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Freshwater

In this page, you will be able to find important information on water environment for some freshwater fishes.

Angelfish	Bettas (Siamese Fighting fish)	Gouramis
Goldfish	Characins	Mollys
Danios	Guppies	Loaches
Piranhas	Livebearers

Angelfish

Common name:	Angelfish
Scientific name:	Pterphyllum Scalare
Production potential:	Moderate
pH:	Neutral
Size:	1/2" - 3" length
Temperature requirements:	Growing: 75 - 84 F Spawning: 82 F
Feed requirements:	Protein: 40% crude protein, using a combination of flake, live, or frozen feeds Fat: 8 - 12%.
Spawning requirements:	Vertical substrate spawners, eggs are adhesive, eggs hatch in two days at 82°F, up to 200 eggs per female. Eggs hatch in two days at 82oF. First feeding using newly hatched brine shrimp can begin five days after hatching.

Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish)

Common name:	Betta; Siamese Fighting Fish
Scientific name:	Betta Splendens
pH:	Neutral
Size:	3"
Temperature requirements:	75 - 84 F
Feed requirements:	Flake foods and other prepared foods, Favourites include brine shrimp and krill.
Spawning requirements:	Bettas, like other Anabantids, are bubblenest builders. The water must be no more than 6" deep and there must be no surface water movement. The pair do a courtship dance and the female lays her eggs in the nest. The fry hatch after 24 hours.

Characins

Wolf Fish

Common name:	Wolf Fish; Mud Characin; Tiger Fish
Scientific name:	Hoplias Malabaricus
pH:	6.8 - 7.4
Size:	20"
Temperature requirements:	72 - 77 F
Feed requirements:	The Wolf Fish is a voracious predator. It will try to eat anything that looks like food and can fit in its large mouth. These are pure carnivores that should be fed meaty foods only. Whether the food is dead or alive, they will accept anything from live fish to chopped beef heart. Being nocturnal they should be fed when the lights go out.
Spawning requirements:	Not possible in aquariums.

Danios

Zebra Danio

Common name:	Zebra Danio
Scientific name:	Brachyodanio Rerio
pH:	Neutral
Size:	24 - 32 cm
Temperature requirements:	68 - 75 F
Feed requirements:	Small live and dry food of all kinds.
Spawning requirements:	Place fish in pairs(or one male with two females)into a breeding tank. After spawning remove parents from tank. Breeding tank - Capacity of 6.5 gallons to 16 gallons. Temperature: 71.6 to 77 F. 15dH and a pH of 7.Tank bed of fine gravel, sand, pebbles, or glass marbles. Cambomba clusters tied together at top. The zebras will swim through these and eggs will remain hanging in plants. Fish spawn in the morning. Male chases the females around the tank. During mating the partners press together closely and deposite egg and sperm. The fish eat their egg so you should remove the parents right after spawning. Spawn is between 200-500 eggs. After about 90 hours the young emerge and are free swimming 3 or 4 days later. First Food: Artemia larvae, Infusoria.

Giant Danio

Common name:	Giant Danio
Scientific name:	Danio Aequipinnatus
pH:	6.6 - 7.1
Size:	4"
Temperature requirements:	68 - 75 F
Feed requirements:	Flakes, live foods, vegetable matter
Spawning requirements:	Will spawn only when kept in large schools. They are sexually mature at 2.5 inches, and males are more brightly colored. Sunlight and fine-leaved plants will encourage breeding. The parents may eat their own eggs. First Food: Artemia larvae, Infusoria.

GoldFish

Common name:	GoldFish
Scientific name:	Carassius Auratus
pH:	Neutral
Size:	22"
Temperature requirements:	50 - 74 F
Feed requirements:	Goldfish will overeat to obesity. Keep in mind that a Goldfish's stomach is normally only slightly larger than its eye. Feed only enough to fill about "1 1\2 eyes." These fish like to nibble on plants, so keep them supplied with a kind they cannot pick to pieces. Anarchis is a good plant for Goldfish. Feed these fish a variety of flake foods and live foods.
Spawning requirements:	Provide a large aquarium and keep the temperature around 72 degrees F. Provide bunched plants and a neutral pH. With any luck, a pair will form and lay eggs which will hatch in under a week. The fry should be raised on small live foods and will be brown in color for up to a year before they finally develop their trademark golden scales.

Gouramis

Dwarf Gourami

Common name:	Dwarf Gourami
Scientific name:	Colisa Lalia
pH:	Neutral
Size:	2"
Temperature requirements:	74 - 81 F
Feed requirements:	Males are much more colorful than females. These fish pair quite easily, and build a bubble nest in the usual Gourami fashion. The male guards the nest and the eggs hatch after about a day. Removal of the female is needed after spawning, for she may eat the eggs. 2 days later, the male should be removed, or he may eat the fry, which leave the nest after 24 hours.
Spawning requirements:	Provide a large aquarium and keep the temperature around 72 degrees F. Provide bunched plants and a neutral pH. With any luck, a pair will form and lay eggs which will hatch in under a week. The fry should be raised on small live foods and will be brown in color for up to a year before they finally develop their trademark golden scales.

Three-spot Gourami

Common name:	Three-Spot Gourami; Opaline\Blue Gourami
Scientific name:	Trichogaster Trichopterus
pH:	Neutral
Size:	5"
Temperature requirements:	74 - 81 F
Feed requirements:	Gouramis are often put in aquariums to eat Hydra, which can be dangerous for young fish. Gouramis can also be helpful reducing an overpopulation of snails. They must be provided with the basic diet, however. Favorite foods include basic flake food, freeze-dried foods, and blanched lettuce.
Spawning requirements:	Three-spot Gouramis are often kept in large schools of predominantly females, and only one male should be kept in the tank. Sexing can be done by observing the dorsal fin of the fish; the males being more pointed. In females, the dorsal fin is shorter and more rounded. Three-spot Gouramis breed by building a bubble nest and then spawn in the usual labyrinthfish fashion. The bubble nest gives the fry an adequate supply of oxygen. The female should be removed from the tank after spawning has occured in order to protect her from the male who may become aggressive.

Kissing Gourami

Common name:	Kissing Gourami
Scientific name:	Helostoma Temmincki
pH:	6.8 - 7.8
Size:	12"
Temperature requirements:	74 - 80 F
Feed requirements:	Vegetables, flakes, pellets, small live foods, algae.
Spawning requirements:	When breeding, this fish prefers soft water. Unlike most Gouramis, this fish doesn't build a bubble nest. Instead, the eggs just float on top of the water. Use lettuce leaves on the surface as the spawning material. Large specimens may produce up to 1000 eggs.

Guppies

Common name:	Guppy
Scientific name:	Poecilia Reticulata
pH:	7 - 8.5
Size:	1.2" - 2.4"
Temperature requirements:	73.4 - 78.8 F
Feed requirements:	Small live and dry food of all kinds.
Spawning requirements:	These fish will multiply in the community aquarium but because the mother and other fish will eat the newly born, the young must be given a chance to escape. It is a good idea to isolate the pregnant females before birth. Pregnant females have plump rounded bellies and a gravid spot.(a darkened triangular pregnancy mark behind the anal fin) Often before birth the eyes of the unborn fry can be seen. Breeding tank - Side length: 16 inches. Small (2.5-4 gallons) densely planted tanks may be also be used, but if a larger aquarium is avaliable use it. The male will court the female by approaching her and bending his body into a 'S' shape, he will then dart away. This type of behavior will be repeated. When mating the male extends his gonopodium and approaches the female from below. Birth About 4-8 weeks after mating. The female gives birth to up to 150 young. Rearing: A few hours after being born the young fry will eat everything they can manage. Purebred fry require a well ballanced diet. Finely grated dry food, Artemia and cyclops larvae, algae and other plant food.
Note:	Do not place guppies with long fins in with fin-biting fish.

Molly

Black Molly

Common name:	Molly
Scientific name:	Poecilia Sphenops
pH:	7 - 7.5
Size:	3" - 4"
Temperature requirements:	75 - 78 F
Feed requirements:	The Molly is a herbivore or "vegitarian" and can get sick if it does not get enough plant material in its diet. Mollies will eat live food though.

Piranha

Red-Belly Piranha

Common name:	Red-Belly Piranha
Scientific name:	Serrasalmus Nattereri
pH:	6.4 - 6.8
Size:	12"
Temperature requirements:	75 - 81 F
Feed requirements:	Piranhas are carnivorous and should be fed accordingly. Many specimens will accept nothing less than live foods such as earthworms or fish. Prepared foods such as chopped beef heart and fresh beef may also be accepted. Do not trust the fish with your hand in the tank, especially during feeding times.
Spawning requirements:	Sex differences and breeding behavior are not known for Red belly Piranha.

White Piranha or Spotted Piranha

Common name:	White Piranha or Spotted Piranha
Scientific name:	Serrasalmus Rhombeus
pH:	5.8 - 7.0
Size:	15"
Temperature requirements:	73 - 79 F
Feed requirements:	Piranhas are carnivorous and should be fed accordingly. Many specimens will accept nothing less than live foods such as earthworms or fish. Prepared foods such as chopped beef heart and fresh beef may also be accepted. Do not trust the fish with your hand in the tank, especially during feeding times.
Spawning requirements:	Breeding in captivity is very rare. They breed similar to other Piranha species, where the fry hatch in two days and become free-swimming a week later.

Livebearers

Platy

Common name:	Platy
Scientific name:	Xiphophorus Maculatus
pH:	7.2 - 8.0
Temperature requirements:	66 - 76 F
Feed requirements:	Flakes, live foods, vegetable matter.
Spawning requirements:	The parents will eat the fry so be sure to have them separated at birth. In the lighter coloured platies you can also see the eyes of the babies in the mother before birth. Breeding tank - Capacity: minimum 10 gallons. Be sure to have lots of plants and hiding spaces. When mating the male extends his gonopodium and approaches the female from below.

Swordtail

Common name:	Swordtail
Scientific name:	Xiphophorus Helleri
pH:	7 - 8.5
Size:	3"
Temperature requirements:	77 - 82.4 F
Feed requirements:	Flake, and live foods.
Spawning requirements:	These fish will multiply in the community aquarium but because the mother and other fish will eat the newly born, the young must be given a chance to escape. It is a good idea to isolate the pregnant females before birth. Pregnant females have plump rounded bellies and a gravid spot.(a darkened triangular pregnancy mark behind the anal fin) Often before birth the eyes of the unborn fry can be seen. Breeding tank - Capacity: minimum 10 gallons Be sure to have lots of plants and hiding places. The male will often be seen swimming backards when the female is near. He is using this unique quality to impress her. This male like all live-bearers also extends his gonopodium and approaches her from below.

Loaches

Clown Loach

Common name:	Clown Loach
Scientific name:	Botia Macracantha
pH:	Neutral
Size:	6" - 12"
Temperature requirements:	77 - 86 F
Feed requirements:	Clown loaches are omnivores who will readily accept common aquariums foods such as flakes, algae tablets, frozen foods, live foods, beef heart.
Spawning requirements:	Rarely bred in captivity.

Sucking Loach

Common name:	Algae Eater; Sucking Loach
Scientific name:	Gyrinocheilus Aymonieri
pH:	About 6.5
Size:	12"
Temperature requirements:	74 - 79 F
Feed requirements:	Recommended foods are sinking pellets, earth worms, live foods, blanched lettuce, and of course algae and prepared algae tablets.

Kuhli Loach

Common name:	Kuhli Loach; Coolie Loach; Prickly Eye
Scientific name:	Pangio kuhli
pH:	About 6.5
Size:	3"
Temperature requirements:	74 - 84 F
Feed requirements:	Sinking foods such as freeze-dried tablets work best. Being nocturnal, it is recommended to feed them at night.
Spawning requirements:	Spawning is rare in the aquarium. The floating eggs are laid by the female and attach themselves to floating plants. The eggs are bright green and in large quantity.