Blue Dempsey - care and maintenance in the aquarium

In water sources near Honduras and Mexico, you can find a wonderful fish, which belongs to the cichlid family. The species is called Blue Dempsey, the color of the aquatic representatives is specific. Fish are similar to eighth-striped cichlases, but different in color. Temperament is also different, blue dempsey is not too aggressive.

Origin

Before the Blue Dempsey was discovered, ichthyologists conducted many studies and crosses. As a result, the fish was obtained artificially; G. Luzardo from Argentina is considered its founder. Aquarist, researcher and just endowed with a passion for fish man managed to bring out such beauty.

It all started with the fact that the man was presented with several fish from the cichlase family. He did a tremendous job, as a result of which he received an individual with a blue glow and pearl ebb. Since the diamond cichlazoma participated in the crossing, the signs of radiance came to the blue dempsey precisely from its predecessor.

After his observations, the researcher concluded that it is necessary to attribute this species of fish to a separate subgroup. And so the neon beauty appeared, which today is admired by millions of people.

Description

The male gender is brighter and more memorable than the female. In males, you can notice a black spot on the tail and body. As befits a similar family of fish, males have long and pointed fins (dorsal and posterior).

If you observe these representatives of the aquatic environment, we can note several important characteristics. The behavior of males and females is different, individuals can reach a length of 20 cm. And even more. According to their characteristics, fish do not require scrupulous care and special conditions for keeping.

The fish have expressive eyes, a large head. The oral cavity is wide, edged with dark. Females seem to be painful, in fact, they are doing well with their health when appropriate conditions are provided. Males are more joyful, so to speak.

Fish have the main feature: they find a mate from an early age, then hold on to their mate and are always together. Even if the male or female dies, the second individual will not find a replacement, being alone the rest of his life.

Content

1. In order for all the inhabitants of the aquatic environment to be in their home with comfort, it is necessary to select the conditions that are as close as possible to the natural habitat. The temperature regime should not go beyond what is supposed to be, that is, vary within 25-29 degrees.
2. As for stiffness, its optimal indices are 8-12 units with an acid balance of 6.5-7 units. Fishes should not be kept at temperatures below 23 degrees, otherwise they may become sick.
3. Blue Dempsey love to fight for their territory, so it is important that all the inhabitants of the aquarium have enough space. 150 l relies on an adult. water. Sometimes the volume increases to 200 liters, if you plan to grow a larger inhabitant.
4. Fish by their nature are angry for no reason, when signs of aggression appear, it is necessary to set the water temperature at 26 degrees and wait. If the indicators fall to 8 degrees, for the inhabitants of the aquarium it will become fatal.

Feeding

1. Those considered cichlases have a very good appetite. Such fish are practically not picky in the diet, so they eat almost everything. Their diet includes both live food and various plants.Adult fish can eat everything indiscriminately. Therefore, you can feed them both live and dry or frozen substrate.
2. The basis of the diet with cichlases includes a variety of larvae and large bloodworms. They also eat well all kinds of insects, worms, brine shrimp, small tubers, small crustaceans, shrimps, small fish, and fry. Blue cichlomas are voracious. Therefore, it is recommended to feed them about 4 times a day.
3. Such individuals give particular preference to mixtures of shrimp, trout fillet, bloodworms and mussels. Use extreme caution with mammalian and meat offal. This food is high in calories. Because of this, it is poorly absorbed. In fish, it is often due to this composition that obesity develops, accompanied by pathological abnormalities.
4. If you do not want your cichlazomas to be ill or feel excellent, they are recommended to give them feed mixtures of well-known manufacturers. Among these, it is worth highlighting NEO CICHLIDE MIX and NEO TROPIC DIET. Such compositions have excellent balance. The feed contains all the necessary vitamins for fish. The product also contains herbal supplements.

Breeding

1. If you are not going to receive exclusively the popularity of the presented species from a pair of cichlases, then you will not have any special problems. You can easily understand when individuals are ready to mate. This can be determined by the state of the copulative organ in the male. Milk will be released from the body.
2. Also, the female will begin to spawn cone-shaped eggs. During the mating season, you can see all this without any problems. At this time, you will be required to conduct some activities. The pair must be transplanted into a separate aquarium. The temperature of the medium should be increased to 30 degrees. At the same time, water needs to be changed once every 3-4 days.
3. If everything is done correctly, then spawning will begin in about 6-8 days. In total, from all clutches, the female spawns about 2000 eggs. Sometimes masonry can be in unexpected places. Therefore, it is worth checking plants, stones and all decorative elements. The presented cichlazomas prefer to lay eggs in cozy shelters. Also, the fish independently dig holes in the ground.
4. As soon as the male fertilizes the eggs, the parents begin to follow the babies very closely and jealously. Therefore, cichlomas can attack anyone who comes close. They bite cichlomas quite noticeably. In such a period, individuals do not control all aggression and may even attack their own brood. As soon as the offspring appears after 3 weeks, it is better to transfer the parents to a common aquarium.
5. In the first days of birth, the fry will have a fairly light color. Small fish up to 1 month old will be susceptible to various diseases. To significantly reduce the risk of an epidemic, it is recommended that the temperature of the environment be raised to 32 degrees. In the first few days, young animals will be able to gain strength. After just one month, they will no longer be susceptible to disease.

Blue cichlazomas are quite interesting fish. They have a beautiful color. Do not forget that individuals love to eat. Provide fish with the right diet and good conditions. Be attentive to young growth. Do not forget that parents can be aggressive even to their offspring.

Video: Cichlasoma blue Dempsey