If you are looking for the perfect fish-cleaner for the aquarium, then you can not find a better candidate than Siamese algae. If you decide to purchase this fish, then, first of all, pay attention to its appearance. Sellers often try to sell a false seaweed (less effective aquarium medics) instead of a Siamese, and to distinguish the latter, pay attention to its coloring: the real seaweed has a long, black, serrated strip running along the entire body, from the head to the tip of the tail. When you are convinced that the individual you have chosen is a Siamese species, then it's time to understand the peculiarities of its content and breeding.
Siamese seaweed - content and breeding
First of all, for keeping algae, you will need to acquire a spacious aquarium with a volume of 100 liters, only in this case, male fish can coexist peacefully together, not arranging regular fights for territory and food sources. To the surrounding conditions, algae are unpretentious, ideal for their habitat is water with an average temperature (22-26 degrees), pH 7.0-8.0, and rigidity up to 18 dH. There must be a current, otherwise the fish will not be able to swim because its normal habitat is fast rivers. In addition, algaeids are very fond of clean and fresh water, and therefore replacing 25-30% of the liquid in the aquarium is needed daily.
Siamese are very moving fish. Despite their small size, they tirelessly eat up the walls, the bottom and the decor of the aquarium from algae, chase each other and play, however, their activity usually decreases with age. Because of their mobility, the threat of a fish's life increases - algaeids can easily jump out of the aquarium, and so try to close it carefully.
In nature, Siamese algae eaters should release hormones that give representatives of the opposite sex to understand that the fish is ready for spawning. The development of these hormones stimulates the temperature of the aquarium, water hardness and illumination, which changes during the annual migration, but in captivity the reproduction of Siamese algae is impossible, and therefore the only option for replenishing the colony of your pets can only be the purchase of new ones in the store.
Algae syamese - compatibility with other fish
Such aquarium fish, like the Siamese algae, are highly active, mobile and energetic, and therefore can irritate the brethren, a little calmer and slower. In the rest, the Siamese are wonderful neighbors of other inhabitants of the underwater world, the only kind with which they constantly conflict is the two - color Labeo , the clashes between these two fish can become very fierce and end tragically. The reason is that the males of these two species perceive each other as rivals,
Algae-eaters are schooling fish, and therefore it is desirable to keep them in quantities of about a dozen. However, even a couple of representatives will find a company in case other fish schools live in your aquarium, to which they can nail.
As for the compatibility of fish with vegetation, with proper nutrition, there should not be any problems - the higher aquatic plants of the Siamese are preferred by algae, but mosses often eat during the fasting. Adult fish should be fed with live food.