Rhodostomuses: what do they look like and how to care for them?

Most aquarists love having a lot of algae in their artificial home pond - they contribute to the biotype of lakes and warm rivers. This has the most beneficial effect on its inhabitants. In such aquariums, rhodostomus are often kept - small fish that are distinguished by their livable and peaceful nature. Due to their livability, they coexist perfectly with many other representatives of the aquarium fauna.

Like most of the haracin fish, rhodostomuses are found naturally in South America in small tributaries of the Amazon, as well as in the rivers of Colombia and in Brazil. For the first time, representatives of this variety were described at the end of the last century - then they were called diamond rhodostomus, or red-nosed tetra.

She has a dense elongated translucent body, slightly shimmering in neon color. The head is reddish in color, and at the moment when the fish is under stress, the shade becomes faded. Caudal fin is black and white - three dark stripes are located between four light ones.

Under favorable conditions, the nose acquires a reddish-ruby hue, therefore, by the color of the nose, one can safely judge the condition of the pets and the quality of the conditions of their keeping., as any lightening of the tone indicates possible problems that require immediate correction.

In an aquarium, rhodostomuses live up to 5-6 years.

Rhodostomus is a rather capricious and demanding fish, so only experienced breeders can keep it at home. To create a favorable microenvironment for the red-nosed tetra, it is necessary to carefully monitor the purity and freshness of the water, the parameters of its hardness, acidity and temperature.

Let us dwell in more detail on the peculiarities of keeping rhodostomuses.

If you are determined to decorate your aquarium with rhodostomuses, then you need to know that these fish are schooling, so you will have to start a group of 7-9 fish. You need a tank with a volume of 60 liters or more, moreover, it must certainly be overestimated, since these fish prefer to swim in the middle layers of the water.

The type of soil is not of fundamental importance, but it is important that it is suitable for the growth of algae and other aquatic plants. Some aquarists prefer dark substrates - against their background, neon-silver red-nosed pets look especially impressive and are always in a favorable perspective.

Rhodostomuses prefer to spend time in the shade of aquatic thickets. The choice of aquarium flora should be made in favor sagittarius, limnophilus, and also Echinodorus.

Water characteristics should be as close to natural as possible, that is, have neutral averaged values. The optimal temperature for the red-nosed tetra is 20-25 degrees, wherein acidity should be kept at around 7.5 pH, and hardness should not exceed 15 units.

Rhodostomuses are extremely sensitive to the purity and quality of water, which means that powerful filters must be installed in the aquarium, as well as a compressor that will provide continuous aeration.

A water change should be carried out once a week. - each time you need to replace about a third of the total volume of the aquarium.

Rhodostomuses do not like bright light - in this situation they feel the strongest excitement and anxiety, the fish brighten noticeably, begin to rush from one corner to another and even try to jump out. To prevent fish from falling out of the aquarium it is best to cover it with a lid on top. Optimal will be soft dim light.

One thing that rhodostomuses don't have any problems with is feeding. Red-nosed tetras eat absolutely all types of food that are offered for fish of this genus. They can be safely called omnivores, therefore, the diet usually includes:

• dry food high quality in the form of granules or flakes (the best reviews of aquarists are used by Tetra products, as well as Sera for tropical fish);
• live feed - for example, brine shrimp, frozen and chopped shrimp and other seafood, bloodworms, tubifex.

Rhodostomuses are fed several times a day in small portions. The optimal amount of feed is determined empirically based on the fact that the proposed portion should be eaten in 3 minutes. If after this time the food remains - next time give your fish a little less, and if the proposed amount of food was eaten earlier - slightly increase the portion.

If you do not feed them such food, the fish simply begin to nibble on the leaves of the algae. However, you do not have to collect greens yourself - in any pet store you can always find specialized fish food with plant components.

It would seem that there is nothing super complicated in the care and maintenance of rhodostomuses, but the main difficulty lies in breeding this fish and creating optimal conditions for successful spawning.

The problem is that the reproduction of red-nosed tetras in a common artificial reservoir is not feasible, laying eggs is possible only in a special spawning grounds with dense vegetation, the use of pots is allowed.

Water must be prepared separately - it is necessary to mix distilled water, as well as river and rain water in equal volumes, add a little peat broth, after which the prepared solution is filtered, poured into a spawning container, and then defended.

After 2-3 days, a male and a female tetra are launched into the prepared container, within 1-2 days the fish adapt to these unusual conditions for them, after which the male begins to rapidly chase the female and twist her body - it is then that spawning begins and falls to the bottom about 6-10 eggs.

The couple repeats such manipulations several times until all the eggs are outside the mother's body. The fish brightens noticeably and hides in the thickets of aquatic vegetation. At this stage, the female and male can be moved back to the common aquarium, and the spawning box itself can be shaded a little.

Please be aware that they grow quite quickly, so after a month they already acquire all the external features characteristic of their variety.

Rhodostomuses are quite peaceful fish, so they have adapted to exist in a flock of 7-10 individuals. Such pets look harmoniously in artificial reservoirs with a large free space for swimming.

Dwarf cichlids will become good neighbors, as well as the most peaceful catfish - corridors. If you want to create an effective biotope, then corridors and neons are more suitable for the rhodostomus than others, since it is these fish that are neighbors in their natural habitat.

With proper care and creating a comfortable environment, aquarium rhodostomuses rarely get sick, although sometimes there are exceptions. Red-nosed tetras can face the following problems.

• Fin rot - this pathology affects the tail, anal and dorsal fins of fish. The reason is the content in unfavorable conditions. For treatment, frequent water changes are usually used, and streptocide is also added to the reservoir.

• Neon disease - This is an infectious problem, it manifests itself in the defeat of the skin and internal organs. The disease cannot be cured and at the same time spreads rather quickly throughout the aquarium, so infected rhodostomus have to be destroyed.

Rhodostomuses are active and mobile small fish. Despite its exactingness to the conditions of detention and the difficulty in reproduction, the species of these representatives of aquatic animals can successfully diversify any artificial reservoir by demonstrating an unusual color and extremely friendly character.

For the maintenance of rhodostomuses, see below.