How to understand that your fish has died. How to understand that something is wrong with fish? Raising young fish

Live and frozen food is suitable as food. In this matter, bettas are not picky fish. Some aquarists, when there is a shortage of food, feed washed earthworms.

Just keep in mind that no pieces of food should accumulate at the bottom of the aquarium, however, this rule applies to all types of fish.

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The aquarium fish cockerel has a fighting character. It is important to know what conditions of maintenance and what care these charming creatures of nature need. You also need to know about the compatibility of these fish with representatives of their own and other breeds.

The aquarium betta fish has several names. They call her the lively cockerel, Siamese cockerel. And that's why. After all, this is a predatory fighting fish that can stand up for itself. The beauty and variety of colors of the various subspecies are amazing, and keeping such specimens is quite simple. Therefore, more and more aquarists want to have this aquatic resident.

Home of the aquarium betta

This representative of the fauna lives in fresh water bodies of Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. He loves standing warm water.

Local residents fell in love with these cute fish not only because of their beauty. People have noticed that the males of this breed are very lively. Therefore, the Thais began to organize fights with the participation of Siamese cockerels. For some, this business became a source of income, since the bets were monetary.

Little by little about the wonderful inhabitants depths of the sea learned in other countries. They began to be exported to France and Germany, and then they appeared in other countries.

Description of the breed

Cockerels can be one, two or even three colors. Some specimens are mother-of-pearl, and their scales shimmer beautifully.

Aquarium bettas are classified by the type of their fins. Therefore, there are the following names for these inhabitants of the deep sea:

• semilunar;
• crown tail;
• veiltail;
• short-tailed;
• double tail.

1. Lunar - tricolor. Its body is blue, and its fins and tail are blue, red and white.
2. The crown tail has fins and a tail that are similar to the emperor's headdress. The color of the fish is appropriate - red, because a royal person should be bright and memorable.
3. Veiltail looks like goldfish, has this color. And her delicate fins and tail are like a veil - they are just as beautiful, light and transparent.
4. It’s not for nothing that the short-tailed one is named that way. If we compare it with other representatives of aquarium bettas, then this subspecies has the shortest tail. This part of the fish, like the others, is very attractive. The tail looks like an open fan of a crimson hue with a white edge.
5. The double tail has a very rich body part, as well as lush long fins. The fish has a bright blue-red color.

Interestingly, some of these fish have chameleon abilities. Depending on the mood and conditions, these swimming animals can change color. So, when the female is “dating”, her coloring becomes brighter. The same applies to fish that are aggressive or scared.

When the bettas find themselves in a familiar environment in a normal state, their color becomes the same. Therefore, if at home care your aquarium bettas have changed the brightness of their color, which means that something does not suit them. And if it is a female, perhaps she will soon begin to spawn.

The male is larger than the female and has more bright color. To distinguish representatives of different sexes, you need to look at their fins. In the male they are longer.

The average lifespan of this fighting fish is 3 years. But when good care they can live longer.

1. One of important factors their content is the water temperature. It should be at 26-29 degrees with a plus sign. If the water is cooler, pets may get sick. To prevent this, be sure to install a special thermometer in the aquarium and periodically monitor the water temperature.
2. As for water, these unpretentious inhabitants of the deep sea will feel fine in ordinary water poured from a tap. But first you need to defend it. You cannot use distilled water. This contains bacteria that can harm the bettas.
3. These fish love soft water with a neutral acidity level. If your water is hard, then first change it using a special conditioner that is designed to soften water.
4. They need to change it periodically. In an aquarium with a capacity of more than 100 liters, once a week a fifth of the water is poured out and new water is added. If the fish house is smaller, then a third of the liquid contents of the aquarium are replaced every 3 days. If your bettas suddenly change color and begin to show aggression, then this may be a reaction to changing the water. Don't worry, it will go away with time.
5. Keep the fish house clean, periodically remove food debris and other contaminants.

After you bring the fish home, you need to relieve them of the effects of the stress they suffered and soften their adaptation. To do this, use medicinal granules designed specifically for such situations.

Install the fish house where it is warm and there is not very bright natural light. Moreover, direct rays of the sun should not enter the aquarium. Cockerels like short daylight hours - no more than 8 hours, and artificial lighting will be most optimal for them.

Although some sellers in pet stores claim that these unpretentious fish can live even in a glass of water, this is not so. The minimum volume of the aquarium should be 3 liters. But if you want your new pets to feel great, then use an aquarium with a capacity of 5 to 10 liters for one individual.

Here the cockerel will be able to swim comfortably, since in such open spaces you can turn around. A filter and various aquarium plants will fit here. You can decorate the space with driftwood, stones, and arrange beautiful grottoes here.

Do not fill the fish house to the brim with water. Leave a space of at least 8-10 cm at the top.

This individual not only breathes in water, it also swallows air from the surface of the water surface. The fish will simply suffocate if it does not have access to this oxygen. But since the cockerel is very thermophilic, the air should be warm. Therefore, the aquarium is usually covered with a lid, and a surface space of 10 cm allows these beautiful representatives of wildlife to receive enough oxygen.

It will also be released by plants. You can breed unpretentious specimens in an aquarium, such as:

• hornwort;
• cryptocorynes;
• Vallisneria.

Cockerels are unpretentious in food. They can eat dry and live food. The latter includes: dry bloodworms, brine shrimp.

The aquarist must develop a diet for pets. After all, each representative of aquatic nature has its own gastronomic preferences. Some cockerels will eat with great appetite food with a high content of plant ingredients, while others prefer food with a good protein content.

But the diet of these sea ​​creatures should not be monotonous. This should include both live and dry food. When purchasing dry ones, you need to pay attention to the date of manufacture and shelf life. It is better to buy food for bettas in closed containers, since loose food may contain pathogenic flora.

Compatibility of aquarium bettas

These fish have intraspecific aggression. Each representative of this breed vigilantly guards its territory. Therefore, keeping two males in one aquarium is impossible. The dominant male will try to kill the weaker one. Sometimes these fish can show aggression even towards spawning females if they do not like them. Therefore, it is better to keep one betta in one aquarium. If you have a spacious house for fish, then it is possible to place 2 fish here, but to delimit their territories.

In addition to such intraspecific aggression, Siamese bettas can spread it to other smaller, clumsy fish. You can add nimble representatives to their aquarium underwater world, such as:

• Corydoras (speckled catfish);
• Molinesium;
• swordtails;
• platy.

But who does this fighting fish not get along with:

• goldfish;
• cichlids;
• others to labyrinth fish.

Also, you cannot introduce snails into the aquarium with your new charges. They will tear off the whiskers of large ones, and simply eat small ones.

Also, when thinking about who to put in an aquarium with cockerels, consider whether the conditions of detention and other parameters of various representatives of the water depths are similar.

This is how they are aquarium fish cockerels. As you understand, the maintenance of these individuals is quite simple. The main thing is to provide them with good water at a comfortable temperature, take into account what neighborhood they don’t like or dislike, and feed them correctly.

In response to minimal care, you will make wonderful friends who will delight your appearance and perky character.

How to determine that something bad is happening to the fish in your aquarium and take measures in time to prevent the most negative outcome? Usually we discover problems when it is already quite late - there are clear signs of the disease that are visible to the naked eye, this is actually the phase at which it is too late to do anything. In fact, it is not people who are so inattentive to their fish, but rather the fish are very “cunning”.

The thing is that predators in nature attack weakened fish first, since in this case the chances of a successful attack are maximum; it’s a different matter with healthy fish. In reality, only a small part of predator attacks are successful, but it is always easier to defend yourself. Defense mechanism fish this fact provides and therefore early stages diseases are very difficult to detect, because in wild environment this is the key to their survival.

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Probably all aquarists know how difficult it is to cure sick fish, when we already detect signs of the disease; in most cases, treatment is already useless - the disease and its cause are firmly entrenched. At such a moment we're talking about about whether you will be able and have time to save the rest of the inhabitants of the aquarium. The problem of caring for the health of sick fish in a timely manner has several reasons that make it difficult to save the fish. main reason This is, of course, the lack of a normal system of knowledge about fish diseases, their symptoms and treatment, not much attention is actually paid to this issue, the second reason lies in the fish themselves.

In the wild, regardless of the environment itself: forest, mountains, air or water, predators always strive to attack those victims who show signs of illness; they are much easier targets than healthy rivals. Therefore, fish have learned to mask the first signs of illness and minor injuries, thanks to which fish can reduce the risk of attack by predators. But this makes life very difficult for aquarists who would like to keep their fish healthy, but still these signs can be detected if you are a little more attentive to your fish.

Mainly, you need to know what behavior is normal for your fish, so for example, when preparing for the trip to work, you can spend 5 minutes over a cup of coffee observing their behavior, during which you can detect some unusual phenomena for fish:

1. Appetite - perhaps the fish are not behaving as usual when feeding
2. Breathing - what is the respiratory rate - fast (tachypnea) or slow (bradypnea)
3. Swimming - how actively do fish swim?
4. Color - are there any changes in the color of the fish?
5. Social activity - perhaps the actions of the fish are fraught with something unusual?

Appetite

It is very important to control the behavior of fish during feeding, fish do not have many functions in life while they are in the aquarium, the main ones are: eat, grow, eat a little more and grow a little more. This is of course somewhat exaggerated, but this is to show how important the energy that fish get from food is for survival. If fish do not receive enough energy, they become weaker and lose their chances of recovery.

So why is a decrease in appetite a sign of significant problems? Lack of food intake causes the body to need to use up energy reserves (eg, liver, muscle and fat mass), which can lead to severe general weakness and decreased overall activity. Lack of new digestible food also results in less energy available to others important functions such as the immune system. Ultimately, this will make the fish much more susceptible to infection.

Sick fish, like other living beings, will instinctively expend more energy to cope with the threat to their life and the struggle for recovery, spending additional energy on this. That's why proper nutrition plays a particularly important role in the life of fish, often fish, without any special health problems, refuse food, most often this manifests itself when the diet for fish is incorrectly selected.

Breath

Breathing for fish, as for other living beings, such as humans, plays an important role. The amount of oxygen absorbed is directly related to various stressful situations and in fact, it is quite easy to notice changes in the breathing rhythm of fish.

It is easy to count the number of times a fish exhales by the number of movements of its gills. The breath of fish is actually one of their most weak points, this is the price to pay for the opportunity to obtain oxygen from water; water and blood in fish move in different directions; this process determines how much oxygen will be received and how many toxins will be eliminated. Any deviation from the norm leads to an imbalance in this balance, and will invariably mean significant problems for the health of the fish.

Among the reasons leading to changes in the frequency of the breathing rhythm include:

These problems stimulate immune system fish for additional production of mucus, which is an important natural tool for combating fish ailments. The problem in this case is that the mucus only worsens the situation; it further clogs the gills, reducing the amount of oxygen entering the blood, since the volume of water entering through the gills decreases. A decrease in the amount of water passing through the gills leads to a decrease in the level of gas exchange, as a result, toxins are not removed from the fish’s body, such as ammonia, for example.

Signs of changes in the breathing rate of fish are an excellent reason to take the condition of your aquarium more seriously and understand what is happening in it.

Decline swimming activity

The activity of fish is a very important parameter of their health; even how exactly the fish move matters, if, for example, their speed is maintained. At first glance, it may seem that most fish swim the same way, but in fact this is not the case. All fish different shapes fins, their size and location differ - each species has its own unique evolutionary path and each species along the path of its development changed the structure of its fins for maximum survival, which means their swimming style is different.

In fact, when we talk about fish swimming, it is also important that, for example, they prefer to be motionless long time, and not at all rushing after each other in the upper part of the aquarium. Any changes in the behavior of fish indicate that there are certain negative factors affecting them; this does not necessarily mean that there will be illnesses or injuries. The behavior of fish is also directly influenced by their neighbors; by the way, injuries to the fins during conflicts between them are quite common and are an excellent springboard for the occurrence of diseases.

If the fish began to behave more passively in response to existing external “stimulants” than usual, this may mean that there is a certain chronic problem, i.e. a problem that has been affecting fish for quite a long time. For example, a high level of chlorine in the water, or something else. Deviations in the normal behavior of fish are most often an accompanying symptom, which is often accompanied by a decrease in appetite. The common reason for such changes is the general weakness of the fish.

Changes in color

Although lack of appetite or decreased swimming activity is the most obvious sign, changes in the color of fish usually occur in the early stages and if you regularly examine your fish, you will easily detect changes in their color.

The thing is that when fish are subject to severe stress under the pressure of constant negative factors, the endocrine system of fish, which is responsible for the production of various hormones, is subject to special pressure. For example, such as corticosterone. Corticosterone leads to a weakening of the coloration of fish; maintaining bright, saturated colors requires a lot of energy, and in fish that have to be stressed as a result of the presence of negative factors, a significant part of the energy is spent not on “coloring”, but on survival. Therefore, changes in the color of fish are often the first signals existing problem in aquarium.

Social behavior of fish

The social behavior of fish indicates a certain level of intelligence development. Each fish in the aquarium builds its own relationships with other animals that live in it with it. Depending on a number of factors, such as size, character or lifestyle, fish can occupy their own territories, react accordingly to other fish or people, and also have other behavioral characteristics. For example, in an aquarium there are always fish that feel like they are the “top of the chain”; such fish will always strive to prove their superiority over others. But this is only an example; for a better understanding, we can give another example, when fish somehow react particularly to a person and his approach to the aquarium, and on some day their reaction suddenly turned out to be passive, i.e. missing in fact.

This is easy to track; often you don’t even have to do anything special, it’s enough to just be attentive at such a moment. If fish show complete passivity in such situations, this in an overwhelming number of cases means that the fish are under severe stress and something is clearly not going according to plan.

Minimizing stress in the aquarium

The first thing that is important to understand is that you cannot completely eliminate stress from the life of fish; it is as normal for them as it is for people. Stress allows fish to survive, it forces them to fight for their lives and forces them to adapt and be ready for more big problems. However, you can and should manage the stress that your fish experience, at least if you want to have an aquarium with healthy fish.

Unlike most other species of animals kept in captivity, fish cannot simply leave the aquarium; it is their permanent habitat; they cannot jump over the aquarium and go for a walk. The aquarium for them is everything, this is the environment in which everything is decided for them, and decisive role You play in his well-being. And the most main question For fish in an aquarium, this is a question of water and its quality. The issue of water quality for an aquarium plays a role vital role, almost all problems that begin in an aquarium in fish always have one common root - improper care of the aquarium water.

Unfortunately, many aquarists have a very simple approach to caring for water in an aquarium - just change the water regularly, monitor the temperature and, of course, pour various chemicals into it that make it “suitable”. In fact, the water in an aquarium has several more parameters that need to be monitored, among the main ones: the level of acidity and hardness. Each species of fish has its own preferences in these parameters; keeping fish in water with incorrect constant parameters will easily lead to their severe exhaustion as a result of prolonged stress. It is also important to measure water parameters at different levels, for example, at the bottom, surface and in the middle, since the composition of water at different levels can vary greatly due to natural reasons.

Among the other most likely sources of stress are the so-called fish compatibility tables, which do not take into account a huge number of factors. For example, in addition to the parameters of temperature, acidity and water hardness, there are social aspect- behavior of fish when kept with others. Many compilers of such tables forget that they should not keep schooling fish together and single fish or those forming permanent pairs. The reason is simple, the latter strive to capture a certain territory in the aquarium and, as a rule, it is larger than the aquarium, but schooling species, although they do not conquer their territory, they also need it for free movement. As a result, this leads to strong conflicts between fish.

It is not enough to take fish that prefer the bottom, while others top part. Territorial fish capture it not only in the horizontal plane, they will attack all fish that are above them and the aggression in this case will not be much weaker.

Of course, these are not all the factors that lead to severe stress and subsequent problems; it would take a whole book to describe them, and in future articles we will try to cover them as well.

We almost always correctly determine whether a person close to us feels good or bad, whether he is healthy or sick. This is noticeable by changes in his behavior, appearance, and obvious signs of the disease. It is also possible to distinguish a sick fish from a healthy one. To do this, you need to know exactly what you should pay attention to first.

Every self-respecting aquarist should determine the health status of a fish. Ideally, this knowledge should be obtained before adding ornamental fish to your aquarium.

Both the success of the first experience of keeping representatives of aquatic fauna and the state of the existing home aquarium world depend on this.

Indeed, you only have to make one mistake when buying a new fish, and a sick specimen can infect the pets already living in your aquarium.

And selling unhealthy fish in pet stores is not that uncommon.

Many novice aquarists think that it is very difficult to distinguish a healthy fish from a sick one, that this ability comes only with experience, after passing difficult path trial and error.

Of course, experience (often negative) contributes to the acquisition of knowledge, but even a beginner is very likely able to determine the health status of an ornamental fish. If, of course, he studies some useful information and will pay close attention to certain signs.

Behavior and appearance are the main criteria by which you can find out about the condition of any fish. Exactly the same as in humans.

Signs of Unhealthy Behavior

Like people, fish different types differ in their temperament. One species is characterized by hyperactivity, while others most often behave calmly and even phlegmatically. But all healthy individuals exhibit vital activity, their inherent species-specific behavior, and respond well to external stimuli (loud sounds, bright light).

• Frequent breathing is also a sign of the disease. Even if the aquarium has a normal air supply that supplies enough air to the water, a pet tries to constantly swim near the surface of the water. This course of action clearly indicates a health disorder.

• One of the signs is precisely non-standard behavior, when the fish is passive all the time or has poor coordination of movements. It can often lie motionless on the ground or constantly hide in thickets of ornamental vegetation, as if hiding from prying eyes.

• Behavior during feeding is another way to distinguish healthy fish from sick ones, since lack of appetite or complete refusal of food indicates some kind of disorder in the body.

• If fish rub their whole bodies against the decorative elements of the internal landscape of the aquarium, then this also indicates that not everything is all right with them. But here it should be borne in mind that for some species this behavior is considered the norm. Especially when they are full.

Appearance: signs of illness

Knowing in advance what a healthy fish should look like, you can with a high degree of confidence determine its well-being based on its body shape. An individual that is too thin or, on the contrary, too fat raises legitimate suspicion. The only exception is the female before spawning, when her tummy swells.

Body

There should be no bumps, ulcers or unusual bulges on the body of a healthy fish, and the scales should always be smooth and shiny. All scales fit tightly to each other. But if the scales are protruding or there are gaps or wounds in the scaly cover, then you should not buy such a specimen.

A sticky and cloudy coating on the body also indicates deviations from the normal state.

Gills

The health status of the animal is easily determined by the appearance of the gills. In healthy fish, the gill covers should open and close tightly during breathing. The gills are swollen, their lids do not close completely - this is a clear sign presence of disease. Just like the very reddened gills that occur when poisoned by ammonia compounds.

Eyes and fins

The eyes can tell a lot. A healthy fish should have perfectly round eyes and a clear eye color. But cloudy eyes indicate that her condition is abnormal.

A healthy individual has even, straightened fins. Broken, frayed fins with red veins (if you look at the light) belong to a sick fish.

By the type of excrement, you can also distinguish a healthy specimen from a sick one. In a healthy individual they are short, in a patient they can be long and stretchy.

Quarantine

Of course, even if you paid attention to the presence or absence of all these signs, no one can give an absolute guarantee of the health of the newly purchased fish. The fact is that some diseases have a certain incubation period and appear at a certain time. It happens that at the time of purchase the disease has not yet manifested itself.

Well, if the fish starts to hurt in your home aquarium, then you can accurately determine its condition. Immediately isolate her (before she infects all her neighbors, if the disease is infectious) and begin treatment.

Guppies are beautiful freshwater fish. It is hardly possible to find another breed of fish that has remained loyal to both beginning and experienced aquarists for several decades. The phenomenon is explained not only by the ease of maintenance and unpretentiousness in nutrition, but also by the huge variety of colors, shapes of fins, interesting features breeding.

Guppies have strong sexual dimorphism. The male, unlike the female, has a more graceful physique, elongated fins and is more intensely colored. Guppies reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 months. Housing conditions have a significant impact on the reproductive functions and maturation of fish. An increase in water temperature by 2-3 degrees leads to faster metabolism and earlier puberty in guppies.

Some experts warn that stimulation methods such as water changes and increasing water temperature are only needed if labor is difficult or occurs prematurely. A decrease in temperature can significantly slow down not only the development of the reproductive system, but also lead to lethargy, decreased activity, and illness.

These cute fish are viviparous, or rather oviparous. In them, fertilization occurs internally, and fertilized eggs also develop in the female's abdomen. From a single mating, she can produce several groups of fry, so it is necessary to notice the pregnancy in time and place the female in a spawning tank so that other fish or the parents themselves do not eat the babies.

It is necessary to observe “mating courtship” so that one female is not chosen by several males, which will have a bad effect on the condition of the expectant mother and the quality of the offspring. Therefore, the ideal option is a pair of guppies that need to be isolated.

Readiness of fish for fertilization

When breeding purebred guppies or engaging in selection, it is necessary to strictly monitor the crossing of fish and correctly form pairs. And to do this, you need to determine in time the guppies’ readiness for mating.

A sign of readiness for the mating process in guppies is courtship. The male begins to “chase” the chosen one, pressing against her side with his anal fin. At this point, the aquarist must isolate the couple, since the fertilization process has already begun. In the future, placing a pregnant female in a separate vessel can be dangerous for her and her offspring, since she becomes very sensitive to changes in environmental characteristics.

These unpretentious fish can reproduce in a small container, but what better conditions, the more healthy and large offspring you can get. The “maternity hospital” should have enough space for 2 guppies. Experienced aquarists claim that from the moment the couple is isolated, the female’s pregnancy can be counted. Very rarely, a male may need 2-4 days for fertilization.

Depending on age, number of previous marks, water temperature, type of food and other characteristics, the duration of the gestation period can vary from 30 to 60 days. Normally, the period is 30 ± 5 days. A reduction or increase in gestational age may indicate a violation of the conditions of detention or problems with the health of the fish. The interval between litters can be 1-2 months.

A special feature of the livebearers is that the mark is extended over time. A fertilized fish can “give birth” to fry in groups with a time gap between births. Sometimes another male mates with the female who gave birth, and in the next generation babies will appear from both males.

Fertilization process

Sperm are introduced into the female's genital opening using the gonopodium. The formation of the copulation organ begins during puberty. Before this, there are no differences in the structure of the anal fin of the female and the male. With the onset of puberty, the rays in cross-section resemble a triangle, and later a tube.

The tube, equipped with muscle fibers, rises or falls, which facilitates the introduction of spermatophores - “packets” of sperm into the female’s body. They are partially spent on fertilizing part of the eggs, and a certain amount of seed material is stored inside the reproductive organs of the female for several months. In guppies, as a result of one insemination, from 5-6 to 11 marks often occur.

When the female is completely ready to mate, she releases environment a special secret that attracts males to her. They also have a chemical effect on the mating behavior of females. Copulin secreted by the gonads of males forces the female to take a position that is most convenient for inserting the gonopodium into the genital opening. The female's swimming in an inclined position is another sign of her readiness for copulation.

But such chemical “markers” of readiness for procreation do not replace physical stimulation. The male begins a courtship dance around the female, spreading his fins and sparkling with the bright color of his body, he quickly rushes around the chosen one. Several males can “chase” a female at once.

Interestingly, each male has his own dance, which he repeats in great detail during each mating. This mating ritual is enshrined in the genetic memory of males. If he does not “court,” the female will not allow the male to approach her, despite the chemical marks.

The female also chooses a “gentleman” based on the brightness of the color and the length of the fins. The winners are males with red coloring or red spots and long fins. They grow in males throughout their lives and indicate longevity and good health. These qualities are desirable in offspring. Thus, information about his viability as the father of numerous offspring is “encoded” in the male’s appearance.

Signs of pregnancy

By observing the behavior and appearance of the female, you can determine whether she is pregnant. Experienced aquarists note that before the appearance external signs During pregnancy, changes occur in the behavior and appetite of the female. 1.5 weeks before giving birth, there is a sharp increase in the fish’s appetite, so inexperienced guppy owners attribute the rounded abdomen to overeating.

But if you carefully monitor the female’s condition, you will notice that her tummy is getting bigger. Unlike an overfed fish, the belly is enlarged not only in the lower part, but also on the sides. When viewed from above, the rounded sides of the fish are visible. The closer to birth, the “squarer” the abdomen is, and a “prenatal” or maturity spot appears in the area of ​​the anal fin. It can be dark brown, yellowish ocher or black. Through the stretched skin of the abdomen you can see the “grain” of the spot, the so-called “eyes of the fry.”

A few hours before giving birth, the abdomen is already so large that a noticeable hollow forms between the chest and abdomen. A bulge forms in the area of ​​the anal fin. Its appearance signals that there is about a day left before the fry appear. It is worth noting that the degree of severity of the “square” abdomen and “prenatal spot” stage in some varieties of guppies is less pronounced, but the anal bulge must certainly be present.

Before giving birth, the behavior of the fish also changes. She begins to look for shelter or tries to hide among the plants. This is especially noticeable in a community aquarium - the males begin to chase the female, but she hides from them. Features are also observed in the movements - the fish hangs motionless at the surface of the water or in the middle layers, it lowers its tail.

When contractions occur, you may notice trembling of the muscles in the anal area and trembling of the caudal fin. Childbirth lasts from 3 to 5 hours. Sometimes the process stretches to 5-7 days. The number of fry in a tag depends on the size, age of the fish and the number of previous births. A first-born mother can give birth to 15-25 babies, and with repeated births their number increases. There is a recorded case where a guppy gave birth to 180 fry in one mark.

The health of the fry and female depends on:

• living conditions – heat causes premature birth and the appearance of non-viable offspring;
• food – live food contributes to the normal formation of fry and the maintenance of pregnancy. When a pregnant female is fed dry food, the fry may experience scoliosis;
• the presence of one or more males - they exhaust the female.

Sometimes a young and healthy female cannot give birth. To stimulate labor, replace settled fresh water, increase the temperature to 28-30°C, or add a young male before spawning.

Guppy pregnancy video

Caring for fry and female

After the female has fry, she must be removed or the fry placed in a container for rearing. The fry are active and immediately begin to look for shelter. Their survival depends on this, since guppies have a complete absence of parental instinct. The female perceives large fry as prey. Therefore, pebbles, artificial or live plants are placed at the bottom of the spawning tank - everything that the kids can use as shelter.

An interesting feature of guppies is that they are hermaphrodites - individuals in which the genital organs of both sexes are developed. Self-fertilization is possible in such fish. In addition, spontaneous transformation of a female, even one that has already spawned, into a male occurs. Much less often, a male turns into a female.

Guppies are interesting in terms of breeding. Behind short period they can produce several groups of fry, which is very convenient for selection. To get healthy purebred offspring, you need to know all the intricacies of breeding these amazing fish.

Perhaps you saw that your aquarium fish floating on its side or that she managed to jump out of the aquarium. Despite the fact that the natural first reaction may be grief and even an attempt to throw away the body of the fish, it may still be alive. You can determine whether this is true by checking the vital signs of the fish, and then take further measures in relation to the dying or already dead fish, or solve the problems of the fish that just seemed dead to you.

Steps

Checking for vital signs of fish

Try catching a fish with a net. Watch for signs of resistance from the fish as you try to hook its body with the net. If the fish is just sleeping, it will wake up and try to escape from the net. Otherwise, the fish may be dead or very sick.

Pay attention to your breathing. Most fish species need to have their gills checked. If they don't move, the fish doesn't breathe. But bettas and other labyrinth fish breathe through their mouths. If your fish belongs to this family, pay attention to the expansion and contraction of its body.

Check the condition of the fish's eyes. Look at the eyes as a whole. If they fall, then the fish has died or is dying. Look for cloudy pupils, which is also a sign of death for most aquarium fish.

Examine the scales of the fish. This must be done if the fish has jumped out of the aquarium. Notice the cracked skin as you lift the fish. Feel her body to see if it is dry. These signs are characteristic only of dead fish.

If possible, remove dead fish from the aquarium. Use a net to catch the dead fish. If you can't find her body, don't worry. The body of one dead fish itself will not harm the rest of the fish and will decompose naturally.

Don't wash it off dead fish down the drain if wastewater go out into bodies of water. Even a dead fish that finds itself in a non-native habitat can harm the natural inhabitants of a reservoir. Throw the fish's body into the trash or bury it in the ground. At the same time, if the fish is large enough, it is best to bury it. However, it would be a good idea to check your local laws to see if such actions are permitted on your part.

Solving possible problems

Cure constipation with split peas. Constipation causes fish to swim on their sides. Split peas (any variety) contain enough fiber to aid digestion. If your fish has not had a bowel movement for several days, start giving it two or three fresh or thawed peas every day. The peas can be crushed first or simply allowed to sink to the bottom of the aquarium.

• Avoid using canned peas as they contain salt and spices that can be harmful to your fish.
• Soften the peas before feeding them to the fish. To do this, you can boil it for one minute on the stove in filtered water. Remove the peas from the pan and let them cool. Do not use a microwave to cook peas as it can destroy important nutrients.
• Using your fingers, remove the skin from the peas. Just remember to wash your hands first!
• Cut the peas into small pieces. Cut them in half first if this did not happen naturally when you removed the pea shells. Then cut the peas into quarters. If you have small fish, cut the peas even smaller.

1. If necessary, reduce the amount of feeding. If the fish is not constipated, then it could simply have overeaten. Overeating causes bloating and causes the fish to swim on its side. If a side-swimming fish has recently had a bowel movement, simply do not feed it for the next three to four days.