Princess burundi - care and maintenance in the aquarium

Many aquarists, from beginners to the most experienced specialists in closed water systems, cannot remain indifferent to this white beauty. The Princess of Burundi is an elegant graceful fish that coexists wonderfully in any conditions, it is unpretentious in nutrition and gladly coexists with many representatives of the water world. In this article, we learn about the origin of the princess, get acquainted with the conditions of her detention, and also try to figure out how to breed this snow-white beauty.

Elegant Princess Aquarium

The princess of Burundi belongs to the family of the Cichlids of the Perciformes. Under natural conditions, fish began to be bred around the middle of the 20th century. This white beauty truly becomes a real decoration of any aquarium, it is always noticeable in the general pack and stands out in exquisite forms. The body length of the fish is 8-9 cm, in the aquarium, individuals grow up to 12 cm. The color of the fish can vary from a beige to a pinkish color with small yellow blotches. A black line passes from the fish’s eye to the gills. The gill covers are very patterned and bright; a rather large yellow spot is visible on the upper part. Above each eye there is a patch of scales with a green overflow. A feature of this cichlid is the elongated tips of the dorsal, caudal and anal fins, covered with orange strokes with blue bordering. The birthplace of this amazing fish is Lake Tanganyika, where flocks of white beauties live on the surface of water bodies. The princess prefers calm waters with a slow flow. The fish are exclusively schooling, pairs form only during the spawning period. The life expectancy of fish in the aquarium is quite long, reaches 10 years under good conditions.

White Princess Content

In order for the graceful fish to feel safe, multiply independently and increase the flock population, it should provide decent living conditions.

1. This representative of the underwater world prefers spacious aquariums, at least 70 liters for a couple and about 150-200 liters for a small school of fish.
2. When arranging the aquarium, do not forget about various grottoes, shelters, stone labyrinths. The fish is rather shy, it must have secret places in order to hide. But planting a lot of plants is not necessary at all, in the natural habitat of this fish there are not so many of them.
3. Burundi, like a real princess, is capricious enough for water quality. In the aquarium with this fish should be a powerful filter and a good compressor that saturates the water with oxygen.
4. It is very important to carefully consider the composition of the water, because if it contains chlorine, ammonia or other chemical impurities, the fish will not survive.
5. Every week, water should be replaced, about a third of the total. Along with a water change, do not forget to clean the soil from food debris, excrement, etc.
6. The temperature of the water in the aquarium should be approximately 22-26 degrees, the acidity is 8-9 pH, and the hardness is about 13 dGH. Particular attention should be paid to rigidity, because it is not typical for breeding other types of fish. If the water is not hard enough, you can add a little coral chips to it. Of course, if you keep a common aquarium, you can slightly reduce the acidity and water hardness so that other inhabitants of the underwater world are comfortable, the princess of Burundi will gradually get used to it. However, try to find a compromise and at least get a little closer in quality of water to its natural habitat.
7. In food, the white fish is unpretentious, it can be fed with both vegetable and protein feed. Fish perfectly eats plants and plankton, algae that grow on the rocks. The princess will enjoy live worms, artificial and frozen food with pleasure. On sale there are special compounds designed for African cichlids, they are completely balanced specifically for these organisms. However, it is worthwhile to refuse bloodworms when feeding, since this live food can cause disturbances in the digestive tract in the burundi princess.
8. Try not to keep the fish alone or as a couple, it is best that the fish live in small groups of 6-8 individuals in the aquarium. In such a flock, a hierarchy is gradually built up, the behavior of fish becomes interesting for observation.
9. The princess of Burundi is considered a rather non-aggressive species, the fish gets along well with other cichlids, except for the mbuna, which is very vicious - the male attacks anyone who falls into his territory. The princess of Burundi can attack neighbors only during the spawning period, when the fish zealously defends its offspring.

Summing up, we can say that the main conditions for the good life of the princess of Burundi are a spacious aquarium and good-natured, well-chosen neighbors.

How to breed princess burundi?

First of all, you need to learn to distinguish between male and female, which in this form is not easy to do. It is believed that the males of the princess of Burundi are larger, their fins are much longer. But only experienced aquarists can determine the sex of a fish with accuracy.

In the first clutch, the female usually lays no more than 100 eggs, in subsequent spawning this number increases to 200 small transparent balls. A few days after laying, fry appear, in a week they will be able to swim and explore the surrounding area on their own. Before the appearance of fry, the female carefully monitors the eggs, and the male, as the true head of the family, guards and feeds the mother. The princess of Burundi fry grow quite slowly, the female watches them for a very long time. Sometimes new offspring appear in the family before the older fry become completely independent. Because of this, several generations of fish can live in an aquarium at the same time.

Princess Burundi is an amazingly beautiful, graceful and elegant fish that will certainly decorate your aquarium. In addition, it is quite unpretentious in living conditions in the presence of a large volume of the aquarium. Raise the princess of Burundi - she fully justifies the beauty of her appearance.

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