The silversides are typical saltwater fish, discovered in nearly all temperate waters. The Aus-tralian rainbow is one of the few that inhabit fresh water permanently.

Strangely sufficient, few of our present-day aquarium fish come from Australia, but this peaceful beauty is an exception.

The body of the Australian rainbow is mainly silver, faintly overcast with a warmish pink which runs into the centre of the tail. The scales are edged with dark brown and every one is clearly discernible as if it had been carefully drawn. The base of the scale has a thicker line, which forms distinct horizontal bars along the sides. In daylight the scales have a spectrum-coloured sheen, which is the reason for the name rainbow.

The eye, with its dark centre, has a phosphorescent outer-circle, which reflects any stray beam of light. The dark spot on the gill cover also has a luminous high quality.

These fish are perfect aquarium members. They’re effortlessly fed and hardy, and can stand a temperature range of between 60° and 90°F.

Sexing isn’t simple, even though the male is smaller and slimmer with much more brilliant colouring. They might be bred fairly successfully in the aquarium in the exact same way as the egg-layers.

The long backward flowing fins of the angel fish give the fish the appearance of a butterfly or bird with outspread wings, as it gracefully swims among the plants.

The silver body, overcast with blue, has numerous specks, not unlike small freckles, on the sides. Evenly spaced black bars stripe the body, the initial passing via the eye, which is red, and also the last is on the tail. The ventral fins of the angel are long and thin, and curve back gracefully under the fish. The dark bars, which are nature’s camouflage, practically disappear when they’re frightened.

Unlike most Cichlids they’re great community fish, and they don’t worry the plants. They’ll, needless to say, make a meal of any very small fish if given the chance.

Occasionally angel fish lose their appetite for no apparent reason. It is advisable when this occurs to try a change of diet. Try such foods as daphnia, chopped earthworm, white worm, and mosquito larvae. If this fails, a change of water might induce them to eat.

Sexing is most challenging. There are a number of techniques, but most of them are unreliable. Prob-ably the very best indication is the appearance of the breeding tube just prior to spawning. This is much more pointed in the male and is carried at a much more forward angle. Specialists can tell by the shape of the body, but it is very challenging for the layman to do so. It might be judged by the forward component of the body between the long ventrals and also the beginning of the anal fins. In the female, nevertheless, this outline appears longer and straighter than in the male of the species.

Breeding habits are just a little various from the standard description. The young aren’t placed on stones or in depressions in the sand, but remain stuck to the plants on which they had been hatched. Lots of broad-leafed plants, like Vallisneria or Sagittaria should be put into the breeding tank for the eggs, which are adhesive and are laid on these strong plants.

A bamboo cane or glass tube, the inside of which has been coloured to make it opaque, stuck into the sand just slightly off the vertical might also be utilized as an artificial spawning ground. Most professional breeders use this technique, as the eggs are then effortlessly removed to an additional tank for rearing the fry.

It is a issue as to regardless of whether the parents should be removed instantly after a spawning, even though it is certainly safer. Although it is a pretty sight to see parents and young together, there is a fifty-fifty chance of them being eaten.

During the period when the young are attached to the leaf, they’re continually picked up in the mouth of their parents, held for a couple of moments, and then sprayed on to an additional leaf. The reason for this appears to be cleanliness. Should you transplant the young to an additional tank at this stage, mild aeration helps to produce conditions of strict cleanliness.

After hatching, the fry generally turn out to be totally free swimmers in about two days, when micro-worm and sifted daphnia should be given.

Angel fish prefer slightly acid water.

Under regular conditions the body colour of jewel cichlid is an olive green, darker on the back, along with a lighter orange yellow on the belly. The body is marked with a couple of blurred vertical dark bars, a dark spot just below the dorsal fin at about the centre of the body, along with a spot on the tail root. An additional spot is situated on the gill cover, along with a dark line passes via the eye.

It is only at breeding times that the full beauty of these fish could be appreciated. The lower component of the body then becomes a rich red, and also the upper component becomes a dark olive which reflects a red sheen. Metallic blue spots are present on the head, body and fins, and also the main fins have red edgings. Sexes are comparable, but it’ll be discovered that the male has larger metallic spots on the gill covers, along with a crescent pattern of spots on the tail. Adults attain a length of about 4 inches.

The jewel cichlids are definitely ‘bad actors’ and should have an aquarium to themselves. Breeding is comparable to the standard description at a temperature of 80°F, but they’re challenging fish to pair, and it is feasible that the female might be attacked and even killed during an attempted, or even effective, mating.

It is a great plan to have lots of rocks and large-leafed plants in the breeding tank to offer a secure refuge for the young fish. After about six weeks the young fish are likely to attack every other, so it is obvious why a tank no smaller than 24 inch x 12 inch x 12 inch should be utilized.

Providing very clean conditions exist, it is feasible to raise the fry from ova with out the assistance of their parents.

Egyptian mouthbreeder fish, from the land of the Pharaohs, is an example of the lengths to which nature will go to protect the young of certain species.

The ground colour of the body is usually metallic green. Other colours from blue to orange are discovered on the body and fins, varying with various specimens. The tints in the fins frequently include black and yellow, and are much more varied in the male. A sex indication is the red tip on the anal fin, which generally identifies the male. Like most fish, the Egyptian mouthbreeders are seen at their greatest when in breeding condition. At other times they’re a yellowish-grey.

Fully grown specimens only reach a length of 2.5 inches and could be included in the community tank, but you should take care as they’re fairly likely to attack and kill smaller fish.

The breeding tank should be planted with lots of oxygenating plants, leaving lots of space between the plants. The male fans a depression in the sand into which the female lays her eggs, and these are fertilised as they fall down into the depression.

The perfect breeding temperature is 77°F. Any number between 20 and 200 might be dropped in one spawning, and then, contrary to the usual habits of the Cichlids, the female picks them up and carries them around in her mouth. (She really holds them in the buccal cavity.) The eggs aren’t only carried until they hatch, but until the fry absorb their yolk-sac, which they do in a matter of 14 to 15 days. During this period the female stolidly refuses to eat. This appears to be nature’s precaution against the eggs being swallowed.

Even after the young have reached the stage of totally free swimming, they’re liable to dart back into the protection of the female’s mouth, if they’re small sufficient, at the initial sign of danger.

Whilst the eggs are incubating, and even after they’re hatched, all mouthbreeders work their mouth in a peculiar chewing motion, which ensures a great circulation of water around the eggs.

The self-imposed task of the female takes its toll of her vitality, and after two weeks she looks a strange fish with a big head and emaciated body. Owing to the strain breeding puts upon her, it is not advisable to spawn too often. 3 times a year should be considered a maximum.

Remove the male after spawning. This is greatest done in semi-darkness, using a dark coloured net so as not to frighten or trigger the female to swallow her eggs. The female should be removed when the fry are strong sufficient, which is generally after 25 days. The fry should be fed with infusoria after 14 to 15 days, when the fry initial leave the mouth.

The orange chromide is one of the few Cichlids that may generally be included in a community tank. It grows to about three inches long and has an orange-gold body, darkening to olive along the back, and sprinkled with orderly rows of small red dots. 3 big bluish spots are arranged along the lateral line. Instantly below the eye it has a light blue crescent. The dorsal fin is sandy in colour, and also the pelvic and anal fins are comparable but darker in hue.

It is a fish that likes warmth; ideally it prefers a temperature between 75° and 82°F. It is not an simple species to spawn; the dark coloured eggs are suspended by individual threads from the leaves of plants. Alternatively, if a flower pot is put in the aquarium, the eggs might be suspended from the inside top edge. Otherwise spawning is as detailed for Cichlids.

The eggs hatch in about five days, and also the fry tend to have a preference for following mother. Adults should be removed after about two weeks.