NeptunGenus Aphyosemiona belonging to the carpozooba family. This genus includes, perhaps, the most beautiful representatives of the carpozooba family.
In addition to external beauty representatives of this genus have also amazing features of behavior and reproduction, but about everything in order, as far as possible.
- Domain: Eukaryotes
- kingdom: Animals
- Type: Chordates
- Class: Radial fish
- Squad: Carpozoan
- Family: Notobranchiaceae
- Rod: Aphyosemion
Most species of this genus inhabit equatorial Africa mainly off the west coast. This geographical area is represented by tropical forests and savannah. Here there are seasons of heavy rains followed by periods of drought.
The average annual temperature of these places is about 20 degrees Celsius. In a year, 800 to 3000 milliliters of precipitation can fall. Fish in these areas have to adapt to living in water bodies that partially or completely dry up during droughts. As the water of such ponds, lakes and puddles dries out, the hardness of the water can increase many times over.
And with the beginning of the rainy season, water hardness can become very low 1-5 degrees. The constant dying off of a large number of plants during the drought, which were growing vigorously during the tropical rains, contributes to the deposition of large amounts of organic residues. These organic remains are the substrate for the formation of a large amount of peat, which in turn acidifies the water and saturates it with tannins. This is how we can presumably determine the acceptable conditions for the existence of species from these places, based on the characteristics of the geographical area.
Genus Aphyosemiona Conditions of confinement
So, aphyosemions will feel satisfactory at a temperature of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. Water in the aquarium with them should be acidified, although here it is important not to overdo it. Hardness for content should be in the neighborhood of 5-7 degrees. Although it is possible that to stimulate spawning will have to simulate the onset of drought. Then the hardness should be two to three times higher than usual. The main thing that the water parameters changed gradually without sudden jumps. Then the fish will have time to adapt to them and adequately respond to them.
Aphyosemions are worthy representatives of their family – it is very difficult to systematize them, even armed with the means of analysis of the genetic apparatus. This is what concerns the species living in nature. Fish that fall aquarist, can go through spontaneous or intentional interspecies crossbreeding. If even you get a fish with preserved species purity, it will also be difficult to determine its systematic position. This is due to the large number of synonyms of names of the same species, and with trade names under which sometimes get to the market these beauties.
Therefore, it is important to be able not only to read literature about your pets, but also to observe them. Let’s take a close look at our fish.
Genus Aphyosemiona What does it feed on?
In addition to the fact that they have a beautiful coloration (although mostly only males), they also have some features of the body structure, talking about certain features of behavior formed as a result of evolution. One of these features is the location of the mouth. The mouth of the majority of fish of this genus is located from above (or directed upwards, who likes it better).
Anyway, it can also tell us something. Namely, our fish prefer to feed from the surface of the water. That’s understandable. If the species is adapted to existence in a drying water body, it is simply obliged to use food coming from outside. Such food are small insects and their larvae that land on the water surface or fall on it from nearby vegetation. It can be assumed that it will be easy to feed them dry food. Yes indeed they can and will take from the surface of the water dried daphnia or gammarus. But get carried away with such feeding of your favorites is not worth it. When feeding exclusively dry types of food fish will be more often sick, their color will be less bright, get a full-fledged offspring of such fish will be problematic.
What’s edible on hand?
Therefore, it is advisable to take care of the availability of live food. However, it is not necessary to chase the mosquito throughout the apartment to feed it to the fish. Their repeatedly mentioned adaptability will play them and you a good service and here. They may well consume live daphnia, young Artemia and their nauplii. In the literature indicates that aphyosemions can even take live food from the bottom – small moths. Cut trubichnik they will also taste. However, the fish themselves will tell you what they like more. You will only need a little observation.
How does it reproduce?
From the peculiarities of physiology it is necessary to mention a very long incubation of eggs. According to the substrate on which eggs are laid, aphiosemions are divided into three large groups. The first group lays eggs on the substrate on the bottom (sand, gravel). By the way, gravel is not desirable to use it is not typical for the bottom of reservoirs in western equatorial Africa. In addition, it can add unnecessary hardness, which can stimulate spawning, but only in dynamics. If the water is hard all the time, stimulation by increasing hardness will be ineffective. Besides, it is impossible to increase hardness without restrictions.
The second group lays eggs on small-leaved plants.
The third group does not have any preferences when choosing spawning substrate.
Using the deductive method of Sir Sherlock Holmes by simple logical reasoning, we can assume that the first group, laying eggs in the ground inhabits water bodies, drying up for a long enough period.
The second group of fish that lay eggs on plant leaves are found in lakes that never completely dry up. Species that do not care where to lay eggs can live both in lakes that do not dry up and in puddles that do not dry up completely or for a very short period of time.
Genus Aphyosemiona How long does the incubation of eggs last?
Gradually we move on to another division of aphiosemions into groups, namely by the duration of incubation of eggs. The first group are those that live in non-drying water bodies and lay their eggs on aquatic plants. Their eggs develop from two to four weeks. The second group are those that do not favor any substrate during spawning. Their eggs develop up to 10 weeks. Substrate with eggs can be even in an empty aquarium, but the substrate must always remain moist.
The third group has chosen the most extreme conditions of existence. When their native marsh dries up, the so-called diapause occurs. The eggs stop their development.
The signal for diapause, according to some observers, is an increase in the amount of oxygen around the egg. This occurs because the drying peat is saturated with oxygen in the air. The signal for the end of diapause is the first heavy rainfall and the resulting sharp decrease in oxygen around the eggs in the flooded peat. Incubation of eggs of these extreme fish can last 10-12 weeks.
Here we have briefly analyzed some features of maintenance and spawning species belonging to the genus Aphyosemiona carpozubyh family. Well, what is left behind the scenes, then will be filled with your desire, patience, observation or future articles on this site. And maybe it is thanks to you these wonderful fish will become more frequent guests behind the glass of our aquariums. 😉
