For many aquarium lovers, unpretentiousness and beauty of fish are important. Fighting fish (betta splendens), or males, are fish from the labyrinth family. If necessary, they are able to breathe atmospheric air, and it is easy to care for them.
Aquarium fish cockerel grows to 6.5 cm. The individuals have a large head, the body is flattened on the sides. The magnificent fins of males (when separated from other males) can reach a fairly large size and attract enthusiastic looks. Females have a paler color and smaller sizes, their fins are not developed. Females behave, as a rule, calmly.
Creating a habitat for fighting fish
All beginner aquarists are concerned about the question: "How to care for fish?" The cockerel is actually extremely unpretentious. For its maintenance you will need an aquarium with a volume of 60 liters. Coarse and fine pebbles, coarse sand are suitable as soil.
The soil must be disinfected. One of the methods for processing sand for the bottom is heating in a hot pan (10-15 minutes). Treated sand is cooled and washed. It is enough to pour pebbles with boiling water in a basin or pan, then cool and rinse under running water for five minutes.
The central part of the aquarium should be free of plants. Algae and other aquarium flora are placed on the sides of the aquarium. You can add a few beautiful snags and stones to the bottom, having previously processed them.
Water for the aquarium settles. It should be of medium hardness, with a neutral pH and a temperature of at least + 25 ° C. The compressor is turned on twice a day for 15–20 minutes.
Cockerel feed
The brightness of the color of the males is affected by the quality of the feed. Dry food, suitable, for example, for guppies, for fighting fish is poison! The menu of cockerels should contain only live food, egg yolk, small pieces of meat (boiled pork or beef).
Food is prepared as follows: 100 g of fresh meat is crushed, rolled into balls and boiled for 1-2 minutes. Finished meat is taken out of the water and allowed to cool. When feeding fish 1-2 balls crumble into the aquarium.
Neighborhood
In the case of fighting fish, it is important to remember that only one male should live in the aquarium, otherwise the death of one of the rivals cannot be avoided. Females can be four to five. If the male begins to attack the females, which is extremely rare, he is immediately "resettled" in a separate aquarium.
Males are very beautiful fish, but their behavior is aggressive. Therefore, keeping fighting fish in the aquarium along with herbivorous fish is impossible. Aggressive cockerels will constantly destroy peace-loving fish.
Good for aquariums where males, catfish and snails live. They will prevent excessive reproduction of bacteria.
Breeding
A pregnant female is separated 7 days before spawning. During this period, she is fed intensely. Soil in the new aquarium is not needed, from the plants it will take a bit of rich to equip the nest. The temperature of the water in the aquarium should be + 28-30 ° C. After the male is planted to the female.
A male fighting fish builds a nest on the surface of the water from air bubbles and begins to care for the female. The female spawns, and the male picks and lays eggs in the nest. Upon completion of the spawning process, the female must be set aside to exclude the male attack.
The male cockerel, caring for eggs, sorts them and adds bubbles to the nest. It lasts 1-2 days until larvae with a yolk sac appear . Larvae hang from the bottom of the nest for about 3 days under the supervision of a male, and then disperse along the walls. When small males, fish up to 3 mm in size, begin to swim, the male is precipitated.
The fry are fed with live dust (you can get by with egg yolk). For mature individuals, fish food "Artemia Solina" is suitable.