Fish are the oldest class of aquatic vertebrates, which over time became inhabitants not only of reservoirs and ponds, but also of home aquariums. Fish that live in an aquarium differ from their wild relatives in their bizarre shape, color, size and other individual characteristics of the body structure.
As a rule, bright aquarium fish are thermophilic, they feel comfortable at a water temperature of at least 17 ° C, but there are exceptions and some species can withstand low temperatures. The most popular families of aquarium fish:
- carp, - belontium, - loaches, - goby, - representatives of the catfish family.
It should be noted that the lifespan of any type of fish is always different and depends on many accompanying factors, such as water, food, cleanliness, temperature, the number of fish and their compatibility with each other.
Fish compatibility
Often, if the number of fish is too large, i.e. the aquarium is overcrowded, the life expectancy of the inhabitants is reduced significantly.
Only those fish that are compatible with each other and fit the class of the family can live long. Also, the size of the fish affects the lifespan of a fish: it is believed that small fish live from 1 to 5 years. For example, common swordtails and guppies age by 3 years, the black morulius also lives on average 3-4 years, the cardinal - 4-5, and the labeo up to 8 years.
It is believed that medium-sized fish live for 10 years, but the largest individuals can live for 15 years. For example, catfish have an average life expectancy of 5-15 years, carp 4-10 years, and everyone's favorite goldfish, astronotuses, cichlazomas and even large piranhas live from 10 to 30 years. There are cases when large carps have lived in an aquarium longer than their owner, who died at the age of 78, who received an aquarium for adulthood as a gift.
Males traditionally live a year and a half longer than females. There are some fish species whose females die during childbirth. This can happen with any fish, but guppies and swordtails are most susceptible.
Environment
An important factor affecting the life of the fish is the change of water in the aquarium and feeding. If you rarely change the water, substances will accumulate in the aquarium, which will negatively affect the respiratory organs of the fish and over time will begin to depress them. Fish transplanted from dirty water to clean water will no longer be able to recover and will most likely die.
In feeding fish, it is important to understand that it is better not to feed the fish than to overfeed, because if you constantly throw food into the aquarium, it will spoil, and the fish will constantly eat up leftovers, which will further affect its health, often manifesting itself in the form of diseases of the digestive system.
The high temperature of the water in the aquarium will also shorten the life of the fish, since metabolic processes in such water proceed quickly, and the fish's body is aging.
If you consider all the factors that have been listed above, the lifespan of the fish can really be increased by proper care. The main thing is to understand what conditions will be comfortable for a particular species of fish, to remember about cleanliness, temperature and discreet feeding.
