In this article on our site we are going to talk about a very entertaining and fun topic, fish for small aquariums ¿ Did you know that fish's growth is greatly affected by the size of the aquarium they live in? Yes, this happens regularly.
As a general rule, each species of fish has more or less standard size measurements; but depending on the volume of the aquarium, this size will be altered. It is simply a measure of survival that has evolved over the years, because if the lake or river where they lived began to dry up and reduce its flow, food was scarce and they had no choice but to adapt to the new environment to survive.
Continue reading our site and find out about the best fish for small aquariums at your fingertips.
The best fish for small aquariums
An important piece of advice when adopting any type of fish is that we inform ourselves well about the space needs of the specimens, the minimum capacity of the precise aquarium and how many extra liters we must add for each new specimen added later; that is, what volume of water will we need for each new tenant.
It is important when starting to choose species without great demands in ph, water hardness, temperature, etc. An aquarium is a work of art in which precision and knowledge on the part of the keeper are essential, and experience requires time and knowing how to correct the foreseeable failures of the neophyte.
But, what are the best fish for small aquariums? Beginners often ask themselves when starting out in the aquarist Well, it all depends on what we consider better or worse. We are going to differentiate between: the smaller fish that are easier to maintain and those that have better behavior.
Among the easiest to care for are the Mollys and the GuppyBoth varieties of small fish with basic care and light water maintenance will not only live and grow he althy, but quite possibly even have young.
1. The Veliferous Molly
The molly vela, Poecilia velifera, is a beautiful example of this family of Pecilidae. This species is native to Mexico. Males measure up to 15 cm, and females reach 18 cm.
The molly are ovoviviparous, which means that the eggs hatch inside the females and hatch as fry. It is convenient that when a female is ready to give birth to her, she is isolated in a small aquarium for herself and hers her fry
In a small aquarium there should be 1 male and 3 to 5 females. If another male is put in they will kill each other. Aquariums should have plants and stones so that the fry can hide and not be eaten.
two. The guppies
The needs of water temperature, its ph and hardness are somewhat more demanding among guppy fish; but they have a wide spectrum of tolerance. They are also ovoviviparous and very easy to breed.
The guppy, Poecilia reticulata, also called million fish; It comes from South America and is widely used in aquariums for its beauty and extraordinary ease of reproduction.
Requires aquariums of a minimum of 40 litres, as they like to move around with enough space.1 male and 5 females can live in it, adding 5 extra liters of water for each specimen added. Given the ease of breeding and the fact that they are ovivipedes, it is advisable to have a small breeding aquarium where the parturient is isolated.
3. Betta fish
Other species suitable for living in small aquariums of 30 to 40 liters, are those that belong to the family of the Labyrinthids, whose The most usual representative in aquariums is the betta fish.
The fish Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, is a spectacular species suitable for 1 male and 3 to 5 females live together in an aquarium of 30 to 40 liters of water.
This species comes from the Mekong river basin and usually lives in the low waters of rice fields. 2 males should never get together, as they are very aggressive with each other. There must be at least 3 females, since one of them will acquire more hierarchy than the rest and if only one specimen is subordinated, it could die from the stress caused by the dominant female. This species enjoys about 2 years of life.
Learn more about betta fish:
- Types of betta fish
- Betta fish care
- Betta Fish Breeding
The fish with the best character
There are many quite calm varieties, but in most cases they are usually smaller fish and whose movement is in a school. For example, we have the tetra or the zebra fish.
You have to be very careful when choosing several groups of fish because not all of them are compatible either because of their behavior or because the characteristics of the aquarium water differ a lot from each other.
For this type of fish, despite its small size, aquariums with a minimum capacity of 100 liters are necessary. The reason is that these species swim in schools and many of them are needed.
4. Zebrafish
A common Cyprinid species in aquariums is the small zebrafish.
The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a species native to Southeast Asia. Its maximum size is 5 cm. They are semi-transparent and adorned with beautiful longitudinal bands with a spectacular metallic sheen.
At least 6 specimens should be placed in the aquarium, with a preponderance of females. It can coexist with other species of similar size. This species is widely used in scientific experiments. 80% of its genome coincides with that of the human being.
Image of planoinformativo.com:
5. Freshwater puffers
There are certain types of somewhat more restless fish that cannot be mixed with certain lesser varieties because they would simply eat them.
A good example is the spectacular freshwater puffer fish, which, as funny as their pretty appearance may seem, theirDiet is completely carnivorous and they will not hesitate to eat other fish of equal or smaller size.
The ocellated puffer fish, Tetraodon biocellatus, is a specimen widely used in aquarists due to its great ability to prey on snail pests. Its natural habitat is the inland waters of India, Sumatra, Borneo and Java.
The females are somewhat larger than the males, reaching 8 cm. They have the ability if they are scared to swell up to appear larger to possible predators. Their life expectancy is 4 or 5 years.
6. The Neon Tetra
The neon tetra, Paracheirodon innesi, is a species native to western South America. It is characterized by its small size of 4 cm, and its bright colors. Its natural habitat is the rivers of the Amazon basin in Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
In the aquarium there should be a minimum of 12 specimens, since the dominant specimens move in the center of the school, feeling protected for the rest of the shoal. If there are not enough copies, the dominant ones attack the rest because they do not feel sufficiently protected.
They can coexist with other small species. These little fish can live 6 or 7 years. There are other species of tetra fish. These fish belong to the same family as piranhas.
Image from fishtanksandponds.co.uk:
