruit too many fish at once: they die from crowding and changes in living conditions, which are very sensitive.
There are cases when top waters gave offspring in small 30-40-liter aquariums. This is mainly due to a change in the temperature conditions for keeping fish. During the warm months of the year, the water temperature in the aquarium should not exceed 24°, and in winter it should be within 12-14°, which is achieved by moving the aquarium to a cool place, possibly on a windowsill. In winter, the fish are almost not fed, until the onset of spring heat.
And if in the spring suddenly someone is lucky enough to see newborn fry, the first thing he should do is separate them from their parents. Fry are fed in the same way as it is done when breeding exotic fish (according to Table 5).
Roach
The conditions for keeping roach in an aquarium are common with all cyprinids, and its omnivorous nature makes it possible to expand the diet with dry food. Fish feel especially good if at least from time to time they are fed a little green algae called mulberry. You can get it in the river, removing it from wooden or reinforced concrete structures immersed in water. Fluctuating from the current, the algae looks like thin bright green threads.
Rudd
In the aquarium, the rudd feels great, requiring caring attitude only during the acclimatization period.
A significant part of its food in nature is microalgae, mostly filamentous, the so-called mulberry. In the aquarium, if she was not constantly given only live or dry food, she would never change her habit. In fact, in an aquarium with a lot of microalgae, the rudd can not be fed with other food, such as grains of porridge, white bread crumbs, etc.
Spawning of rudd in captivity is not uncommon, but this requires a lot of conditions, the main of which are the presence of fish of different sexes of sufficient size, their winter content in cool water on a meager diet, increased food and temperature regimes with the approach of spring, periodic refreshment (replacement) of part water, the use of aeration, maximum amount small-leaved plants concentrated in one place of the aquarium, and, finally, the spawning water temperature is not lower than 18 °.
Perch
The water norm for a perch in an aquarium is the highest - 5-6 liters per fish up to 4 cm long, but such a recommendation cannot be formally treated: one perch cannot live in such a container. And it is a completely different matter if four or five perches are placed in a 30-40-liter aquarium. Perches need room to move around, and so that they do not jump out of the aquarium, its surface is covered with glass.
In summer, when the temperature in the rooms rises significantly, the water in the aquarium has to be constantly refreshed (replaced) and constantly aerated. Water temperatures above 15 ° are considered critical for perches. They become lethargic, lose color and, having stopped eating, die.
They feed perches with cyclops, daphnia and other moving live food. Perches take food only "on the fly" - while lowering it to the bottom, and what has not been eaten and ended up on the ground must be immediately removed. A lump of scraped meat, for example, can be given with tweezers so that it is in the field of view of the fish.
Of course, many people like to breed aquarium fish, but what if you live in a rural area and traveling to the city for food, equipment and new inhabitants becomes a problem?
If you like the exotic and would like to keep fish from local reservoirs at home, we will tell you how to do it right.
What river fish can live in an aquarium?
The range of representatives of rivers suitable for a domestic reservoir is quite large: carp, top, tench, rudd, etc.
Before you populate the aquarium, you need to consider that the most "persistent" will be fish from a reservoir with no flow or with a weak current. Also, fish caught in the fall will be more hardy to the conditions of an artificially created habitat.
When settling river residents, it must be taken into account that the cohabitation of predatory and non-predatory fish is impossible.
Predatory individuals (perch, pike, pike perch, catfish) need live fish for food, unlike non-predatory ones (bream, rudd, carp, crucian carp), which use plants and invertebrates as food.
Regarding the types of fish suitable for keeping at home, their most unpretentious representative is crucian carp, which can “survive” even in the most difficult conditions.
It creates a special layer around itself, consisting of water and mud, and in such conditions it can last for about 2-3 months.
Therefore, crucian carp is the best option for keeping in a home pond. This fish loves a lot of vegetation, algae, so this should be taken into account when “populating” this inhabitant.
The most important condition is to create a habitat for fish that is similar to their own (rivers, ponds, ponds).
In order for the residents to feel free and comfortable, it is necessary to prepare an aquarium of large volume, with algae (duckweed, hornwort, marshmallow, lupus), which can acclimatize in a home reservoir.
Aquarium preparation, fish transportation
At preparatory work to settling river fish in a home aquarium, first of all, you should pay attention to the soil, small pebbles are best in this case.
The development of fish in a new place will be successful if, after being caught, it is placed in the water from its permanent habitat. And the houses of new guests need to be launched into the aquarium, with 50% clean water, and the same amount should be added from the water from the reservoir.
In order not to injure the caught fish during transportation, you need to choose a convenient dish (it is better to use wide and low). It is recommended to carry 4-5 copies in a 5-liter container.
If the journey is long, take care of temporary aeration for the fish, such a device can be made from a hose, a pear for a spray gun and a sprayer.
In order for the fish to quickly get used to the new habitat, it is better to catch it in water bodies with a low oxygen regime, or at certain times of the year: in summer - during a period of intense heat, when the water is already beginning to “bloom”, in winter - during a period of “freeze”, when fish gather near holes.
The most resistant to new conditions are small fish (fry) about 3-4 cm in size. It is better to catch large inhabitants in the spring.
To create conditions close to natural, water should be replaced by the following composition during purification: half of settled water and the same amount of natural water. Saturation of water with oxygen is created by blowing.
At the beginning of the move, you should notice changes in your pets' behavior and adjust the aeration time, making it shorter or longer (up to 24 hours)
The critical point that requires your attention is the natural increase in the temperature of the water in the aquarium in summer.
Because in warm water, the fish will experience a lack of oxygen, this problem can be solved by lowering the aquarium temperature by adding cold water. Sometimes you can even add tap, not settled water.
After about 2-3 weeks, the fish wean from natural water, so keeping and caring for them will not be so burdensome.
How and what to feed fish from reservoirs?
The most important thing is not to give a lot of food, only at one time, so that it is eaten immediately, otherwise the water will quickly become polluted.
How many fish can be stocked?
One of the highlights is the exactingness of each species to the oxygen content in the home pond.
Undemanding include: tench, crucian carp, char, spike. Keep fish up to 4 cm long in a container of no more than 3 liters, if there is partial blowing, then 2 liters will be enough.
Fish requiring high oxygen content: rudd, roach, gudgeon.
For representatives with a length of 4 cm, a container of about 5 liters should be prepared, in the presence of aeration (even partial) - 3 liters. The perch suffers the most from oxygen starvation.
Based on the needs of the inhabitants of the aquarium, one should proceed when calculating the number of fish in it.
The rule is this: for each fish up to 4 cm in size, there should be 5-6 liters. water, with partial aeration - 4l. If the fish is larger, the amount of water per individual should be increased accordingly.
In favorable and properly created conditions of home aquariums, river fish quickly acclimatize and live long.
Thanks for the material provided by the company "Goldfish"
More on the topic:
Subclass: Neopterygii Cope, 1871 = Newfinned fish
Order: Cypriniformes = Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae = Cyprinidae
Genus: Rutilus Rafinesque, 1820 = Roach
Species: Rutilus (= Leuciscus) rutilus L = Roach
Species: Leuciscus rutilus L = Roach
One of the most common Russian fish. The body is oval, more or less elongated, depending on the age, sex and degree of development of the ovaries or milk. The head is rather thick, with a rounded muzzle; the mouth is small, the upper lip protrudes slightly above the lower; the eye is large, however, it also varies greatly according to the size of the fish. The color of the roach is silvery-white (in large specimens, the belly is mostly pinkish or with a pinkish tint), the dorsal and caudal fins are greenish with redness; pectoral fins - pale yellowish, in large individuals - orange; abdominal and anal - red. The iris is orange with a red spot at the top.
The so-called lateral line- a series of scales, stretching along the sides of the body from the head to the base of the caudal fin, equipped with a tubule, in which the cells of the sensory nerve are placed. This line serves to determine the lateral pressure of the water and the force of the current. She plays important role in choosing a fish location and helps her in crossings and wandering along the rivers, indicating the direction of the flow of water. Thanks to her, the fish easily recognizes what water it is in. given time: in a stagnant or fluid, the strength of its flow, and as a result, it can choose in it those conditions that are necessary for its life.
Wandering fish, thanks to it, have the ability to find the mouths of the rivers by the pressure increasing inside the aquatic environment from the infusion of tributaries and find the places where these tributaries flow into the main river so that during spawning they go upstream from the main river and diverge along them. With its help, they seem to sense the proximity of the flow of these tributaries, when they are still floating along the main river.
Roach is found everywhere: in rivers, streams, lakes and even ponds with clean, clear water, it avoids only cold and fast water and prefers quieter and warmer water. In addition, it does not tolerate mud or silt and therefore is found only in lakes and ponds with a sandy, cartilaginous bottom.
Roach is a rather lively and agile fish. In summer and spring, in a word, throughout the entire warm season, it lives constantly in shallow bays, and with the onset of winter it goes deeper and remains there until the ice breaks. In summer it keeps scattered or in very small flocks, but by winter it gathers in almost as dense flocks as during spawning in spring. However, the roach always leads a social life and belongs, without a doubt, to the most gregarious Russian fish. Especially large runes are collected by one-year-old roach, the same, which is larger, hits in large flocks less often.
The main food of roach in spring and autumn is algae and water grasses, and in summer small insects, worms and small crustaceans. In addition, at this time, as they say, she also sometimes feeds on the corpses of other fish. At least, according to most anglers, they often happened to catch roach on pieces of fish that were intended as bait for predatory fish.
Roach spawning in our countries occurs in early May, and in the south - earlier. Roach roe develops rather slowly, and juveniles hatch no earlier than 8-10 days; but it hatches in such innumerable numbers that it swims like positive black clouds near the surface of the water, and in those places where spawning occurs, it makes even the very water seem to be alive.
Having hatched, the juveniles first lurk in a thicket of reeds and water grasses, in which they hide from countless enemies and look for food, consisting mainly of daphnia, cyclops and other small crustaceans; and then, little by little, it begins to emerge from its shelters into clear water and, leaving small places at the beginning of autumn, passes into the river bed or the middle of the pond, where it remains until the onset of frost, and then retires into the deepest pits and scurries in them until the ice breaks. A roach usually becomes capable of spawning only in the third year, and in the second only in rare cases.
In the aquarium, small roach keeps quite well and gets along well with other fish, but, having reached large sizes, becomes almost as dangerous for small brethren as perch. True, being a fish rather herbivorous than carnivorous, she does not eat fish, but nevertheless loves to suck. I have never had a roach in my aquarium, and therefore I can’t say anything about its morals, but I heard that small roaches love, like tops, to swim in flocks and rush into a stream of fresh water; however, they do not like the cold at all and try to move as far as possible from the place of its influx, and when the general temperature drops, in contrast to perches, they even lose all playfulness, gaiety and become as if sleepy.
In addition to the common roach, there is also a lovely variety with golden scales and a reddish tint on the back and sides, a variety that is very rare and, as far as I know, comes across only in the Volga near Saratov.
Finally, I cannot fail to mention another painful form - the roach degenerate. The body of this roach is completely transparent, more transparent than that of the picture. The gills are clearly visible through the gill covers, and the insides are visible through the walls of the abdomen. The body is all one-color - colorless. The scales are transparent, bordered by several rows of dark dots. The iris is orange with black spots.
