A modern home aquarium is not only a stylish decoration of the interior, but a real separate world with its shady thickets of plants and fast colorful inhabitants.
Often when choosing the inhabitants of the aquarium, the question arises of the difficulty of caring for fish or installing additional equipment. Therefore, for a beginner aquarist, the best solution would be labyrinth fish, the most striking of which are males.
This article discusses in detail how to care for males, how to feed them and how to distinguish between males and females - a female and a male.
Features of the labyrinth fish
Homeland of all types of labyrinth fish are swampy lakes and slow shallow rivers of Africa and Southeast Asia. In the hot season, the water level in such reservoirs decreases sharply, the oxygen content in the swamped water also becomes very low. To survive in such uncomfortable conditions, the ancestors of the labyrinth fish have a special organ that allows them to breathe atmospheric air. This organ, called the labyrinth, is located in the head of the fish and consists of a series of plates pierced by blood vessels.
It is this feature of all the labyrinths, and cockerel fish among them, that makes them the most unpretentious inhabitants of home aquariums.
Fighting Fish Cockerels
These bright fish with beautiful veil fins are not just called cockerels. Male males are outright bullies; they do not tolerate rivalry and attempt on their territory. Observing their behavior, it becomes clear how to distinguish a female fish from a male cockerel. The male is very self-confident, having noticed the opponent, he straightens his fins straight away, trying to appear larger and changes color to brighter. Moreover, becoming even more aggressive during spawning, the male can attack not only a competitor, but also fish of other species. If the aquarium is not large enough or there are no shelters from plants and decorations, serious injuries are possible in collisions.
Females of males are always colored less brightly, and they do not have such luxurious long fins. This is one of the main signs by which it is visually clear how to distinguish a female fish from a male cockerel.
Varieties of Cockerel Fish
All bright colorful varieties of aquarium handsome cockerels came from their wild counterpart, a plain-looking fish of dark olive color. Sometimes dark stripes and spots were added to the green color of wild males.
As a result of long selection, more than 40 different species of cockerel fish were bred. They differ in different colors, the size of the dorsal and pectoral fins. The sizes of the fish themselves and even the shape of their body may be different.
But no matter how selective a cock is, how to distinguish a female from a male is always clear. Females are smaller in size, always more modestly colored and not at all aggressive towards members of their species, and other fish too.
The most popular types of cockerel fish
Thanks to many years of selection, there are a lot of varieties of fish of males. But some of them are most often found in home aquariums.
- Veil males are probably the most popular species. Their luxurious fins and tail most resemble a luxurious fluttering veil. The color of the scales in this type of cockerel is very different (blue, red, emerald, even white), most often monochromatic individuals. Looking at a cockerel veil, it is very easy to understand how to distinguish a female from a male: a female never has such long fins.
- The two-tailed cockerel is distinguished by double dorsal and caudal fins. Fish of this species are very beautiful, fins in bright light shimmer with different colors. They are not recommended to be lodged with active aggressive fish of other species, which can take their luxurious fins for prey and bite the tips.
- Royal, or giant, cockerel. This is the largest variety of cockerel fish; males can grow up to 7.5 cm. These cockerels have fins and a tail of almost normal size, therefore, it is not always clear how to distinguish a cockerel fish from a male. Differences will be manifested only in the intensity of color and behavior - females are more peaceful.
- Halfmoon, or the crescent-tailed cockerel, is a magnificent bright fish, the spread fins of which resemble a crescent.
The colors of the cockerel fish are simply unrealistically diverse: green, red, blue, violet - there are no numbers for the variety of colors. In addition, stunningly beautiful two-color males were bred, with a body of one color and fins of another.
The cockerels of the so-called dragon colors look very unusual: they have a one-color body, most often red, and the scales have a pronounced metallic (silver or golden) tint. In the light of aquarium lamps, such a handsome man looks simply fantastic!
How to distinguish a male from a female in a cockerel fish and how do they differ? All of the above characteristics of bright scales, various colors and beautiful long fins concern only male males. For many years, aquarium enthusiasts have been trying to breed males, where females are at least brighter than males, but they don’t succeed. Female cockerel fish have absolutely no distinct species differences and are very nondescript.
Keeping a cockerel fish in an aquarium
Petushkov can rightly be called the most unpretentious aquarium inhabitants, even among the labyrinth fish. Caring for them will not cause trouble for a completely inexperienced aquarist.
However, this does not mean that they do not need to create suitable conditions at all. Many sellers in pet stores assure customers that the cockerel fish can live even in a small plastic cup. Maybe, but not for long ...
Like any fish, a cockerel must be able to swim for life. The minimum volume of an aquarium for keeping one cockerel is at least five liters. Yes, and watching only one fish will not be interesting even to a child.
Despite the myths about the convenience of round aquariums, small, not higher than 50 cm, rectangular containers are more suitable for males. It is advisable that the aquarium be planted with plants and there are several shelters where frightened inhabitants can hide.
If you plan to place several cockerel fish in the aquarium, it is better to choose one (maximum two) males and several females. It is better to buy fish very young, growing together in the same aquarium, they will be more tolerant of each other. In young males, external differences between the sexes are not yet very pronounced. Observation of the behavior of juveniles will help to understand how to distinguish a female from a male in a cockerel.
Features of the breathing of fish males
Like all labyrinth fish, males can breathe in two ways. They can absorb oxygen dissolved in water, and can breathe atmospheric air, capturing it from the surface of the water.
Therefore, if only males will live in the aquarium, you can not put an aeration system. But the aquarium must be covered with a lid and left between the water and the lid a space of at least 15 cm high. This will allow the fish to breathe air at a suitable temperature and prevent active males from jumping out of the aquarium. This is another sign of how to distinguish a male from a female in a cockerel - the behavior of the females is much calmer, and they almost never tend to jump out.
Breeding cocks in an aquarium
Breeding aquarium males is not at all difficult, sometimes to stimulate spawning it is enough to replace the water with fresh or a slight temperature change.
When breeding fish of males, the differences between the female and the male are more than noticeable. Surprisingly, females play a secondary role.
The male himself builds a nest of air bubbles on the surface of the water, fastening it with saliva for strength. In the spawning aquarium, you can add small plants floating on the surface (for example duckweed or ricchia) to provide the male with additional material for building the nest.
When the nest is ready, a female with caviar is planted on the male (whether the female has caviar can be determined by the increased round abdomen).
After spawning, the female needs to be removed from the spawning aquarium as soon as possible, the male will perceive her as a threat to the offspring and constantly attack.
The male takes care of the eggs in the foamy nest, and if everything went well, after a couple of days the tiny fry will begin to swim. Then you need to plant the male, because he may well take his offspring for food.
It is best to feed fry with small live food, then they grow quickly and will be healthy.
Cockerel fish: how to distinguish a female from a male
External differences of the cockerel fish begin to appear only at the age of four months. In males, longer fins and tail begin to grow. Differences in size also become noticeable: males become larger and more massive. But in some short-tailed species (for example, poster males) it is difficult to navigate by the size of the fins. There is one external difference, noticeable even in young fish.
In the photo, how to distinguish the fish of the males - the female from the male, it is clearly visible: the male abdominal fin is always thin and long, and in the female it is wider and round. Even in females, a more rounded abdomen and often a distinct white dot is visible on the abdomen. Although young males may also have a white dot on their abdomen before reaching maturity.
Cockerel Fish Behavior
In addition to purely external differences, males have strong differences in the behavior of male and female. Males, even young ones, are extremely jealous of representatives of their own species, the fights between them over the territory and the attention of females are very cruel.
In the photo of the fish, the cockerel, how to distinguish a female from a male, is immediately noticeable. The male dissolves the fins, outwardly even increases in size. The color of the scales of an angry male becomes brighter, literally shimmers. He threatens his opponent with his formidable appearance and tries to drive him away.
Even in a sufficiently large aquarium densely planted with plants and equipped with shelters for fish, peaceful life between male males is not guaranteed at all. It is believed that fish that grew together will be more tolerant of each other, but this does not always work.
Aggressive males, especially during spawning, can attack not only an opponent, but even a female not ready for breeding.
The behavior of the females is very different: they live quite calmly in a group of several individuals, never divide the territory and almost never attack other fish. Observation of their behavior will help to find the difference between a female and a male in an aquarium fish cockerel.
Rooster compatibility with other fish
Despite their fighting character, the fish of the cockerel get along well with the neighbors in the aquarium. They can be kept with all kinds of catfish, bots, small live-bearing fish.
They do not recommend hooking other bright fish with long fins to the males, they can perceive them as rivals. Severe territorial conflicts are possible with cocky cichlids, and small fishes like zebrafish can be mistaken for feed.
The most colorful aquarium fish
A novice aquarist may ask: why keep these unsociable cocky males? They can fight among themselves, offend other fish and jump out of the aquarium ...
Despite the small problematic behavior, the cockerel is one of the most popular fish in home aquariums. Their aggressive behavior can be corrected by choosing the right neighbors and providing the fish with the necessary shelters.
And the fantastic beauty of aquarium males, the richest gamut of color and absolute unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention rightly make them the favorites of many aquarists.