Water, like fire, soothes and relaxes, and perhaps that is why the beautiful and soothing hobby - aquarium keeping - has millions of followers around the world. Here everyone has the right to choose their favorite displacement of an impromptu reservoir, residents, plants and much more.
Great attention of the novice or experienced aquarium lover is attracted by fish that are interesting not only in terms of appearance, but also in terms of behavior. A striking example of the harmonious combination of both together is the loach fish, to which we will devote today's review. The fish is very difficult, has its own characteristics and advantages over other species. She is highly valued. For what? This is what we will try to find out.
Appearance features
This fish is not in vain received such a name, which is essentially an epithet. Her elongated body is able to wriggle like a snake or a giant worm. The average length of the body is about 15, and sometimes 18see However, there are cases when individual individuals reached 30 cm in size.
A distinctive feature of loach fish are mouth antennae, the number of which can reach 12 pieces in rare cases. Ideally, there are only 10 of them, although there are individuals equipped with only 6 such processes. Many aquarists are pleased with the special shape of the fish's nostrils, resembling two thin elongated tubes located right next to the eyes. But the caudal fin has rounded shapes and at the same time is very compact for the serious dimensions of the loach.
The color of the species is quite diverse: from spotty, dark green and even silvery to brown in a narrow longitudinal light stripe. Individuals are also completely dark (almost black). Only one thing is noteworthy, that no matter what color the loach fish is, whether it is river, lake or aquarium, its abdomen will be light.
In general, there are a huge number of loach subspecies. More than 170 species are known to science, united in 26 genera and 2 families.
Sexual dimorphism and reproduction
It is known that in all fish sex differences are weakly expressed. Sometimes this can only be recognized during the spawning process. However, the loach fish does not bother the owners in this matter, because even an inexperienced lover of aquarium fish, with careful observation, can distinguish a female from a male.
The second ray of the pectoral fin of male loaches is thicker and longer than that of females. The female also has a larger and broader head. It is worth noting that in the artificial spawning environment insuch fish are not easy to achieve, and if it does, it does not occur as often as in nature.
The population of loaches in nature is quite large. In one spawning season, the female is able to lay about 11 thousand eggs. In rare cases, it happens that this figure reaches 38 thousand. For a medium-sized river individual, this figure is quite decent. Individuals become sexually mature when they reach the age of 3 years.
Compatibility
Loaches, although they are predators, are not aggressive. It is quite possible to keep them in the same aquarium with many types of fish, which also by their nature do not represent cruel and merciless individuals. It is noteworthy that they do not conflict with their own kind, especially with same-sex individuals, unlike other aquarium inhabitants.
Angelfish, calm temperament cichlids, parrot fish and many others get along well with loaches. You just need to take care of a spacious dwelling, because the snake-like loach fish itself in an aquarium can grow to an impressive size, and its possible neighbors listed above are rather large inhabitants of an impromptu underwater world equipped in a human house or apartment. Sometimes it happens that the owners purchase small aquariums specifically for the purpose of growing several different babies there, but after 9 months or a year, they must put matured individuals into spacious dwellings.
Habitat and lifestyle
Most often in nature, loaches live where there is a lot of silt and mud in the reservoirs, and as for the current, it is practically absent. These can be rivers and even small artificial water oases, the main thing is that the water in them is fresh.
Most often loach fish is found in the Kuban region, as well as in Polissya (Belarus). It is difficult to find such a wonderful fish in the reservoirs of central Russia, but in certain parts of Europe and Asia it is quite possible to meet representatives of this genus.
Loaches are predators and excellent hunters. They do not have to disguise themselves or adapt to new conditions for a long time, because the elongated body shape perfectly contributes to this. Prey does not perceive a frozen loach as an object of danger, but in vain: the fish is very fast and agile.
Main feature
Belonging to the class of ray-finned fish, loach fish, photos of which you can see in the article, are able to do without water for a long time. Even several months of hunger strike, this snake-like fish endures easily. But this does not mean that you can make such experiments by taking the named fish into your home aquarium. It's just that in nature, representatives of this species can even live in ditches, and when the water dries up, they burrow into the silt, where they wait for better times for a long time.
If we talk about good conditions in captivity, then the fish may not be subjected to such extreme measures. In the aquarium it is worth providing her with all the proper conditions, then she will live for about 10 years. There are cases that loaches lived much longer than the announced period.
Food
Speaking about the basic diet, it is worth noting that the fish of the loach family are gourmets. On the one hand, they eat insects and their larvae (this is nothing special for predatory fish), and on the other hand, they are not averse to eating mollusks and crustaceans. It is noteworthy that the described fish can even eat silt, but this happens in nature in extreme conditions that occur during periods of severe drought.
If we talk about the aquarium maintenance of loaches, then in terms of nutrition, even for a beginner, there will be nothing complicated here. You can buy special food, but sometimes it will be quite useful to feed the fish with bloodworms or shellfish.
According to the description of the loach fish, based on natural data, it becomes clear that this snake-like individual is taut and looks harmonious. Overfeeding it in an aquarium threatens not only with obesity and, as a result of this, inactivity, but in some cases even with the death of a pet. By the way, excessive pampering of all the inhabitants of the aquarium with dry specialized flakes or live food can significantly shake the established balance in an impromptu home pond: first, the water becomes cloudy from overfeeding, then it can bloom, and the apogee of improper content will be a bacterial outbreak that can kill all living things.
The main rule for those who decide to start their first aquarium
It is important for the beginner aquarist to understand that it is better to underfeed a fish than to overfeed it. Necessarycarefully monitor the diet, be sure to arrange fasting days, at least once a week. This recommendation is explained by the fact that in nature, fish do without food for a very long time. When keeping it in the home underwater world, it is important to strictly follow the feeding schedule, constantly monitoring the condition of the fish.
Interesting facts
There are several interesting facts about the fish of the loach family. They can be useful to a novice aquarist wondering about the characteristics of an individual and its behavior, so we will list them:
- Night barometer - that's what the fishermen called the loaches. The fact is that before bad weather, representatives of this amazing family begin to rise to the surface. They stick their cute faces out of the water as if they are watching what is happening.
- Interestingly, the river loach loves the caviar of other fish, and therefore destroys the populations of many representatives of the underwater world. Among their favorite delicacy is the offspring of crucian carp. Before adding goldfish to the loaches, you should think again, because if you find masonry in the aquarium, the loach will certainly feast on it.
- The snake-like fish itself often becomes easy prey for pikes, catfish, perches and burbots.
- Another name for the fish is the Piskun. This is explained by the fact that when caught, she begins to squeal furiously when they try to pull her ashore.
- Loach fish in aquariums prefer to hide in the same way as in nature. For them, grottoes andother shelters that also play an aesthetic role (an artificial home reservoir can be decorated in any theme: from an abandoned bay with a long-sunk ship to a rocky canyon).
- Loaches play an important role in nature. They exterminate mosquitoes and their larvae, so the benefits of these representatives of fresh water are very high.
How to cook loach fish?
In Asia, where loach fish are found, the meat of this river inhabitant is considered especially tasty. The method of its preparation is similar to how capelin or any other small fish is fried in a pan in our country.
To do this, mix flour with s alt in a shallow bowl, which is taken based on individual preferences. Then the washed and cleaned fish is rolled in the resulting composition and spread on hot oil.
The only secret is that before cooking the loach must be carefully processed: washed, cleaned of mucus and removed the black film inside the belly. By the way, experts recommend doing this with absolutely any fish, because the film contains harmful compounds for the human body.
In conclusion
Vyun is a universal fish. It is caught to prepare delicious treats, used as a living aquarium decoration, and also used as bait for fishing. In nature, everything is natural and interconnected. The main rule of the universe: survival of the fittest. Almost always the strongest is a man, and it is he who decideshow to dispose of the benefits given to him.
