Formosa fish is a great choice for those who do not have a place to install a large aquarium at home. This is a small fish that does not require a lot of space. Due to this, it is very popular among lovers of micro-aquariums. Consider the appearance, especially the content and reproduction of formosa.
General information
Formosa fish belongs to the family of Peciliae. In nature, she lives in the United States: Florida and South Carolina. The fish lives in the rivers. He prefers to settle in coastal zones with a weak current overgrown with vegetation. Since the temperature drops significantly in the natural habitats of the aquarium fish formosa in winter, it does not need additional heating at home.
Fish are undemanding to the conditions of detention, and therefore are perfect for a beginner. In a general aquarium, they can play the role of an orderly. They destroy bacteria that appear on algae leaves and soil.
Formosa fish is in seventh place on the list of the smallest fish in the world. Under ideal conditions, the life span of a fish is about three years.
Appearance and sexual dimorphism
The body size of an adult fish reaches 3.5 cm in length. The fish formosa has a silver-olive color. Along the body is a dark line and 8-12 vertical stripes. Dark spots are located on the anal and dorsal fins. The back is colored a little darker, the belly is light silver. The body is elongated, flattened laterally. The fins are transparent, sometimes with a yellow tint. Formosis, unlike most other fish species, has moving eyes. The article presents photos of formosa fish.
Females are much larger than males, they have more rounded shapes. The average body length of the male is 1.5 cm and the female is 3.5 cm. The anal fin of females is rounded, in males it looks like a tube. During spawning, males use the anal fin to fertilize the female.
Content
The fish formosa is extremely unpretentious, therefore even a beginner is able to cope with its content. It is small in size, so you can even keep it in a glass jar. Although it is recommended to use a container of at least 15 liters to create optimal living conditions.
Formose fish are not particularly demanding regarding water quality. The optimum temperature of the water for their content is 22-25 degrees, but they are quite capable of surviving the differences from 12 to 30 degrees. The desired water hardness dH is 5-6, the pH is 7.0-7.5. It is necessary to add a little salt to the water at the rate of 4 g per 1 liter of water. Water change should be carried out weekly, change at least 25% of the total. In nature, fish live in a small stream, because the aquarium should be equipped with a filter. An aeration system is also needed. Formosa fish love light, so you should take care of lighting. It is unacceptable to place the aquarium in direct sunlight.
The aquarium should be planted with a large number of various plants in which the fish can hide. They also like to delve into the moss, which can be planted soil. These are very shy fish, therefore for their peace it is necessary to put a large number of shelters.
Feeding
Aquarium fish formoses are quite unpretentious in terms of nutrition, although live feeds are more popular with them. Fish can be given dry feed mixtures. Necessarily vegetable feed. Of live feed, you can use pipe makers, brine shrimp, bloodworms. The fish is small, therefore, the size of the feed should correspond to its small mouth. Too much food should be chopped. The diet should be varied. Feed should be given as much as the fish can eat in 3-4 minutes. The rest must be removed from the aquarium to avoid contamination.
Compatibility
Formoz must be kept in flocks of at least 10 individuals. These are peaceful and friendly fish that get along well with other non-aggressive species. But caution should be exercised when keeping formosis along with veiled-tail fish, which they can bite with fins. Also, do not lodge them with fish that are significantly larger than formosis in size, because they can be mistaken for food.
Formoses themselves may well destroy all the shrimp in the aquarium, so you should avoid such a neighborhood. However, they get along well with water snails.
Breeding
Puberty in formosis occurs in 6-8 months. The water should be warm enough, therefore, for the reproduction of fish, you may need a water heater. The usual temperature should be raised by about 2 degrees. Need to enhance the lighting.
Formose fish are viviparous. Pregnancy of the female lasts 4-8 weeks. If other live-bearers produce all offspring at a time, then formosis gives birth to one or two fry within two to three weeks. In total, she can produce about 40 fry. In this case, the fry are quite considerable in relation to newborn babies of other species. They are born fully formed. With insufficient nutrition, formoses can eat their young, therefore, the appeared fry should be put in a separate container until they grow up. At first, they need to be fed with ciliates, live dust, artemia. A week after birth, dry food can be introduced into the diet.
Thus, formosa fish are quite popular among aquarists due to their small size and unpretentiousness. They can survive jumps in temperature and changes in water parameters, and therefore forgive beginners many mistakes. Despite the not-so-striking appearance, formoses have a large number of advantages in order to remain in demand by pets around the world.