How to Choose the Right Ornamental Fish
Hobbies are fun activities that can refresh the mind. Everyone has different hobbies according to their respective interests. One hobby that many people choose is keeping freshwater ornamental fish. In this article we will give you tips on how to choose the right fish for you aquatic hobby.
A fish aquarium can be a very relaxing sight for the home or office. Many people find solace in watching fish swim to and from one side of the aquarium to the other. Fish aquariums are found in a variety of styles, sizes, and shapes. That’s why you should know how to choose the right fish.
How to Choose the Right Fish for Home Aquarium
Apart from that, the types of fish that are suitable for aquarium life also vary greatly. The most common type of fish chosen by aquarium beginners is freshwater fish. Before making a trip to the pet store and purchasing fish for your freshwater aquarium, it is important to know what type of fish will suit you best.
When keeping fish, we need to know the characteristics of the fish being kept. Guppy, platy, molly, neon tetra, Corydoras, chef, and betta fish are types of freshwater ornamental fish that are popular because of their beautiful color, fin shape, or unique body shape.
These fish are fish that are easy to care for and do not require special treatment. In ornamental fish, male fish generally have a more beautiful body shape and color than female fish, so male ornamental fish are traded more often.
Below are some tips from us for you, so you can find and choose the best freshwater ornamental fish that are suitable for your home aquarium.
Choosing a Type of Ornamental Fish
First, choose a type of freshwater ornamental fish that is easy to maintain and does not require special treatment. Fish kept in ornamental aquariums can be of different types or just one type, depending on the characteristics of the fish.
Choosing Fish Types That Can Resist Change
Second, choose a type of fish that has good tolerance (strong/stubborn) to changes in water quality. The volume of water in ornamental aquariums is generally small (around 1-5 liters) so the water quality tends to change quickly.
Read also : Keeping Your Maine Coon Happy and Healthy
Choose Fish that do not Require Additional Oxygen
Third, according to The Aqua Advisor, choose a fish that do not need additional oxygen (aeration). Not only does providing an aerator increase costs, but it is also not suitable for simple ornamental aquariums that are small in size.
Choosing Fish at Affordable Prices
Fourth, choose fish that are affordable and easy to get at the nearest ornamental fish shops. So it can be replaced when the fish dies (which often happens to novice keepers).
Choosing Fish Whose Food is not Difficult to Find
Fifth, choose fish that always respond well to food and are not picky. Look for fish food that is generally always available, easy to obtain, and easy to store compared to natural food.
Guppy, Molly, and Platy Fish
Guppy, platy, and molly fish can be kept with fish with similar characteristics. Guppy, platy, and molly fish have quite a lot of strains, both local, imported, and from crosses. Therefore the price varies from thousands to tens of thousands per head depending on the strain.
These three types of fish swim in the water column and are relatively small (around 2-3 centimeters), so they can be kept in tall containers with narrow bottoms.
Neon Tetra Fish
Neon tetras are small fish that have a bright blue color and a red stripe in the middle of their body. These fish like to swim in schools (in groups).
Neon tetras are fish that are not aggressive and spend most of their time in the water column, so they are suitable to be kept together with other small fish such as guppies, platies, and mollies or fish that occupy the bottom of the water such as Corydoras.
Interestingly, when they are sick or feel threatened their red or blue color can fade, so don’t let these beloved fish get stressed or sick so they can still enjoy their beautiful body color.
Goldfish
Goldfish (Carassius auratus) are relatively easy and can be kept alone or together with other types of fish. In 3-5 liters of water, you can keep 1 goldfish measuring 4-5 cm.
If more than that, additional oxygen from the aerator is needed. This fish is very responsive to pelleted food but produces feces more frequently so that the rearing water becomes dirty more quickly and requires more frequent water changes.
Betta Fish
Betta fish are better suited to being kept alone. This fish has a variety of fin shapes such as serif (crown tail), half-moon, and slayer. This determines the aesthetic and economic value of the betta fish itself. The more unique the shape and color, the higher the price.
Keeping Betta fish itself is relatively easy because generally, these fish have a fairly high tolerance for environmental changes. Betta fish are also fish that are very responsive to pellet food.
Last Words
Choosing ornamental fish for an aquarium at home will be quite difficult because many things must be considered carefully. These are some of the things you should pay attention to when you want to keep ornamental fish in your home. Pay attention to everything we have provided, to make it easier for you to find a choice of ornamental fish that are suitable for your aquarium at home.
Keeping ornamental fish is indeed an exciting and enjoyable hobby, but everything must be done well and carefully. Thinking about the type of fish, knowing how to care for it, and understanding the basic things about ornamental fish first is very important.
That is some of the information that we can share in this article. Study it well, so you can understand what you have to do. We hope that what we have provided today can provide a new understanding of the world of fish that you may not know much about.
Do you want to keep fish at home? Do it well, understand the science and of course always clean the aquarium regularly, so that your fish can always be healthy and of course can give a different feel to your home. So, do everything well so that you get the best results. That’s all we can share about aquatic hobby and how to choose the right fish.