Macropod is a beautiful, bright and at the same time very interesting fish. It is bred by many amateur aquarists. One of the features of this underwater inhabitant is its simplicity in terms of water parameters and the size of the aquarium. In the wild, macropods live mainly in the low-flowing rivers of Southeast Asia.
These ornamental fish have been bred at home for a very long time. The history of macropods dates back to 1869. It was then that they were first brought to Paris. The appearance of these unusual beautiful tropical fish in Europe, in fact, gave impetus to the development of aquaristics. In the past, aquarium hobbyists started to breed only goldfish.
Macropod: the home of the fish and habitats in the wild
These spectacular underwater inhabitants were brought to Europe from China. It is this country that is considered their homeland. In the Celestial Empire, this fish can be found mainly in low-flow rivers and in the canals of rice fields, densely overgrown with water hyacinths.
Thus, we found out where the macropod lives in the wild and which country is its homeland. In addition to China, macropods are also found in southern countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and the island of Taiwan. These states, of course, can also be considered the birthplace of this interesting fish.
In addition to the countries of Southeast Asia, macropods are also found in the United States and on the island of Madagascar. But the reservoirs of these countries are not at all the birthplace of macropod fish. These underwater inhabitants were once brought to America and Africa on purpose. The conditions of local reservoirs suited them and the fish very quickly took root here.
Why Macropod Is So Popular With Aquarists
What is so attracted to the aquarists of macropods? The homeland of the fish is Southeast Asia and it looks really unusual. Initially, breeding with these original fish was very active. Many varieties of macropods of various colors have been bred by aquarists. However, later they began to gradually forget about this fish. Unfortunately, today's macropods do not look as impressive as in the past and the century before last. This fish is popular among aquarists not so much for its attractive appearance as for its unpretentiousness.
Of course, today there are quite beautiful varieties of this fish. However, such macropods are mainly kept by professional experienced aquarists. Amateurs, on the other hand, are usually content with only what can be purchased at the pet store. Most often it is a red-blue, slightly iridescent, not too large macropod. A photo of such a standard inhabitant of aquariums is presented below.
Many people like to keep macropods, not only because they are very easy to care for. Aquarists love these fish for their unusual habits. Macropod fish are very intelligent. It is believed that they can even be trained. The body of these underwater inhabitants is unusually flexible. And it is actually very interesting to watch how they, bending, easily squeeze between the stems of aquatic plants, even in the densest thickets.
Macropod care
These fish belong to the labyrinth class. A distinctive feature of the representatives of this group is, first of all, that they can breathe atmospheric air. This is why macropods can be kept even in the smallest aquariums. In a 10-liter container, for example, you can put a couple of these fish. And in the event that there are floating plants in the aquarium, macropods will even multiply.
These fish eat both plant and animal food. The second type of feed is more preferable for them. Neighbors for macropods should be chosen carefully. Fish are quite aggressive and pugnacious. It is best to settle either large fish, or a small thing, but very nimble, together with macropods.
Required water parameters
Unpretentiousness is what makes macropod fish different. The homeland of the fish is China. Or rather, its low-flowing warm rivers and canals. The water in such southern reservoirs is usually too clean, of course, does not happen. Therefore, in an aquarium, macropods are absolutely undemanding to its composition. Heating an aquarium with such fish, for example, is completely unnecessary. Actually, the water parameters themselves should be as follows:
- pH - 7;
- hardness - 10-20.
These are the conditions for macropods that would be ideal. However, water with slightly different parameters may be quite suitable for these fish. For example, macropods feel very good even in old large aquariums without changing the water with its slightly acidic reaction and very low hardness. The only thing these fish necessarily require is, of course, filtration and good aeration.
