Aquarium fish cockerels - care and maintenance

Many liked the cockerel fish for its external data. They are suitable for beginners with no special skills in conducting such activities. Professionals argue that caring for males is simple, most importantly, adhere to general principles. Despite the unusual appearance, family members can periodically show aggression towards other guests of the reservoir. To prevent skirmishes, special attention is paid to the selection of the neighborhood. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we will study everything in order of priority.

Origin and habitat

1. For the first time this fish was found in Southeast Asia, later it migrated to other countries and scattered around the aquariums of private houses and farms. Fish prefers warm climatic regions with certain tropics like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia.
2. Breeders heard about fish in 1800. It happened by accident. People noticed that males are prone to aggression towards the relatives of their group and the same gender.
3. Representatives of the family began to breed so that they participated in specially organized fish battles. Bets were made on individuals; the owner of the winning fish received a reward.
4. In European countries, these fish came in the late 1800s. At first they were delivered only to Germany and Finland, then to other states. When the fish got bored with everyone, they started working with them and brought out a color version.
5. Described these fish in 1910. It was said that Thailand was considered the official country of origin, but this statement later became controversial. Theories have been put forward that supposedly representatives of the family were first discovered in Combodia or Indonesia, but this fact has not yet been established. Betta is called fish in Japan, and Pla-cad (a biting fish) in Asia.
6. To date, more than 70 varieties of these pets are known, but 10 of them have not been studied due to their rarity. Females are divided into several groups: the first grow fry in a nest created by a male from water bubbles. Others have offspring in their mouths.
7. Males love standing or slowly flowing water sources. They need abundant vegetation to hide and eat. You can find fish of the family in large rivers, lakes, rice fields, canals and other bodies of water. Fishes belong to the labyrinth family, they can breathe atmospheric oxygen, so they often stick their lips out of the water.

Types and Description

1. As soon as these pets are not called: cockerels, Siamese cockerels, fighting cockerels, betta, etc. It was previously mentioned that individuals belong to the labyrinth family. Breathing atmospheric air allows them to survive even in the most severe conditions, when the water is polluted or insufficiently saturated with oxygen.
2. In their format, the males are squeezed from the side parts, but elongated in length. They are rather oval than rounded. As for the size, despite the obstinate temper and bullying, the fish are small. Females hardly grow up to 5 cm, and males up to 6 cm. But experienced breeders met representatives of the subspecies, which grew up to 8-10 cm. This is a rarity, not the norm. These inhabitants live in an aquarium environment for 3 years.
3. Of course, fish are remembered for all their unusual external data. They have a pectoral fin with a sharp tip. And the upper and caudal fins are rounded. Males have larger fins than females.
4. The discussed individuals by color will help to compete with the brightest representatives of the aquatic environment. The males are plain, bicolor or multicolor. At the same time, everyone looks equally beautiful and stands out against the general background.They used to say that males are more saturated than females.
5. Coloring directly depends on the state of health of the fish. What kind of lighting is installed in the water tank, what is the emotional mood of the animal. When males start a dredge, they immediately become brighter. The same can be said about the spawning period.
6. Fish are classified by their size, color, and fin shape. They can be deltailed, veiled, round-tailed, double-tailed and others. It is pointless to list all of them, because as a result of crosses it is difficult to find a purebred individual of a certain species.
7. Inexperienced aquarists, just beginning to know themselves in this field, are asking questions regarding gender differences. This is easy to do if you carefully examine the fish. Males are saturated and large, with large fins. Females have a rounded abdominal region, behave modestly and do not protrude once again.

Content

1. We have already said that fish, with the exception of constant fights between males, do not require certain skills in their maintenance. But you need to equip the home with all the subtleties. The volume of the tank is selected with the expectation that 3-5 liters are relied on per fish. water. Accordingly, if you hold 10 individuals, then pick them a more spacious tank.
2. If several males are simultaneously kept, it is highly undesirable to keep them in a body of water that is not separated by partitions. Install partitions, and plant vegetation along them so that males do not see each other.
3. The cockerels are lively, jump out of the aquarium for one or two. Therefore, make sure that there is a lid on the tank. But do not close the aquarium tightly, leave a 1-2 cm gap for oxygen. It is also important to install a filter to remove waste.
4. As for the temperature of the aquatic environment, males love tropical conditions. Keep them at 24-28 degrees. If the mark drops to 18 units, do not worry, the fish tolerate cooling well. But you can not keep them in the cold for a long time, just in case, buy heating. The rest of the fish have no special requirements for the aquatic environment.
5. Maintain stiffness between 5-14 units. As for the replacement of water, weekly drain a third of the liquid, pour a new one. In pet stores, fish salt is sold, which prevents many serious pathologies. You can purchase it, and then add 7 gr. for 3 liters water (the exact amount is indicated in the instructions).
6. To make the males feel as comfortable as possible in the tank, it is recommended to use fine river gravel or sand as soil. In addition, it is allowed to add purchased soil, which is additionally painted. Do not forget that before placing the fish in a new tank, it should be sterilized in advance.
7. As for plants, the males do not matter what they will be. You can plant live or artificial algae. Keep in mind, if you chose the latter option, it is not recommended to purchase plants with pointed edges on the leaves. The problem is that individuals can get injured and die.
8. An excellent option in this case are products that are made of a snap. However, one should not lose sight of the fact that living algae will still be better. The bottom line is that such plants preserve the biological environment in the aquarium. The amount of algae should be 30% of the total volume of the aquarium.
9. In this case, do not forget that live algae also need to be taken care of in a timely manner. Thus they will not perish. Do not forget to get rid of rotten leaves. Timely transplant algae into pots or soil.
10. In terms of decoration, imagination should be shown. The considered individuals love to swim among all kinds of obstacles.Therefore, you need to make various shelters. To do this, make moves, this will help you stones and driftwood. Please note that the container should not have sharp corners. It is also recommended to come up with dim lights in the aquarium.

Food

1. Keep in mind that these individuals are not picky about food at all, so they will eat almost everything that you offer them. Fish will eat both live and artificial food. It is also allowed to give fresh-frozen raw materials.
2. But in this case, there are subtleties. The main part of the diet of males should still be precisely live food. Therefore, regularly pamper your pets with a pipe maker, cyclops, daphnia and bloodworm. From time to time, let the fish feast on earthworms and flatworms. Males love zooplankton and snails.
3. Feed the inhabitants of the aquarium should be no more than 2 times a day. Keep in mind that you need to throw enough food so that the fish can eat it for 6-7 minutes. After this, the residues must be removed immediately. It is strictly forbidden to overfeed the fish, otherwise they die from obesity. It will not be superfluous to spend fasting days.

Compatibility

1. As for compatibility, these individuals will conflict with similar fish. Males often arrange skirmishes because of the female or during the division of the territory. If you have a small aquarium, it is highly recommended that you start just a couple of sexually different males.
2. Males of the considered individuals never get along with civilians. Therefore, consider this when sharing neighbors. To a particular degree, males do not like guppies and constantly break off their fins.
3. As for the females, they show much less aggression to all the inhabitants of the aquarium. The considered representatives can get along with black mollies, swordsmen, pecilli, parsing, thorns, minor, grumbling gouras, speckled and brocade catfish.
4. Often, these fish cut off the fins and conflict with neons, barbs, guppies, spotted, pearl and marble gouras, cardinals, labeos. In addition, individuals do not get along with Akaras, piranhas, astronotuses, parrots, tetradons and lineatuses.

Breeding

1. If you have no idea how to distinguish between individuals by gender, you will not have any particular problems. Males have a rather bright color, harmony and long fins. The female is small in size, with short fins and a white grain on the belly. For breeding, individuals from 8 months are needed.
2. Individuals can produce offspring in the general tank, but in order to protect the young, the procedure is best carried out in a separate tank. There should not be soil in the spawning ground. A few plants, a small level of water and dim light are enough. Keep the temperature at 29 degrees.

Males are quite interesting individuals. Despite their small size, such individuals may show excessive aggression. Therefore, when choosing neighbors, consider with whom such individuals can get along. Do not forget about a high-quality, balanced diet. Try to provide the fish with maximum comfort in the aquarium.

Video: aquarium fish cockerels