Mollies
One of the most common aquarium fish is the molly. She has been popular for many years. The most common fish found among aquarists is black fish, artificially bred. It is also called platiesia sphenops, molly lyre, molly molly. This fish is black (the photo is given in the article) and looks like velvety. It appeared here in the forties, and only in the sixties did it become quite widespread.
This fish lives in the waters of America from Colombia to Mexico. Under natural conditions, different types of mollies have completely different colors. But the black (aquarium) fish was bred artificially; it got its name because of its uniform velvety black color.
Mollies have an elongated, laterally flat body with small fins and large eyes. These fish belong to the viviparous species.
Mollies are quite active and at the same time moderately friendly creatures. The fish prefers to stay in the middle layer of water. It can live both in a general aquarium and in a separate one. Mollies get along well with almost all of their neighbors. The only representatives of the underwater world with which it can conflict are tiger barbs. Mollies get along well with each other, but in a cramped container the males sometimes chase each other, so it is better for them to purchase a spacious aquarium with at least ten liters of water for each individual. Fish love all kinds of thickets and shelters, but at the same time they also need a place to frolic.
Common barbel
This fish has many names, the second most popular after the barbel is myron. A variation of the same name - marona - is found in Belarus, madder - on the Dnieper. Neman fishermen call this fish kelb, and small males are called tap dancers here.
Common barbel (Barbus barbus).
Barbel is a freshwater fish. It is found in the basins of the Black, Baltic, Atlantic and Caspian seas. Prefers to stay close to the bottom in fast-flowing rivers. It overwinters in holes and holes near steep banks and hardly feeds.
This fish is similar in appearance to a gudgeon, but at the same time much larger. It reaches a weight of more than 10 kilograms, while the length from head to tail can exceed 80 centimeters. The shape of the barbel's body is similar in outline to a torpedo. The back is dark green to olive green, the belly is light, the lateral lines are clearly defined. The fins are unusually pink.
Aral barbel.
A distinctive feature of barbels is two pairs of mustaches located at the corners of the mouth and nose. The eyes are small, which is quite unusual for bottom-dwelling fish. But this suggests that the mustache helps myron in searching for food. The longhorned beetle has thick lips, which is a kind of protection against damage from snags and gravel. Females, although larger than males, usually mature much more slowly. Myron's lifespan is up to 20 years.
Males reach sexual maturity in the second or third year of life with a body length of 15 centimeters, females - a year later, when the body length is at least 22 centimeters. Myron spawns in May–June. It lays from 15 to 45 thousand eggs on sandy and pebble soil at a temperature of 11.15 degrees. Spawning occurs in batches. By the way, there is an opinion that barbel caviar is poisonous to humans, but recently ichthyologists have rejected this hypothesis.
This fish feeds mainly at night and early mornings. Its diet includes mollusks, worms, and insect larvae. The caviar of other fish species also often becomes the prey of myron - he prefers it to all other delicacies.
Barbel-chanari.
Miron is a sedentary fish, but sometimes it migrates short distances, apparently in search of clean water.
Goldfish (black)
Over the thousand-year period of goldfish breeding, several dozen varieties have finally appeared with surprisingly different colors: from pearly white to velvety black. Golden fish - black - this is something extraordinary. They have become so popular that they sometimes compete with golden ones.
Since it is impossible to keep algae in the aquarium with this type of fish - they completely eat it, black fish looks beautiful on white soil. The spectacle is unusual and fascinating.
It should be remembered that goldfish cannot be kept together with tropical varieties, since they require completely different temperature conditions.
More than fifty varieties of goldfish are now known. They all differ not only in color, but also in the shape of their fins, eyes, body and scales.
In aquariums their sizes do not exceed twelve centimeters. Goldfish love space and good aeration. In fact, they are school creatures, and therefore feel better in a group than alone. In addition, fish have a calm and friendly character; they can get along well with all their neighbors without showing aggression. But it is better for them to choose calm varieties as friends, since active representatives can injure their beautiful fins and damage their eyes. It should be noted that goldfish are considered long-lived in aquariums, since they can live in it for up to ten years.
What are fish with a long nose called?
The most famous fish with such a prominent part - the snout - is called the paddlefish, the name of which speaks for itself. However, there are also popular large species that also have a large nose - these are swordfish and sawfish. But the flute fish and needle fish are not large in size, although they have a rather different appearance from other fish.
Interesting facts about paddlefish
The paddlefish is a fairly large representative, weighing from 70 to 80 kilograms and up to 2 meters long, with the nose taking up 1/3 of the entire length of the fish. It has an unusual appearance due to its “paddle nose”, which looks quite intimidating. However, it lives in fresh waters and feeds mainly on detritus, zoo- and phytoplankton.
There are no scales on the body; there is one fin on the back, which is moved towards the tail. The color is gray, the back is a little darker.
In terms of nutrition, it resembles silver carp, which is determined by its structural features. The paddlefish is the only sturgeon that feeds on plankton. Combined with the fast growth and excellent taste of meat, which is characteristic of all sturgeons, paddlefish are a valuable aquaculture crop for growing in ponds and cooling ponds located at energy facilities.
Entrepreneurs deliberately breed it and achieve successful business. This is a fairly common type of entrepreneurship.
Paddlefish can capture small fish and food, which significantly expands their feeding range. It grows well with plant-based fish. One-year-old paddlefish weigh from 150 to 900 grams, two-year-olds - 3 kilograms, five-year-olds - 8. During the season, the uterine base increases by 5-7 kilograms. Standing water and gravel soil are suitable for spawning. The female lays from 80 to 200 thousand eggs at a time. The breed grows quickly, reaching 70 centimeters per year, two to one meters. It swims slowly near the surface and feeds on microorganisms, passing water through its gills.
This fish spawns in schools in April-May. 290 thousand eggs are laid at a depth of up to 6 meters on the ground. The breed's reproduction has been poorly studied. When the water warms up to 10-12 degrees, the paddlefish migrates to areas with a pebble bottom and a significant current. Spawning takes place at a temperature of 13-16 degrees at a depth of 2 to 12 meters.
Paddlefish live for about 20-30 years, but some specimens live up to 50, as evidenced by the photo. Fish under natural conditions grow rapidly and then slow down.
Swordfish
Swordfish is a large predator, weighing up to 400 kilograms and length - 3 meters or more. The sharp nose, which really looks like a spear, can reach 1.5 meters in length, which is half the entire length of the fish. With his large sharp spear, he can easily pierce even 2.5 cm of metal, and she herself will remain unharmed. The impact force of its nose is about 400 tons.
The fish saw
The sea sawfish is amazing, its weight can reach 300 kilograms and its length can be more than 5 meters. Moreover, its “saw” occupies half the length of the entire fish. A feature of this predator is also its method of reproduction, which can take place without the participation of males.
Flute fish
The flute fish also has an unusual appearance. Her nose resembles a well-known musical instrument, so the name is appropriate. Another feature of it is camouflage - the flute fish can change its color if necessary. The purpose of this camouflage is prey, which it slowly swims up to and then grabs. The length is mostly 50-70 centimeters, and the body is very narrow and elongated.
Needlefish
The needlefish is a very thin, small fish, up to 38 centimeters long. It actually looks a lot like a needle. There is freshwater and sea.
Photos of these amazing fish with a nose are impressive.
Zebrasoma
Another black fish is the zebrasoma. It is a very rare species in home aquariums. That is why it is highly valued. It is very hardy and is not particularly difficult to keep in an aquarium. But such fish are rarely available for sale. This is due to the fact that they are nocturnal and live in hard-to-reach corners. Fish are distinguished by their vitality. They are quite large in size (21 centimeters).
In nature, zebrasoma is found in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands, Tuamotu and Pitcairn. To keep such fish at home you will need an aquarium with a volume of at least five hundred liters. Other fish species are very aggressive towards zebrafish, and they, in turn, hostilely greet newcomers, although this passes over time. In an aquarium, fish do not reproduce.
Practical benefits of peaceful fish
The big advantage of peaceful fish is that it grows quickly and is quite fatty. It makes delicious dishes, and it is good in almost any form: fried, dried, smoked, stewed, baked, etc. One cannot help but highlight fried crucian carp, smoked bream, dried sabrefish, roach and silver bream. Carp makes very tasty and nutritious dishes. Tench baked in the oven can generally be called a delicacy.
Predators, of course, are also tasty, especially pike perch, catfish, eels and burbot, and fish soup is the best of them. But in stores you most often find carp, crucian carp, silver carp, and bream. That is, in this industrial context, peaceful fish is a more popular product.
There is a separate category of fish that are used to clean water bodies of algae and reeds. These are, of course, cupids and silver carp. These are heat-loving fish that quickly destroy underwater vegetation and reed shoots. In many artificial closed reservoirs, these fish are released so that they are suitable for the life of other fish: carp, perch, roach and other fish. Silver carp have such a structure of the mouthparts that the water passing through it is cleared of greens and turbidity. It becomes transparent. That is, in this case, the large white fish acts as a water filter.
There is another distinctive feature of peaceful fish associated with their sense of smell. It is very well developed. For example, bream, carp, crucian carp and roach distinguish sweet odors very well. In warm weather, fishermen add vanillin, chocolate, and fruit flavors to baits and baits. Unlike many predators, almost all peaceful fish have a sense of touch that allows them to detect a wide range of odors. This is very important to remember when fishing. Don't be afraid to experiment with scents. At the same time, be sure to dose attractants so as not to oversaturate the baits and baits and not scare away the fish.
Black Dory
The black dory fish is a common surgeon fish. Children began calling her Dory after the release of the cartoon "Nemo". Surgeonfish are very popular fish in the marine aquarium hobby. All of them have a bright and attractive color, and there are also black varieties. Surgeon fish keep the aquarium clean. However, their behavior cannot be called calm; they often behave aggressively. Some individuals grow so large that they cannot be kept at home.
Surgeon fish, under certain circumstances, are able to change color, becoming darker or lighter. They got their unusual name because of a very sharp outgrowth located in the tail area, which resembles a blade. When enraged, fish can cut and stab each other with such weapons, but the damage is usually not serious.
All surgeons are voracious creatures who love to eat. They are herbivores and accept almost all plant foods.
Black tang 0 is Achilles, also called red-tailed. This fish is black with orange spots on the sides and an equally bright tail. It is this type of surgeon that is the least hardy and most susceptible to disease.
Types of marine peaceful fish
- Mullet.
A distinctive feature of the mullet is the absence of a lateral line. Mullet is cunning, insidious and very careful, keeping in large flocks. Schools of this fish burrow in the bottom sand, extracting sea worms and other small inhabitants from there. Mullet comes to the shore in the summer and is caught until November. - Rybets
. Fishermen and amateurs catch fish during its spawning migration into rivers flowing into the Baltic, Black, Azov and Caspian seas. In recent years, significant restrictions have been placed on fishing for small fish due to a decrease in its numbers. - Pelengas
. The Pacific mullet, pelengas, imported from the Far East, has today become a fish quite accessible to amateurs, living in estuaries and estuarine areas of rivers flowing into the Black and Azov Seas. - Herring
is the most popular fish in the world. The herring family includes more than 60 species, almost all of them predatory. Herring lives both in the sea and rises into rivers. Herring lives in all seas washing Russia, Ukraine and the CIS countries. In most representatives of this family, the body is highly compressed and has serrations along the ventral edge. Typically, herring does not exceed 30 cm in length and has large scales. This fish spawns in February. Schools of herring are more difficult to track than schools of other fish, although they are often a mile long. - Ram.
Taran is common in the catches of lovers of almost the entire Black Sea and Azov coasts and regions. Especially numerous herds of it move from the sea to estuaries and river mouths in the fall. Despite the fact that the ram is numerous in estuaries and even in the open waters of the Azov Sea, this fish does not really like salt water - in places where salinity exceeds 7 ppm, this migratory species of roach is not worth looking for.
Labeo
Labeo bicolor is quite widespread in the aquarium world. The most beautiful is the black fish with a red tail. It looks very bright and contrasting. The velvety black color of the body fades into a bright red fin. In an aquarium, these fish reach twelve centimeters. They like to hide in shelters and caves, so the pond needs to be equipped with everything they need. In addition, they are distinguished by their cocky character. Very often they conflict with their red neighbors or with their brothers. In principle, Labeo can be kept with other fish, but provided that the aquarium is large enough (at least one hundred liters).
If several individuals live in one reservoir, then the larger one will definitely dominate, and it will constantly prove its superiority by engaging in fights.
Little black fish
If you want to see in your aquarium a nimble school of small black fish that are frolicking merrily, then you definitely need to get individuals from the Poeciliaceae family.
Swordtails, guppies and platies are bred in a noble black color. All of the above varieties get along well with each other. Ornatus phantom of a black hue can make excellent company for them.
Black knife
Apteronot received the nickname Black Knife because of the shape of his elegant body. Fish of this species are completely black, with only two white rings on the tail. The black knife is an unusual fish. Its belly fin is so developed that it allows it to swim in almost all directions.
Arpteronots are very aggressive towards their fellows, so it is recommended to keep them separately. In addition, they grow quite large - up to twenty centimeters. Active but peaceful apteronots get along well with angelfish and mollies. But they can perceive small guppies as food.
You need to know the enemy by sight!
The appearance of these fish is similar to ordinary minnows, but, naturally, they are much larger in size and weight. There have been cases when fishermen pulled out real heroes weighing more than 10 kilograms and over 75 centimeters in length. The body of the barbel is slightly elongated, and somewhat resembles a torpedo.
Their back color is green with various variations (from light to dark tones). The belly is light, the lines of the sides are pronounced. A characteristic feature of the external appearance of the barbel is the rich pink color of its fins. The scales are small and silvery. There are two pairs of whiskers on the head of myrons - they help in detecting food. The eyes are small, the lips are thick - they protect against injuries that the fish can receive while examining snags or moving along the gravel bottom.
Male longhorned beetles are smaller than females, but mature faster. The lifespan can be up to twenty years. The male matures by the third year of life, when he reaches a height of 15 centimeters or more, and the female becomes sexually mature with a height of 22 centimeters.
Spawning of this fish begins in May and continues in June. It is then that the madder actively moves upstream of the river in search of clean water. When the water temperature remains stable between 11 and 15 degrees, the female begins to lay eggs (their number can reach up to 45,000 eggs) onto sandy or pebble soil.
Spawning takes place in several batches. According to most fishermen, barbel caviar is poisonous, and it is undesirable to eat it, like fish meat. The question arises, why? The fact is that when spawning, the female protects the eggs from being eaten by other fish, surrounding them with toxic substances so that the maximum possible number of cubs survive. Therefore, when catching barbel, it is better to adhere to the rule: “catch and release”! Moreover, the population of this species is under threat.
