Thornation: characteristics, features of maintenance and reproduction

Novice aquarists usually have the most stringent requirements for the first inhabitants of their artificial reservoir - the fish must be unpretentious, clean, have a peaceful, accommodating disposition and interesting appearance. At first glance, it may seem that it is not so easy to find a fish that would meet all the listed criteria, but in fact you can find it in any pet store.

Today we will talk about thorns - one of the amazing, but, unfortunately, underrated fish. Even sellers often do not know about its unique qualities.

In its natural habitat, thornia is found in slow-flowing small rivers in Argentina, as well as in Bolivia and Brazil. The shape and color of this fish are well adapted for survival in thickets of aquatic plants, its high and laterally compacted body makes it easy to move among the algae. In natural reservoirs, fish grow up to 6 cm, and in a home aquarium they reach 4.5 cm.

The color of the thorns is designed to help camouflage the fish. - its back has a pronounced olive shade, on the sides the scales are silvery with hints of golden or azure color. Above, the body is crossed by three dark gray, rather wide stripes, which brighten with age: one passes through the eye from the apex of the head, the second goes behind the operculum, and the third originates from the level of the dorsal fin and is noticeable to the caudal.The anal and adipose fins are dark in color, making the fish look decorative and truly charming.

When creating a comfortable living environment fish can live in captivity for up to 5 years, keep in mind that these creatures are rather shy and react to any stressful situation by changing the brightness of their color, pallor of the integument can also be the result of a change in the chemical composition of water, so thorns often become living indicators.

The body of the fish is diamond-shaped, the anal fin resembles a small black skirt, it is thanks to this feature that the thorn cannot be confused with the rest of the aquarium inhabitants. The dorsal fin is directed upwards; an adipose fin is visible near the caudal fin.

Breeders bred a veil form on the basis of an ordinary thorn, as well as a completely depigmented white - albino. As a result of experiments, a gene of one of the species of Pacific jellyfish was introduced into the DNA of thorns, which made it possible to breed fish with fluorescent flicker. A little later, the coral gene was introduced in a similar way, which gave a reddish color to the fish.

Aquarium lovers distinguish several types of thorns, but the most popular are two varieties.

• Thornsia caramel Is a product of the work of breeders. These fish are painted in bright colors using special injections. Thus, males become incredibly spectacular and decorative, but this color is short-lived and much weaker than that of individuals with natural shades.

• Thorncia glofish was also bred as a result of genetic modification. It got its name due to the fluorescent glow, and the brightness of the color directly depends on the action of ultraviolet rays. Such fish can have the most interesting multi-colored shades.

The color of these varieties is as follows:

• blue;
• mint;
• green;
• light green;
• purple;
• yellow;
• purple;
• pink;
• deep red;
• blue;
• light orange;
• raspberry;
• rainbow;
• striped;
• multicolor.

Unlike caramel, Glofish thorns can transmit their color to offspring. It should be noted that transgenic individuals do not differ at all from the most common ones; when creating a comfortable habitat, their life expectancy is not lower than that of their prototypes.

But the caramel processed with special chemical dyes is not so resistant to diseases, so it lives less. Besides, this difficult procedure often leads to death even at the staining stage. This is not surprising, because in order to give the thorns the desired shade, they first get rid of the natural color scheme and the protective mucus coating. To do this, the fish are moved into a weak acidic solution, and then placed in a bath with dyes, such a treatment causes damage to the glands that secrete mucus, therefore no more than 10% of fish survive to store counters.

Sexual dimorphism in thorns of all species is not particularly pronounced, so only an experienced aquarist with special skills and knowledge can distinguish a female from a male. So, males are distinguished by the following features:

• small size;
• slightly flatter torso;
• bright and contrasting colors;
• pronounced whitish edging of the caudal fin;
• slightly elongated caudal blade.

The thornsia is quite unpretentious in care, which is why novice aquarists love this fish so much. These creatures undemanding to living conditions and feed, and any violation of water quality is immediately answered with a changed body color - this becomes a signal for the owner about the need to adjust the parameters of the reservoir.

Thorns are very active pets, during their games they are quite capable of jumping out of the reservoir, therefore, the aquarium must be closed with glass or a lid. If you are breeding glofish thorns fish, it is better to use a special blue backlight, since it is in this color range that the luminescent properties of the fish are fully manifested, although they will look harmonious with the most ordinary lamp.

In nature, thorns live in reservoirs with a calm current and an abundance of aquatic plants, while a layer of fallen leaves softens the water and slightly acidifies it, which is why it is necessary to reproduce the characteristic features of the natural biocenosis in the aquarium. To do this, you need to prepare a tank of 40 liters or more, it is desirable that it be shallow (50-70 cm), but have a considerable length. The optimal parameters of the liquid will be as follows:

• temperature - + 21-25 degrees;
• acidity - 5.5-7 pH;
• hardness - within 6-16 units.

As a soil, they usually use small pebbles or river sand, preferably a light color - against the background of such a substrate, a group of black fish will look especially impressive. The presence of all kinds of grottoes and caves is not at all necessary, since the fish hide in the thickets of aquatic flora, but the presence of vegetation in the reservoir is welcome. So, in the background it is best to plant a high-stemmed ambulia - it creates the effect of openwork thickets of a rich green hue.

Thornesia needs oxygenated water: A prerequisite for maintaining the full growth and development of fish is the installation of a compressor, which will be responsible for aeration, as well as a filter, which will prevent water pollution.

It is best that the filter element is peaty, as it softens the water a little and gives it the necessary acidity. Every week, a water change of up to 30% should be performed, experienced aquarists advise to make it slowly, changing in small portions so as not to disturb the existing biocenosis.

In nature, thorns feed on worms that hit the surface of the water, small zooplankton and larvae of various insects. Aquarium varieties can be called omnivorous with complete confidence - they consume everything that is in their sight, they like ready-made cereals, live food, and frozen seafood. However, be aware that the structure and location of the mouth opening does not allow the thorns to pick up food from the bottom of the aquarium, therefore, feeding is best done in a metered fashion, so that the fish have time to catch the falling food.

It is desirable that the food of the fish was as varied as possible. Herbal ingredients must be included in the diet. If only one type of food is offered for thorns, most often this leads to a metabolic disorder, which has a detrimental effect on the reproductive function and causes disease.

It will not be superfluous to enrich the feed with vitamin and mineral complexes, especially during spawning, in the stage of active growth of young stock, or when pets are relocated to a new reservoir. The use of multivitamin complexes helps to increase immunity, strengthens the skeleton, and determines the richness of colors.

Thorns usually do not cause much trouble to their breeders, but they can create certain difficulties. These fish are in good health, but sometimes they get sick that manifests itself in the following changes in appearance and behavior:

• fish become inactive or, conversely, restless;
• often begin to rise to the surface, opening their mouth and swallowing air;
• react poorly to any external stimuli.

Most often, diseases of aquarium thorns are the result of a variety of reasons. One of the most common is improper maintenance of the aquarium. With low acidity of water, thorns often develop acidosis, with a rare water change or with ammonia poisoning - acidemia... In both cases the water temperature should be raised to + 29-30 degrees and treat diseased fish using salt baths.

A bacterial infection is manifested by the following symptoms:

• threadlike feces;
• an excessive layer of mucus on the gills;
• the appearance of whitish spots on the fins;
• uneven color of gills and scales.

An attentive breeder can see that the fish are getting smaller - this also directly indicates the development of pathology. At the first signs of infection, you need to bathe the pets in a 2% solution of table salt and keep the fish in it for about half an hour, after which they are washed under running water and returned to the aquarium.

Often times, newcomers to fish farming will see signs that may scare them, but they shouldn't really be a cause for concern, namely:

• the appearance of dense growths on the lips - they are necessary for fish in order to scrape off plant food;
• growths on the head or gills - they make fish even more spectacular and decorative;
• second dorsal fin, resembling a wen without radial elements.

Even an inexperienced aquarist can get numerous offspring from his thorns, for this you need to follow very simple rules. Usually, brightly colored, mobile and necessarily healthy looking fish are chosen from the flock for reproduction. It is advisable to transplant them into a special spawning box with a volume of 12-15 liters, the water level in it should be kept at around 15-20 cm. For the reproduction of thorns, it is optimal to use water with the following characteristics:

• hardness - 5-10 units;
• acidity - 6.5-6.7 pH;
• temperature - 26-28 degrees.

Tap water before filling the spawning tank should be soften by boiling, and peat extract will help to achieve the desired acidity. For fertilization, you can take a couple of fish, or you can use a small group with a predominance of males.

It is important that bushes of small-leaved plants are located in the spawning grounds; they are used by females as a basis for placing eggs. It will not be superfluous to transfer the fish to feeding with live products, which stimulates the early onset of spawning.

Mating games begin with the fact that the male begins to court the female in every possible way, swims in circles near her, thereby forcing her to rise to the upper layers of the water. During such "dances", the male gently press on the female's abdomen with his fins, thereby stimulating the spawn. At a time, the fish throws off 20-30 eggs, which are immediately fertilized by the male. These manipulations are repeated many times, until the final devastation of the female abdomen. Typically, the total number of eggs ranges from 500 to 2000.

Caviar descends very slowly, settling on plant leaves... After the spawn is completed, some of the water should be replaced with fresh water, after which the parents are transferred back to the aquarium. If this is not done, they may well feast on their future offspring.

To speed up hatching the water temperature is raised to +28 degrees, then the fry appear after 2.5 days. The larvae do not need special nutrition, they receive all the necessary nutrients from the yolk sac, but the fry need to be fed with zooplankton, live dust or ciliates at least 2 times a day. A month later, the young growth doubles in size and the fish can already be moved to a common aquarium.

Species compatibility is considered an important factor in the successful keeping of thorns in an aquarium. The fact is that each fish has its own character, temperament and behavioral characteristics, which often do not allow aquatic inhabitants to get along with each other. Despite the fact that thornsia is a peace-loving fish, it still tends to bite its neighbors in the aquarium from time to time. You should not settle glowing thorns with cichlids, barbs and other aggressive fish. It is best to choose such neighbors for them as:

• tetras;
• zebrafish;
• scalars;
• cardinals;
• neons;
• swordtails.

Any veiled fish can be seriously damaged in the general aquarium., since thorns are unlikely to deny themselves the pleasure of biting their fins. Viviparous neighbors will not be the best choice either. Adult thorns have a rather hooligan character, so they are quite capable of bullying small loners. It is advisable to keep them in a small flock for 7-15 individuals, in this case, their temperament will subside a little, and they will switch all their attention to their "brothers in mind".

The following facts speak in favor of the home content of the thorns:

• unpretentiousness and exceptional endurance;
• quick adaptation to changing living conditions;
• undemanding to food;
• simplicity of content;
• friendly character and good coexistence with relatives.

The disadvantages include the excessively high activity of thorns, which often causes damage to the fins of veil fish, as well as the tendency to bite too slow inhabitants of the aquarium.

For information on how to maintain and breed thorns, see the next video.