Glass perch - care and maintenance in the aquarium

Perch is called glass, because its skin is so transparent that the most important organs and bone structure are visible through them. This type of fish in common people is called a toy for humans, explain why. People artificially color fish with fluorescent dyes, driving the pigment under their skin. On sale you can find perches with bright pink, yellow, blue, green stripes. It looks impressive, especially when the fish are kept in schools.

Description

As the name implies, this species of aquatic inhabitants belongs to the family of perches. The body is transparent with a slight grayish sheen. The lateral parts are flattened, the fish look almost colorless. Against the background of thickets and snags, they can easily be overlooked. They grow up to 8 cm in size.

The abdominal region and head are gray with a silver tint. The rest of the body is transparent, with visible bones and spine. On the back there is a double fin, the same can be said about the forked tail. The anal fin is located around the perimeter of the body. As for the duration of existence, fish live from two years.

Content Features

1. For a long time, fish are kept in aquarium conditions. Perch got a “difficult to care” subscription, since many believed that members of this family could be kept exclusively in salt water.
2. If we consider life in a natural environment, fish live in schools. Accordingly, in the aquarium they must be kept in a similar way (from 8 individuals and more). It is necessary to exclude aggressive neighborhood, fish are very sneaky.
3. In cases where only a couple of these lovely inhabitants are kept, they constantly hide. Fish are deprived of a sense of security when there are few relatives of the same group next to them.
4. Before buying new pets, you need to make sure of their absolute health. Fins should be wide and not compressed. Before purchasing, specify the details of feeding, this is important.
5. Before bringing fish to their new home, prepare and equip the aquarium. Water plays a large role, it can be fresh or salty. Fish love standing water, not just fresh water.

Fresh water content

1. If the fish were kept in salt water prior to purchase, then acclimatization must be achieved before launching the fish in fresh water. Within 10 days, replace 15% of fresh water with salt, gradually transferring the fish to new conditions.
2. One liter relies on 10 liters. water. Stick to the following indicators: hardness - 5 units, acidity - 7 units, temperature - 26 degrees. Use system external filters to purify water from nitrites and ammonia.
3. Use filters to clean, they will take on most of the dirt. But weekly as a supplement, drain a third of the water, pour a new one.
4. It is necessary to provide fish with vegetation. Long plants are planted on the side parts of the dwelling, short ones in the center. This way you let the fish feel safe and provide plenty of space for swimming.
5. As a bedding choose small-caliber soil. You also need to take care of the presence of shelters in the form of grottoes, clay pots, snags. For lighting, choose a lamp with a diffusing light.

Salt water content

1. If at the time of purchase you were told that perches live in salted water, then it is necessary to settle the fish in the same liquid upon arrival home. Water should not be freshly prepared, let it stand for a while.
2. When perches live in fresh water in a store, they need acclimatization. You need to achieve the desired concentration within 3 weeks. 10 liters have to add a teaspoon of sea salt.
3. Salt is not immediately poured into the aquarium, but pre-combined with water. The finished solution is poured into the fish. After 3 weeks, they will get used to it.
4. To accurately measure the specific gravity, it is recommended that you use a hydrometer. As soon as salt water evaporates in the aquarium, it is necessary to add fresh water. There is no need to add salt. At the same time, the capacity of about 110 liters is considered the best volume of the aquarium.
5. Consider, if you are going to grow algae in an aquarium, only the most hardy can survive in salt water. The most popular and common are Thai ferns. They can be attached to stones and all kinds of snags without any problems.
6. In addition, you can grow Javanese moss. Consider, if you are going to keep fish in salt water, the temperature in the environment should be about 25 degrees. Try to maintain such indicators. Carefully monitor the condition of the fish.

Compatibility

1. Glass perches are considered quite harmless and peaceful inhabitants. Therefore, they can become easy prey for aggressive predators. Perch used to stay close to shelters, such fish are very shy.
2. It is recommended that individuals under consideration be kept in packs in an amount of at least 6-7 pieces. Thus, perches will feel safe. If you decide to get one fish or a couple, for them it will be a tremendous stress.
3. Do not forget that before buying you must necessarily ask what kind of water individuals lived in. It will also not be superfluous to observe how individuals feed. If the fish ate before your eyes with pleasure, then you can safely buy them.
4. Do not forget that the perch is strongly recommended to run in a previously settled aquarium. The problem is that such individuals are very moody to the new habitat. It is recommended to keep perch with small barbs, wedge-shaped parsing, iris and danios rerio.
5. When selecting neighbors in the aquarium, one should not forget about the degree of salinity of the environment. In brackish water, bull-bees and mollies will take root without problems. However, it is strictly forbidden to start tetradons in such an environment. Also, peaceful catfish from the corridor family will be excellent neighbors. You can get shrimp.

Feeding

1. In the wild, perches are accustomed to eating small crustaceans, invertebrates and annelids. All the inhabitants that were previously listed will be happy to enjoy dry food. Keep in mind that perch can refuse such food.
2. It is recommended to feed the fish in question with live food or fresh-frozen. Perches eat excellent coronet, bloodworms, artemia and daphnia. Perhaps, after some time, the individuals in question will begin to try flakes of dry food. It is worthwhile to ask the seller a similar question in advance.

Glass perches are considered a kind of toy for humans. Pay attention to the individuals when buying. Ensure the correct conditions. Ask in advance in what water individuals lived and what they ate. These fish are real cowards, so be careful about the selection of neighbors. Keep perches exclusively in flocks. There should be shelters in the aquarium.

Video: aquarium fish glass perch