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Bad fish will not be called a cardinal, and indeed - this waterfowl has an amazing appearance. Cardinal (or in Latin - Tanichthys albonubes) is called a small aquarium fish. It would seem a miniature appearance - and such a loud nickname as "Cardinal"! In fact, this word was specially invented by traders to make this fish better sold in their stores.
And why exactly the Cardinal, and not the lion king? The fact is that the color of the individual is a lot of red, which in its image resembles the mantle of the Cardinal.
Fans of fish fishing really like the cardinal, they respect him not only for his appearance, but also for his amazing endurance, few of the fish can survive temperature extremes and other water disasters.
Pedigree
The homeland of the Cardinal is China and Vietnam, but today in the wild it has practically disappeared. Many even thought that the Cardinal was no longer on planet Earth. However, a small number of fish were found in China, and in particular in the province of Guangdong, on the island of Hanyang. Also, several specimens were found in Vietnam in the province of Quang Ning.
Previously, this fish lived in Asian mountain streams, but then they decided to bring it to Europe, this event happened in 1938. Many Europeans liked the fish, they decided to domesticate it and as a result, today these funny fish are sold all over the world.
At the moment, the Cardinals are trying to adapt again to the external, wild environment. The Chinese government is doing everything possible to populate this reservoir with its waters. Most fish today grow in captivity, they are raised by people for sale.
External characteristics, life span
The lips of the cardinal are directed upwards, which, as it were, means that the fish picks up insects from the surface of the water. No whiskers found, has a fin on the back, which is parallel to the fin on the underside of the body. Externally, the fish is bronze-brown in color, but there are horizontal iridescent lines on the backs that overshadow a significant part of the body.
On the tail in the center is a red, sprayed dot. The corners of the tail are transparent. Also, red spots are found on the dorsal and anal fins. In shops you can find different color variations of cardinals, for example, albino fish grown in an artificial environment.
How do cardinals relate to other inhabitants of the underwater kingdom?
Cardinals need a pack, they are nowhere without it: there must be at least 15 fish bodies in the pack. If there is no normal school, then the fish lose their color and begin to hide behind various aquarium decorations.
Too peaceful, do not even touch their small relatives and get along well with other non-aggressive fish. You can not keep large fish with them, since the groats can begin to attack the cardinals. Look great with other beautiful fish, for example, with zebrafish margaritatus.
Some people recommend hooking goldfish to the cardinals, as both breeds adore cold water. But the gold ones love to eat cardinals, they have too big a mouth. It is not necessary to start cardinals if you have lively or omnivorous individuals in your aquarium.
Aquarium and Cardinals
The fish has good endurance and is able to adapt to changing conditions, it is recommended to start it for beginners. However, one must remember that cardinals hate warm water, they prefer coolness - from 18 to 22 degrees.
Of course, they can be kept in 25 degree water and 30 degree, but they will not last long. It is also worth noting that the cardinal becomes much more colorful, if you keep it in cooler water, the best option would be a temperature with a mark of twenty degrees.
Preferences
Cardinals love an aquarium with black soil and a plentiful amount of all kinds of decorations, whether stones, driftwood or plants. The parameters of the water practically do not matter for them, but the volume of the aquarium should be as large as possible so that the fish can freely travel through the expanses of water.
Watch the copper content in the water, often copper is added to medications for fish. The cardinal does not tolerate copper, but loves light very much, he needs to allocate as much light as possible.
In Asian countries, the cardinal can be seen in the ponds, often they are kept there for beauty and for them to eat mosquitoes. However, one must know that they cannot be kept with large pond fish.
Food
Fish eats everything in a row, even frozen, at least live food. Previously, when they were not yet bred, they lived in the mountains and fed exclusively on insects, but now that they have been domesticated, they can afford raspberries and other thin, non-greasy animals.
It must be remembered that the cardinals have a very small mouth and is directed upwards - they will not eat large feed! It is best to feed them with the food that slowly reaches the bottom, for example, bloodworms.
Gender differences
There are no obvious differences among males and females. However, the sex of mature individuals is easy to identify - everything is simple, the males have a brighter color and they are smaller, and the females have a round and full belly.
By the age of one year, all individuals reach puberty. How to understand that they have grown? It's simple - the males show off their colors in front of each other, so they not only show their dominant, but also try to impress the females looking in their direction.
Breeding
It is easy to breed cardinals even to inexperienced people who are only practicing in aquariums. Fishes are able to spawn for a whole year, so at any time you can get an influx of new cardinals in your water kingdom. Moreover, you can even unconsciously breed a sea of cardinals, since the fish do not need to create any special conditions for spawning.
Is it possible to breed fish in your aquarium? Yes, you can, we suggest you familiarize yourself with two options:
- We remove all the fish from the aquarium, leave only the cardinals and enjoy the result! In a few months, your whole aquarium will be filled with this breed of fish.
- We find a volumetric vessel with a volume of up to 50 liters, place a couple of males (note: the brightest) and five females. Soil is not needed, only plants so that the females leave their eggs there.
Be sure to fatten the fish before fertilization, then the fry will be full, and they will be all strong and healthy. It is best to feed those fish that are going to spawn with live food. As soon as the spawning is over, you need to wait about 40 hours, after which the young cardinals will crawl out into the light of white. Females and males can be immediately removed after spawning, no one will get worse from this.
Young animals will not eat bloodworms, give him ciliates, egg yolks and rotifers. New residents are growing very fast, so that they will need individual feed only at the very early stage.
Video: Cardinal aquarium fish
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