Seahorses

Seahorses form territories, with the males occupying about one square meter area of their habitat whereas the females can occupy a range of up to a hundred times of the area the males occupy.  These fish are well camouflaged by the greyish, brownish patterns that blends in well to their habitat background. However, they do turn bright colours during their social moments or when they are in unusual surroundings.

Seahorses do not have scales and a thin skin layer is stretched over a series of their bony plates arranged in rings throughout their body. Each species of the seahorses has a distinct number of rings and each of them has a distinct coronet on their head, like a human fingerprint. They swim upright but very poorly by fluttering their dorsal fin for propelling through the water, and pectoral fins for steering. Unlike fish, seahorses have no caudal fin. Their poor swimming characteristics find them resting in beds of sea grass or coral reefs, and with their prehensile tails wound around a stationary object most of the time. Seahorses have long snouts for sucking up food. Their eyes move independently of each other like a chameleon.

Seahorses afre finicky on their diet which comprised mainly tiny fish, small shrimp, and planktons. In the aquaria, you may feed them with frozen or live brine shrimps and mysis shrimps. Target feeding is recommended by dropping food close to their location.   

Male seahorses are have a brood pouch on their ventral side. The courting starts with several days’ affair between a pair when they discover mutual interest at the beginning of the the breeding season. Courtship is evident when both change colours, swimming side by side along each other, holding tails or doing some of their “pre-dawn dance”. When mating starts, the male pumps water through the egg pouch on his trunk which expands and cleaves open to display an appealing emptiness, and the female seahorse deposits their hundreds to thousands of eggs into the male’s pouch where the eggs are fertilized internally. The eggs are carried around by the male until they hatch and become fully-developed, miniature seahorses in the water. The male seahorse pregnancies last usually for two to three weeks.  The egg pouch provides oxygen and act as a controlled environment incubator.  The salinity of the water is regulated in the pouch for proper hatching.  Throughout the incubation period, his female mate usually visits him daily by swimming over for approximately 5 minutes of interaction. During this process, the pair changes colour and wheel around the sea grass fronds, and finally promenade by holding each other’s tails. 

The male undergoes muscular contractions to expel the fry from his pouch when they are ready, usually happens in the night. Seahorses do not care for their young once they are born, and the fry are vulnerable from the predators or strong ocean current. Survival rates are low and that the statistics are that less than five fry of every 1,000 borns manage to survive to adulthood in the wild. 

In captivity, seahorses should fare well if kept in a species aquarium to themselves, or with other compatible tank-mates. As seahorses are slow feeders, avoid putting them in an aquarium with fast and aggressive feeders.  The goby family of fish, shrimps and other bottom feeding creatures makes good tank-mates. In particular, avoid putting them together with eels, triggerfish, octopus, tangs, squid, and sea anemones.

Ideal water parameters would have a pH range between 8.0 to 8.3 and SG (specific gravity) between 1.021 to 1.024. Good water care with the aid of an efficient bio-filter is import to keep the ammonia and nitrite level nil.  Seahorses are not fussy about space and aquarium need not be too large.

A carefully setup seahorse aquarium with a stable and high quality environment will provide many hours of fascination.

All fish need to eat generally what Mother Nature intended, and there will always the case that an aquarium kept fish simply does not get enough of the variety of food they need.  There are different kind of fish food available, dry food such as flakes or pellets, live food as in any creatures that move to attract the fish to eat them, liquid food for the young fry, or frozen food of the dead living things. Some fish are. 

The most convenient method to feed your fish is flake, which is formulated by nutritionists to supply all the protein that a fish need. Feeding flake is not sufficient, a fish diet needs to be varied, just like us!  Live food such as tubifex worms, blood worms can be fed.  The disadvantage of feeding live food is the tedious manual process of getting them cleaned to reduce the risk of passing unwanted bacteria that will infect the fish. To be safe, one can hatch and rear brine shrimps to adult stage before feeding, which are generally clean.

Frozen food is an alternative to feeding live food and these food can be either bought from the stores or home made. All that is needed is to get these food stay frozen and kept fresh in the freezer. Getting frozen food ready for feeding is easy. Just get the food thawed properly without heating them to maintain as much nutrition value as possible. Good frozen food should contains good nutritional value for the fish.

Make your fish happy, by feeding them with a good rotation of variety of diet between dry, live and frozen. 

If you are lucky, your fish may let you fondle its head while it feeds off the food from your hand!  Do you know which fish does that?

All Symphysodon species have a laterally compressed round body shape, with patterns of shades in brown, blue, green, and red. The length and height of a typical grown adult ranges from about 20–25 cm (8–10 in).  There are many notable colour variations, brown, blue/green, royal blue, red spotted green, heckel, red turquoise, solid cobalt, blue diamond etc.

The shy and peaceful Discus which makes wonderful aquarium inhabitants, are sensitive to the environmental stress and disturbances. Hence the discus aquariums should be ideally located in a quiet area, preferably with little movements in the surrounding areas of a home or office. Plenty of hiding places should be provided to this fish for retreat.  Careful selection of cohabitants with the Discus should be made with care. Some fish may introduce parasites, diseases without exhibiting any noticeable signs. In a stressed environment, Discus stop producing their stress coat and their immune system also stops, leaving them vulnerable to parasites and diseases, and may die easily as a result.  The ideal water temperature to maintain Discus should be in the range of 26-31 C, where young Discus fry should be ideally kept at 31 C (88 F) degrees. Water parameters should be very soft and slightly acidic with a pH value range 5.5 – 6.5.  Discus should live well in a well lit planted tank with adequate biological filtration, and some shaded areas for them to hide in. 

A good water quality will allow Discus to have good appetites, and accept any food offered to them. As the Discus are shy in nature, they may be difficult in competing for food against the more aggressive fast swimmers.  Small characides such as tetras are excellent cohabitants for discus. Tetras usually thrive in similar water parameters as that of the Discus, and their schooling behavior greatly help in calming the discus. 

As in all other cichlids, brood care is highly developed where the pair of Discus will care for the young. Discus lay their eggs in angled surfaces, and hence vertical surface should be be provided for them to do so. Diet for the breeding pair of Discus should comprise frozen blood worms, beef heart, frozen or live brine shrimps and some dry food such as Tetra Color Bits. Avoid worms like tubifex which carry the risk of introducing parasites or diseases into the breeding tanks. A healthy pair of breeding discus should spawn frequently. The eggs usually takes about 48 hours to hatch and the fry becoming free swimming after 72 hours later.  As soon as the fry becomes free-swimming, they will move to the parent’s sides to feed off the mucous secretion. The fry will be ready to take on newly hatched brine shrimp after 5 days of free-swimming.  It is good to remove the parents from the fry after 2 to 3 weeks, where the parents may be able to breed again. Fry should be fed no less than 6 times a day with newly hatched brine shrimp and chopped blood worms.

This beautiful fish is not suitable for the beginner though.

Apistogramma are quite peaceful, popular aquarium residents, making them ideal for inclusion in any community or planted aquariums with plenty of cover such as plants and driftwood. Apistogramma thrives in soft acidic water in its original habitat and are very sensitive to changes in the water chemistry. Recommended values for the water are a pH value range between 5.5-6.8, a water hardness from 0-8 dH, and a temperature from 75-84°F (24-29°C).  Peat filtration will help in improving the water chemistry. Dim lighting or partial cover of floating plants should be considered as these species thrive in shaded areas. In the home aquarium, there should be little water movement created by filter.  The substrate bottom preferably should be a darker tone.

During breeding and brood care, the female Apistogramma will have a shade of yellow colour. As in most Cichlidae, brood care is highly developed where all Apistogramma species spawn under rocks, in caves, or in holes in branches or sunken logs. A number of breeding strategies exist. Some species breed in polygynous harems, while other species form monogamous pairs. In most instances, the female is usually more highly involved with brood care, while the male defends the surrounding territory against predators. Development of the sex of the fry is largely affected by the water conditions, with warmer and softer water favoring more males to females.  The eggs usually hatch in 2-5 days and the young will be free-swimming about 4-6 days later.  The delicate fry can be raised on small Daphnia , Artemia nauplii, and roftiers. 

Apistogramma, as in all other Dwarf Cichlids, are not recommended for beginners though.

Click to view full pic

The head is bony and its elongate body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and the anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small. The name “bonytongues” is derived from a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth, the “tongue”, equipped with teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth. The fish can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into the swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue. The arapaima is an “obligatory air breather”.

Arowanas grow very quickly, but the gender differences are indiscernible during their juvenile stage and become apparent only when the fish are more mature at around four years of age, measuring about 17 to 23 inches.  Males usually have a shallower body depth, bigger head and mouth, a longer anal fin,  more intensely coloured than the females, and exhibit more aggressions in competing for food.  The females tend to have slightly larger and broader body shape, and in particular during the mating season.

Several of this species of osteoglossid exhibit extensive parental care. Arowana builds nests and protect the young after they hatch. Some of them are mouthbrooders, where the parents hold hundreds of eggs in their mouths.  Arowana fry usually stay in the parent’s mouth for a period of one to two weeks, or until their yolk sacs disappear. The fry may then make several tentative trips outside the parent’s mouth to investigate the surroundings before leaving permanently.   The juvenile fry needs extra care as they are particulary fragile during this stage of their lives.

Osteoglossids are carnivorous, often being specialized surface feeders. It can glides through water with elegance and least effort, capable of moving with power and lightning speed. They are also excellent jumpers and has been reported that Osteoglossum species seen leaping more than 6 feet (approximately 2 metres) above the water surface to pick off insects and birds from overhanging branches in South America.  There are rumours that they can capture prey as large as low flying bats and small birds.  It is commonly known that the adult fish will eat practically anything that can fit into its mouth.  Young arowanas can be fed food like brine shrimp or bloodworms.  Arowana prefers live food, however it will also accept frozen or processed food with a balanced suitable diet consisting of crickets, centipedes, small frogs, freshwater prawns and the small fish such as guppies, supplements like vitamin—enriched krill, and pellet and flake food and so on.

Arowanas will merge in groups of five to eight and any fewer may exhibit signs of dominance and aggression. They are compatible with other semi-aggressive fish that cannot fit in the its mouth.

Culture wise, Arowanas are often used for feng shui to bring good luck in the eyes of the Chinese.  They have appearance and majesty of the Chinese Dragon, which a is a symbol of good luck and prosperity.

 

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have solved the half-century-old mystery of a fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head. Ever since the “barreleye” fish Macropinna microstoma was first described in 1939, marine biologists have known that its tubular eyes are very good at collecting light. However, the eyes were believed to be fixed in place and seemed to provide only a “tunnel-vision” view of whatever was directly above the fish’s head.

A new paper by Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler shows that these unusual eyes can rotate within a transparent shield that covers the fish’s head. This allows the barreleye to peer up at potential prey or focus forward to see what it is eating.

The barreleye fish, or Macropinna microstoma, has extremely light-sensitive eyes that can rotate within a transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head. The fish’s tubular eyes are capped by bright green lenses. The eyes point upward when the fish is looking for food overhead. They point forward when the fish is feeding. The two spots above the fish’s mouth are olfactory organs called nares, which are analogous to human nostrils.

Deep-sea fish have adapted to their pitch-black environment in a variety of amazing ways. Several species of deep-water fishes in the family Opisthoproctidae are called “barreleyes” because their eyes are tubular in shape. Barreleyes typically live near the depth where sunlight from the surface fades to complete blackness. They use their ultra-sensitive tubular eyes to search for the faint silhouettes of prey overhead.

Although such tubular eyes are very good at collecting light, they have a very narrow field of view. Furthermore, until now, most marine biologists believed that barreleye’s eyes were fixed in their heads, which would allow them to only look upward. This would make it impossible for the fishes to see what was directly in front of them, and very difficult for them to capture prey with their small, pointed mouths.
Robison and Reisenbichler used video from MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to study barreleyes in the deep waters just offshore of Central California.

At depths of 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2,600 feet) below the surface, the ROV cameras typically showed these fish hanging motionless in the water, their eyes glowing a vivid green in the ROV’s bright lights. The ROV video also revealed a previously undescribed feature of these fish–its eyes are surrounded by a transparent, fluid-filled shield that covers the top of the fish’s head.

Most existing descriptions and illustrations of this fish do not show its fluid-filled shield, probably because this fragile structure was destroyed when the fish were brought up from the deep in nets. However, Robison and Reisenbichler were extremely fortunate–they were able to bring a net-caught barreleye to the surface alive, where it survived for several hours in a ship-board aquarium. Within this controlled environment, the researchers were able to confirm what they had seen in the ROV video–the fish rotated its tubular eyes as it turned its body from a horizontal to a vertical position.

This face-on view of a barreleye shows its transparent shield lit up by the lights of MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Tiburon. As in the other photos, the two spots above the fish’s mouth are are olfactory organs called nares, which are analogous to human nostrils.

In addition to their amazing “headgear,” barreleyes have a variety of other interesting adaptations to deep-sea life. Their large, flat fins allow them to remain nearly motionless in the water, and to maneuver very precisely (much like MBARI’s ROVs). Their small mouths suggest that they can be very precise and selective in capturing small prey. On the other hand, their digestive systems are very large, which suggests that they can eat a variety of small drifting animals as well as jellies. In fact, the stomachs of the two net-caught fish contained fragments of jellies.

After documenting and studying the barreleye’s unique adaptations, Robison and Reisenbichler developed a working hypothesis about how this animal makes a living. Most of the time, the fish hangs motionless in the water, with its body in a horizontal position and its eyes looking upward. The green pigments in its eyes may filter out sunlight coming directly from the sea surface, helping the barreleye spot the bioluminescent glow of jellies or other animals directly overhead. When it spots prey (such as a drifting jelly), the fish rotates its eyes forward and swims upward, in feeding mode.

Barreleyes share their deep-sea environment with many different types of jellies. Some of the most common are siphonophores (colonial jellies) in the genus Apolemia. These siphonophores grow to over 10 meters (33 feet) long. Like living drift nets, they trail thousands of stinging tentacles, which capture copepods and other small animals. The researchers speculate that barreleyes may maneuver carefully among the siphonophore’s tentacles, picking off the captured organisms.

The barreleye fish’s eyes rotate to help the fish keep its “eyes on the prize,” while its transparent shield protects the fish’s eyes from the siphonophore’s stinging cells. MBARI researchers speculate that Macropinna microstoma may eat animals that have been captured in the tentacles of jellies, such as this siphonophore in the genus Apolemia. The “head” of the siphonophore (at right) pulls the animal through the water, its stinging tentacles streaming out like a living drift net.

Robison and Reisenbichler hope to do further research to find out if their discoveries about Macropinna microstoma also apply to other deep-sea fish with tubular eyes. The bizarre physiological adaptations of the barreleyes have puzzled oceanographers for generations. It is only with the advent of modern underwater robots that scientists have been able to observe such animals in their native environment, and thus to fully understand how these physical adaptations help them survive.

Source: John Chapin, The Cutting Edge News

My aquarium hobby started in 1977 with Betta (pronounced BET-TUH, not BAY-TUH) Splendens, also known as ‘Siamese Fighting Fish’, discovered originally in its natural habitat of shallow rice patties in Siam. If this fish never fails to amazed its beholders and thrill its audiences, I will seriously wonder why, as it is the truly a very popular freshwater fish.

Betta lives comfortably in enough water to cover it, most popular being housed in small little jars sold in aquarium shops even in today’s practice. They are hardy, comes in multi-colours, but as in all other species, they deserve vigilant care.  The wild Bettas look different from those bred in captivity. In the natural wild environment, speed and agility are crucial for survival, rather than exhibiting colour and beauty.  Wild Betta have short fins and dark, mottled colouring and are very interesting and beautiful in their own way.

betta splendens

Betta’s hardiness trait resulted primarily from inhabiting the shallow, muddy water of the rice patties, which is not an ideal habitat for any other fish.  They use a special organ called the “labyrinth” which enables them to breathe oxygen directly from the water surface.  Gifted with this organ, are able to survive in their natural habitat in very low oxygen levels. That explains why Bettas can survive in little cups with just enough water, longer than other gill-breathing fish. Although this get away with the need to change water frequently, care is appreciated for better environment of the fish, to avoid ammonia built up from the decomposition of its waste contents.  Beautiful fish like them does not deserve to be ill-treated.

Male Bettas are very aggressive and territorial fish in nature. When two male Bettas are placed together, they will start intimidating each other by displaying aggression with their fins and gills wide spread and opened.  A challenge fight will only end when the loser admits defeat and escape with suffered enough injury.  If the escape fails, as in an enclosed environment, the loser will likely ended in death.  That explains why male Bettas are kept solo. Several female Bettas can be housed together since they are not too aggressive.

Bettas are kept for fighting in Siam as entertainment. Today, they are bred to bring out their beauty to capture your heart.  Stay tuned for new posts of Bettas in our blog.