Favorite Exotic Fish for Freshwater Tanks
This article tells you about Favorite Exotic Fish for Freshwater Tanks. Freshwater exotic fish are becoming one of the most sought after fish to put in aquariums. They’re much easier to care for than saltwater fish and they’re available in a wide range of sizes, colors, personalities and shapes. Just remember to start out small if you’re new to keeping an aquarium. When you’ve got your tank ready, then you can start adding more fish.
When you start choosing exotic freshwater fish, you’ll want to take a few things into consideration. To begin with, there are more than 20 families of freshwater exotic fish species. This number is reduced to 4 that are the most popular, particularly for aquarium beginners. Each of these 4 have their own special requirements. Their temperament and compatibility with other exotic fish species usually decide whether they’re suitable to your aquarium or not.
One of these popular species is called the Cichlidae Family. There are 1300 species in this family. Angel fish are a part of this family and are probably the most well-known of them all. They can be easily fed with food that’s commercially available. If you decide that you want to become a breeder, these are easily bred and take care of their offspring. As long as you don’t have any aggressive fish in the tank, then you won’t need to separate the eggs from the rest of the aquarium. Take care with angel fish and other cichlids if you’re planning to have smaller species because they can sometimes be aggressive and attack or eat fish smaller than themselves.
The Poecilidae Family includes species like Mollies, Swordtails and Guppies. They’re usually small, so take care that you don’t put them in with more aggressive exotic fish in a communal tank. Generally, they’re passive if they’re left alone. Something very special about this species of exotic fish is that they actually give birth to their babies.
More than 1,500 species make up the Characidae Family, which includes the Tetra. They’re passive like the Poecilidae Family and do well in aquariums with other fish as long as they’re not an aggressive species. If you want your aquarium to be colorful, you may want to choose Neon Tetras and Lemon Tetras. These exotic fish give off the most vibrant colors. They group together in schools and this will make your aquarium look even more impressive especially when combined with their beautiful colors. However, even though they do travel together in schools, they also need their quiet places within the tank that they use as safe havens when they’re not active.
The Corvdoradinae Family is an exotic fish species that is comprised of catfish and other bottom feeders. When these fish are placed in an aquarium, they become nocturnal, which means they’re more active when it’s dark or dimly lit. Generally, they’re chosen for the way they eat as they like to ingest the algae that forms on the substrate of the aquarium. They also like to come up to the surface of the water in the tank to gulp in air. This is the natural method that they supplement the performance of their gills. In addition, it makes the aquarium so much more entertaining due to their actions. They don’t stay on the bottom of the tanks all the time.
Other families outside of these 4 species of exotic fish for freshwater aquariums, there other species that you can choose from. These include such families as Danios, Barbs, and Minnows, which are also bottom feeders. However, they also give the aquarium mid-level filler. A family that’s related closely to the Corydoradinae is the Plecostomus. This is a sucker fish that works very effectively on clearing the aquarium sides free of algae. They can also be rather interesting to observe as they do their job.
Something to remember about beginning your freshwater exotic fish aquarium is that you will want to start out with fish that are reasonably strong. Some great choices are Betas, Guppies, Tetras, Rasboras, and Mollies. When you’ve got strong fish in your aquarium, if you happen to mess up your feeding schedule or water temperature, they’re more likely to survive the mistake without causing lots of damage.
What most people don’t understand when they first start their freshwater exotic fish aquarium is that different species of these fish also require different water temperatures. You must remember this when you’re buying exotic fish for your tank. If you select fish that are too different from each other in their needs, your aquarium is likely to fail. Also, be sure to get several of each species of fish that you choose. For instance, Betas are known to be quite territorial. So you need to be sure the fish you choose to house with Betas are naturally compatible with them.
You should also take into consideration the surroundings of your tank when you choose your exotic fish. For example, don’t put real plants in your aquarium if you’re going to be housing herbivorous fish. They’ll eat them if you do. On the other hand, carnivorous exotic fish like killifishes or cichlids shouldn’t be added to a tank with smaller fish because these little fish will become snacks for the carnivores.
If you want to keep from accidentally getting your tank diseased, be completely sure that you’re buying your exotic fish from high quality and reputable stores and suppliers. Pay close attention to the condition of the tanks where you buy your fish. If they’re dirty or overcrowded, or the fish look sick, don’t buy your fish there. Look to see if any of the fish are struggling to breathe or swim because those fish need to be avoided.
As long as you can follow some of these suggestions, you’ll have an excellent chance for your freshwater exotic fish aquarium to be a resounding success. Once everything is in place, you can sit back and watch the fish swimming around and interacting with each other. Nothing is more calming and serene than observing the exotic fish in your aquarium.
