TROPICAL FISH MANAGEMENT Michelle Rutz-Mendicino
Jan 04, 2016
TROPICAL FISH MANAGEMENT
Michelle Rutz-Mendicino
Tank Components
• Water tight glass tank
• Lamp/Light
• Canopy
• Heater
• Filter (under-gravel, over-tank, canister)
• Gravel
• Air Source
• Plants/Wood/Accessories
The Nitrogen Cycle
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Starting the Nitrogen Cycle
• Option 1– Using fish food (maybe not the best idea…)
• Option 2– Raw fish or raw shrimp
• Option 3– 100% Ammonia drops
• Option 4– Use gravel or filters from an established tank
Speeding up the Nitrogen Cycle
• Helpful tips:– Increase the temperature to 80-82˚F– Get some beneficial bacterial colonies
• Gravel
• Used filter media
– Products to introduce beneficial bacteria• Bio-Spira
• Tetra Safe Start
Fish Disease• Parasitic
– Ich
• Bacterial– Streptococcus iniae– Edwardsiella spp.– Aeromonas spp.– Mycobacterium spp.
• Viral• Fungal
– Saprolegnia
Fish Disease
TOOTHED CARP
Livebearersguppies, mollies, platys,
swordtails
family: Poeciliidae
Male Guppy
Poecilia reticulata - many-colored netlike
guppy - up to 2 1/2 inches
male
female
Guppies (male)
Poecilia latipinna &Poecilia sphenopsmollies - 4 inches
black mollie (male)
black lyretail (male)
gold mollies
Xiphophorous maculatus (platy or moonfish) - 2
1/2 inches &
Xiphophorous variatus (varigated platy or
variatus platy - 3 inches
platy (male) platy (female)
sunset platy
Xiphophorus helleri
velvet swordtail (female)
AKA green swordtail
male
LABYRINTH FISH
families: Anabantidae, Belontidae, Helostomatidae, Osphronemidae
betta, gourami
Betta splendens
betta, Siamese fighting fish
3 inches
wild caught male
female
bettas
Colisa lalia (6-8 inches)
dwarf gouramired gourami
Pearl gourami
Opaline gourami
Trichogaster trichopterus
Blue or three spot
gourami
CICHLIDS
South and Central American
Angelfish - cross of Pterophllum scalare and P. eimekei
Silver angelfish
up to 20 inches
Black angelfish
Gold marble angelfish
DiscusFamily: CichlidaeSpecies:
- Symphysodon aequifasciatus
- Symphysodon discus
soft water, 80-84 º F
average lifespan - 10 years
average size - up to 12 inches
Leopard discus
Discus
Jack DempseyCichlasoma octofasciatum
soft water, 72-77 º Faverage size - up to 8 inches
Firemouth CichlidThorichthys meeki
soft water, 72-77 º Faverage size - up to 6 inches
Convict CichlidAmatitlania nigrofasciata
soft water, 72-77 º Faverage size - up to 4.5 inches
Long Finned Oscar
Astronotus ocellatussoft water, 72-77 º F
average size - up to 18 inches
CICHLIDS
African
Lakes Tanganyika, Victoria and Malawi
CHARACINS
Schooling fish
Tetras, HatchetfishLeporinus, Silver dollars
Neon tetrasBlack skirt
tetras
Cardinal tetras
Black phantom tetras
Rummy nosed tetras
Bloodfin tetras
Lemon tetras
Silvertip tetras
Bleeding heart tetras
Flame tetras
Mexican tetras
Marble hatchet
Related to Tetra (order Chalciformes)
Carnegiella strigata, 1 1/2 inches
5.5 - 7.5 pH, 5-18 dH, 72-82 F
Silver Hachetfish
Gasteropelecus levis
Common Hachetfish
Gasteropelecus sternicla
CATFISH
Egg layers, bottom dwellers
BRONZE CATFISH
Corydoras aeneus
Up to 2 inches, pH 5.8-7.0, hardness 2-30 dH, temp 72-79
BANDIT CATFISH
Corydoras metae
Up to 2 inches, pH 6.5-7.0, hardness 4-5 dH, temp 72-79
PLECOSTOMUS CATFISH
family: Loricariidae& Callichthyidae
armored, mailed, & plated catfish
ROUND GOBY
Neogobius melanostomus4-10 inches; Great Lakes
LOACHES
Egg layers, bottom dwellers
Clown LoachChromobotia macracanthusupto 12 inches Sumatra & Borneo
75-86 F
Dojo (Weather) Loach
Misgurnus anguillcaudatusUp to 10 inches, SE Asia
50 - 77 F
KILLIFISH
Toothed carpegg layers
Cyprinodontidae
Devil’s Hole Pupfish
Aphyosemion arnoldi
Aphyosemion australe
Aphyosemion australe
Aphyosemion arnoldi
Aphyosemion bivittatum ekondo
Aphyosemion bivittatum biafra
Aphyosemion cognatum
Aphyosemion liberien
Rivulus amphoreus
Rivulus magdelenae
Rivulus xiphideus
Danio rerio
Zebra Fish• Minnow family• Native from Pakistan to Myanmar• Important aquarium fish and and
vertebrate model organism