A beautifully designed aquarium and interestingly selected fish speak of the good artistic taste of their owner. Black aquarium fish- an unusual and stylish solution. What species are available in black?

Black aquarium fish instantly attract attention. And if you decide to design an aquarium in a minimalist style and choose white or colored artificial soil for an aquarium, you can’t think of a more spectacular option. Fortunately, on this moment breeders have bred dozens of species of black aquarium fish.

Goldfish

For more than a thousand years of history of breeding goldfish, several dozen breeds and many colors from pearl white to velvet black have appeared. black goldfish in popularity they are not inferior to their golden counterparts.

goldfish black telescope

Goldfish Black Veiltail Telescope

Since the plants still cannot be kept together with goldfish, because goldfish eat them clean, you will get a very futuristic composition. A pair of black telescopes or veil tails will look amazing on white ground aquarium.

But it is impossible to combine goldfish with tropical black aquarium fish, as they have different temperature conditions.

small black fish

If your idea involves a nimble flock of small black fish frolicking merrily in a small aquarium, then you should pay attention to fish from the family pecilian. Mollies, swordtails, platies and guppies are bred in black. At the same time, black Molly have a uniform velvety color, and platies and guppies- brilliant blue-green tint.

Black mollies

black guppy

All black aquarium fish from the Pecilia family get along well with each other. Black can keep them in good company phantom.

Ornatus phantom

Black scalars

In a tall aquarium from 100 liters, you can successfully keep several black angelfish. These fish have the original shape of the fins in the form of a crescent. They prefer to live among dense vegetation, but the black color will not let them get completely lost.

With other peaceful black aquarium fish, such as pecilia.

black scalar

black knife

Apteronot received its second name - "Black Knife" - for the elegant shape of the body. These fish are completely black with two white rings on the tail. The black knife is an amazing fish, a developed fin on the abdomen allows it to swim in any direction.

Since Apteronots are quite aggressive towards their own kind, they are recommended to be kept one by one, besides, they grow to a decent size of 10-20 cm. Very small guppies can be mistaken for food by an adult Apteronot.

Apteronotus black (knifefish, firebrand)

black cichlids

Experienced aquarists can afford to keep a couple of large cichlids black, such as "Black Star" or pseudotropheus chameleon. These fish are very interesting both for their coloring and amazing behavior: they can be tamed and even stroked. It is better to keep them in a species aquarium, but even a pair of these fish will look very impressive.

Ocellated astronotus (Oscar, Peacock eye, Water buffalo)

Pseudotropheus chameleon

Black Shark

Black labeo often referred to as a shark for its triangular dorsal fin. This tropical fish is very large and can grow up to 30 cm in length if given large aquarium. Due to the aggressive nature of the Black Labeo, it is best kept alone or with other large fish.

Labeo black (Black shark)

The little brother of the black shark labeo bicolor- a black aquarium fish with a bright red tail. These labeos are somewhat smaller - 10-20 cm, so they can be successfully kept together with angelfish and various pecilia.

labeo bicolor

Black aquarium fish look aesthetically pleasing, and, without a doubt, will decorate your home pond. If you like aquariums in a minimalist style - without an abundance of decorations, without soil, then fish of this color will definitely fit. Nowadays, there are dozens of species and breeds of fish with a dark body color, which are distinguished by their unpretentiousness and interesting behavior.

Small black fish

The black telescope fish is an aquarium pet with an original appearance. These are the descendants of Carassius auratus - the well-known. Telescopes have a velvety-coal body, a veiled tail fin, and large eyeballs. Telescopes can be kept in an aquarium where there is no scenery due to the possibility of eye injury. The minimum number of plants and decor actually keeps him alive. Black telescopes prefer warm water, so they are best kept in a tropical aquarium. They look great in an aquarium with white soil.

Black mollies - belongs to the Pecilia family. Beautiful fish with a brilliant blue tint of the body. The body length reaches 10-12 cm. The behavior is peaceful, mollies prefer to live in a small flock. Some representatives of the breed may be colored heterogeneously. These mollies sometimes give birth to albino fry, or with a lighter body color. Mollies are able to interbreed with platies, guppies and swordtails, bring hybrid offspring. These aquarium fish look very beautiful among green plants, against a background of white soil.

Labeo bicolor - a fish with a dark body and a bright red tail. Body size - from 10 to 12 cm. The body is elongated, slender, flattened on the sides. Above the upper jaw there is a pair of antennae. An algae-eating fish that uses its suction cup to scrape algae from plants and other surfaces. The fins are large - the dorsal fin is sharp and high, the ventral and anal fins are painted in coal color. The tail fin is red. The character is active, territorial. Labeo look good against the background of light stones and wooden snags, which they love very much.

Look at the labeo bicolor in the community aquarium.

Ornatus black phantom is an unpretentious aquarium fish. The body is small (4-5 cm), oval and flattened on the sides. The dorsal fin is high, sail-like. The color of the scales is silvery-coal, the tail is dark, the ventral and anal fins have a coal “bloom”. This is a flocking ornatus, which can be kept in the company of several relatives. The character is mobile, peaceful. To keep a small flock requires an aquarium of 50-80 liters.

The black velvet scalar is a breeding form of the common scalar. The body color is intensely charcoal, the eyes and fins are also black. Good specimens should not have shiny scales. In the process of constant selection, the breed loses its original qualities. Angelfish are peaceful fish that, from the age of the young, can be kept with other fish. But the older they get, the more aggressive they show their character. It is recommended to keep in pairs, and in the species aquarium. The veiled forms of these angelfish have longer fins.

Large black fish

Apteronotus, or knifefish, is an elegant aquarium fish with a body length of 12-20 cm. The body is elongated, the ventral fin is long and well developed, for which the fish got its name. The color of the body is black, at the base of the tail there are several white stripes. Apteronotuses are characterized by a peaceful nature, however, it is better to keep them alone. The fish are nocturnal, smaller neighbors are perceived as food. It is also not recommended to keep them in pairs (especially in a cramped aquarium), they show aggression towards relatives.

See what a knife fish looks like.

Astronotus "Black Star" - has a pronounced intelligence and interesting behavior. Astronotus aquarium fish are favorites of many aquarists. Over time, they recognize their owner, playful, can take food from their hands. The color of the body is dark, stains of orange or red are visible on the scales. As representatives of the Cichlid family, they prefer to live in pairs, in a spacious tank among rocky scenery. Offspring may produce green, white, or red pigments. It is recommended to keep in a species aquarium, since small fish are perceived as food.

Labeo black, or black shark - quite large aquarium fish body length up to 60 cm. The dorsal fin is high, triangular in shape, the color of the scales is velvety black. The color of young individuals is silver-black. Aquarium fish of this species grow quickly, so with age they require spacious conditions. The black labeo is territorial and cannot be kept with members of its own species. The best neighbors are cichlids, plecostomuses, gourami, ball sharks. Labeo are active in the daytime, swim in the middle layers of the water.

Labeo bicolor or bicolor (lat. Epalzeorhynchos bicolor) is a popular fish of the carp family. Unusual coloration, body shape resembling a shark, interesting behavior, all this made the bicolor labeo a very common fish. However, each barrel of honey has its own fly in the ointment. The two-color one also has it ... Which one? Let's talk about it further.

The labeo bicolor fish lives in the Chao Phraya River basin in Thailand, where it was discovered in 1936. However, after rapid fishing and industrial pollution of the area, it was classified as extinct in 1966. However, recently a small natural population has been discovered and the species is classified as endangered.

According to unconfirmed reports, lives in rivers and streams, and during the rainy season migrates to flooded fields and forests. It is believed that precisely because of the violation of the possibility of migration, the labeo was on the verge of extinction.

But, despite this, the bicolor is common in captivity, and massively bred around the world.

Description

For anyone who has once kept a labeo, it is clear why it is so popular.

It has a velvety black body, with a bright red tail. Body shaped like a shark English language his name is even that - red tail shark (red-tailed shark). This combination, plus the high activity of the fish, makes it very noticeable even in large aquariums. There is an albino labeo, a fish that lacks pigment and has a white body, but red fins and eyes. It differs from its colored counterpart only in color, behavior and content are identical.

At the same time, this is a rather large fish, reaching a size of 15 cm in length on average, but it can also be 18-20 cm. years.

Feeding

In nature, it mainly feeds on plant foods, but also eats worms, larvae and other insects. Aquarium labeos eat food with content vegetable fiber- flakes, granules, tablets. Fortunately, now this is not a problem, you can give widespread tablets for ancistrus or feed with a high fiber content.

Additionally, you can give pieces of zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce and other vegetables. As for animal feed, the bicolor labeo eats them with pleasure, and any. But still, the basis of his diet should be plant foods. But he eats algae reluctantly, especially when an adult and certainly does not eat a black beard.

Compatible with other fish

This is where the problems that we talked about at the beginning of the article begin. Despite the fact that the two-colored labeo is widespread and often sold as a fish suitable for a common aquarium, this is not so ... This does not mean that it needs to be kept alone, but the fact that neighbors need to be selected with care is for sure. While he is small, he will avoid conflicts, but when sexually mature, he becomes aggressive and territorial, especially towards similar-colored fish. Labeo chases other fish and many get it very hard.

It is worth noting that in many respects it still depends on the nature of a particular individual and the volume of the aquarium, some live quite peacefully in community aquariums while others terrorize them.

What kind of fish should be avoided? First of all, you can’t keep a pair of labeos, even if there is a lot of space, they will fight when they meet. You can’t keep bodies similar in color or shape, in my case they even attacked the swordsmen. Fish that live on the bottom will also suffer, since the labeo feeds mainly in the bottom layers. even more or less live because of their hard armor, and the small and defenseless will have a hard time.

And who will get along with the labeo? Haracin and carp, fast and small fish. For example: and , and . All these fish have too much speed for the labeo to catch up with them, and they live in the upper and middle layers.

Apparently in nature, the labeo lives alone, meeting with relatives only during spawning. Its character only deteriorates with time, and it is highly discouraged to keep even a couple of fish in the same aquarium. Most of the time it's best to keep him alone.

Black Knife Fight:

Since bicolor is a rather large fish, and even territorial, for its maintenance you need a spacious and voluminous aquarium, with a volume of 200 liters or more. The smaller the space and the more neighbors, the more aggressive it will be.

The aquarium needs to be covered, as the labeo aquarium fish jumps perfectly and may die. The content of the two-color is simple, space is important for it and a large number of the plants on which it feeds. It does not damage plants with a full diet, except perhaps from hunger.

Like all the inhabitants of the rivers, he loves fresh and clean water, so filtering and substitutions are required. As parameters, it adapts well, but the optimal ones will be: temperature 22-26C, PH 6.8-7.5, average water hardness.

Sex differences

Virtually indeterminate. Sexually mature females have a fuller and rounder abdomen, but this is where the differences end. And it is impossible to distinguish a female from a male in young individuals.

reproduction

It is extremely difficult to breed a labeo in an amateur aquarium. As a rule, it is bred either on farms in Southeast Asia or local professionals. The fact is that when breeding, gonadotropic hormones are used to stimulate spawning, and the slightest mistake in the dosage leads to the death of the fish.

Jun 18, 2014 admin

Labeo is an aquarium fish that is very popular among lovers of observing the underwater world. It belongs to the carp family. This medium-sized one comes from Thailand. Its beautiful coloring will decorate any aquarium. The content of these fish has some features that beginner aquarists should be aware of.

Habitat

Type characteristic

Labeo is a fish with a slender, elongated and slightly flattened body from the sides. The profile of the back is much more convex than the abdomen. One of the features of this species are large fins, which in their shape resemble sharks.

Horny villi and a pair of antennae are clearly visible near the mouth. Labeo has lips resembling a sucker-scraper, which help to collect plant and animal fouling from the bottom, from stones, snags, algae.

An active and mobile creature is a labeo. The fish, as a rule, occupies a certain territory, which it bravely defends. At the same time, it should be noted that the labeo is not aggressive to everyone, but only to fish with a bright color and its relatives. It is for this reason that it is important to choose the right aquarium of the required size, equip it, and zone it in order to prevent clashes between aggressive relatives.

Types of Labeo

To date, twenty species of these cute fish have been studied quite well. Only a few of them can be kept in an aquarium:

• two-color labeo - a fish with a magnificent color: a velvety completely black body and a luxurious red tail;
• green (Labeo Thai) - this fish has a dark brown body, shimmering with greenery, and red fins;
• albino - against the background of a white body, reddish-brown fins stand out sharply;
• Congolese - leopard, spotted color;
• silvery - the whole body of the fish is as if painted with silver;
• harlequin (multi-colored) - in young age the body of this variety of labeo is painted beige-brown with spots and orange-red patches on the fins, with time the color changes to gray.

Aquarium fish labeo two-color: description

Sometimes they are called These are the inhabitants of small rivers, streams and lakes in Thailand. In Europe, this species appeared in 1952, and was brought to Russia in 1959. has a slender slightly elongated body with a curved back and flattened sides. Her head is small, and her eyes are red and disproportionately large.

The mouth is surrounded by two pairs of whiskers and horny villi. It is located below and looks like a scraper-suction cup. The fish is famous for its spectacular coloration - it seems that its body is covered with black velvet. The dorsal fin is black, high and sharp. The pectoral fins, as well as the anal and ventral fins are well developed, but not colored - they are transparent.

The main decoration of these fish are red tails. These fins are quite long, forked at the end, fiery red. The females of the two-colored labeos are much larger than the males, but slightly paler in color. Under natural conditions, they grow up to thirty centimeters in length, and aquarium labeos rarely exceed fifteen.

Green labeo

In terms of the shape of the body, this fish is practically no different from its two-color relative. Despite the name, the color of these fish is dark olive, with a bronze tint, and the belly is silver-bronze. Along the stigma, through the eye, a dark stripe extends to the posterior extremity of the gill cover. Almost at the very base of the tail is a black spot. These fish also have red tails, and all their fins are painted scarlet.

Green labeo is a fish in which sexual differences are clearly visible. The body of the female has the shape of a torpedo, she is well-fed, and the male is more slender. His dorsal fin is noticeably higher and sharper than that of the female, and during spawning, the anal fin acquires a black border. Under natural conditions, these fish grow up to 18 cm in length, and in captivity - no more than 8 cm.

Labeo fish: maintenance and care

We have already said that these inhabitants of the aquarium need their own territory, which no one will claim. Based on this, it is necessary to choose a container with a volume of at least 100 liters per one "tenant". A small volume can only fit one pet, for example, labeo bicolor.

Aquarium owners should definitely consider the decor of their home. Labeo needs hiding places. For this, stones, caves, grottoes, snags, pots or their fragments, and other decorative elements can be used. You should be aware that labeos can jump out of the aquarium, so it must be covered.

Another important point- Labeo are very fond of lush vegetation. It must be with powerful roots. Algae are necessary for these fish not only as additional food, but also as excellent natural shelters. They will also help the owner to divide the reservoir into separate zones, where single fish will feel quite comfortable.

Water Requirements

Labeo make quite high demands on water. It must be clean, so an aeration and filtration system is indispensable. The ideal variant of water should have the following characteristics:

• acidity - pH 6.5-7.5;
• hardness - 4-20;
• temperature - 23-27 ° C.

At least once a week, the water must be partially renewed by 20% water. The container can also be filled with tap water. But for this it should settle for 3-4 days. Sand and fine pebbles are suitable for the substrate.

Feeding

Labeo are not very demanding on food. They are happy to consume live food. This bloodworm, daphnia, tubifex. Do not refuse plant foods and special dry food. If you want to diversify the diet of your pets, scald lettuce leaves and give them small pieces, use frozen spinach, zucchini and cucumber pieces, oatmeal.

These fish, according to the owners, are very pleased when a sheet of glass overgrown with algae appears in their house. They enjoy eating them. It is recommended to feed the labeo twice a day. With good care, proper feeding, this type of fish lives up to 12 years.

reproduction

These beautiful fish Sexual maturity occurs at the age of about one and a half years. Breeding Labeo is, frankly, a difficult process. First you need to get a large aquarium, with a volume of at least 500 liters. It should have dim lighting and various shelters made of stones and plants.

Particular attention should be paid to water parameters:

• acidity - pH 6.0-7.0;
• temperature - 24-27 ° C;
• hardness - up to 4.

To this should be added good aeration and provision of flow. For spawning, you need to take two males and one female. For about two weeks they should be kept apart and fed with daphnia, scalded lettuce, tubifex, frozen spinach.

Before spawning, the fish are given hormonal injections into the muscles of the back. Six hours after this procedure, spawning begins. During this period, the flow of water should be significantly weakened. Caviar that is at the bottom, producers eat, without touching the one that floats in the water. After completion of spawning, producers are transplanted.

Next, the caviar is sorted. Dead white eggs, which become noticeable after two hours, must be removed, and the remaining eggs should be transferred to a twenty-liter incubator with water having the same indicators and light aeration.

Caviar matures within 14 hours. After two days, the eggs turn into fry and begin an independent life. They swim and feed freely. During this period, they need living dust, rotifers, ciliates. As a rule, during the first fifteen days, up to half of the fry die. The rest develop well and grow quite quickly.

labeo compatibility

In adults, a dominant and warlike character is manifested. This is especially true for males. These aquarium fish are distinguished by a strict hierarchy - the strongest male allows himself to swim into other people's territories, while not allowing anyone into his own.

Labeo is a fish whose compatibility with other inhabitants of the aquarium must be taken into account in order to avoid conflicts. They are not recommended to settle with fish that have a similar color, and with large cichlids. They prefer to meet with their relatives exclusively during spawning, and they cannot constantly get along in the same territory.

However, if your aquarium is spacious enough, non-predatory and non-aggressive fish can become ideal neighbors for the labeo - bats, squirrels, tetras, barbs, zebrafish, gourami. Unlike labeo, they prefer the upper and middle layers of water, so they rarely intersect with their neighbors. In addition, these fish are fast and small, Labeo often simply cannot catch up with them.

Labeo is a wonderful fish that is suitable for both an experienced aquarist and a novice lover of the underwater kingdom. It is interesting to watch her, she does not require very complex care and, under proper conditions of detention, will delight her beautiful for a long time. appearance and interesting behaviour.