Thornsia glofish: maintenance, breeding and care

Thorncia glofish is a colored fish of the haracin family. Bred artificially and, thanks to its unusual bright colors, is popular with many aquarists. The fish is quite unpretentious, it is easy to keep and breed it at home.

Thorncia Glofish is a genetically modified fish. She owes her bright color to the genes of fluorescent marine life, which were incorporated into the structure of her DNA. Unlike ordinary olive-gray thorns, glofish fish amaze with a variety of shades.

The thorns have a rhomboid body flattened from the sides. You can distinguish a female from a male by the following features:

• the female is usually larger and has a more rounded abdomen;
• in females, the anal fin "skirt" is wider and more beautiful than in males;
• in males, the dorsal fin is sharper.

Sex determination becomes possible when the fish is 7 months old, by this age, the differences are already clearly manifested. In length, the thorns can grow up to 5 cm, but usually they are not more than 4 cm. The fish are active, they like to swim in flocks in the middle layer of water.

By their nature, the thorns are peaceful. They love to live with congeners, but make friends with other types of aquarium fish:

• neons;
• with platies:
• mollies;
• cardinals;
• gourami;
• lalius;
• scalars;
• catfish corridor

Despite its friendly disposition, thorns can pluck the fins of neighbors. Therefore, it is not recommended to keep them with long-finned, veiled fish, for example, with guppies, cockerels and other species.

Predatory representatives of the aquarium world will chase or even eat miniature handsome glo.

A 40–50 liter aquarium is suitable for keeping thorns. This volume is sufficient for a flock of 5–7 individuals. If it is planned to keep more fish, then, accordingly, the container is chosen more spacious. The aquarium should be of sufficient depth, a rectangular shape is desirable. Installation of aeration and filters is mandatory. Fish are sensitive to water quality, its indicators should be within the following limits:

• acidity - 6.5–7 pH;
• hardness - 6–17 ° dH;
• temperature - 25-28 ° C.

Glofishes are more thermophilic than common thorns. Special aquarium heaters are used to raise the temperature.

Water is changed once a week. This will prevent the poisoning of the aquarium inhabitants with harmful substances that are released during the life of the fish. Only 20-25% of the water is changed. A complete replacement is not required, this will disrupt the formed microclimate and cause stress in the fish. Clean, settled water is poured into the tank that meets all the parameters.

Fish do not need special shelters, they love space. But to form a favorable environment, the aquarium is planted with algae. You can choose any: place tall rooting bushes in the background, and create areas with Javanese moss in the foreground.

There are no special requirements for lighting, you just need to avoid direct sunlight. And yet, in order to emphasize all the advantages of the glofish ternation color, it is worth choosing dim fluorescent lamps. At night, the light must be turned off, the daylight hours of aquatic inhabitants should not exceed 10 hours.

The thorns are omnivorous, they will happily eat both live and specialized dry food. They, like most fish, are prone to overeating, so food is given 2 times a day in small portions. Of live food, it is most suitable for them:

• core - low-calorie mosquito larvae;
• bloodworm - nutritious high-protein feed;
• brine shrimp - small crustaceans, rich in nutrients.

They will be happy to try the food from the master's table - pamper the fish with slices of fresh fish or minced seafood. Don't forget about plant-based foods. Lettuce leaves and cucumber slices are a great snack between morning and evening meals.

For dry food, many breeders choose the Tetra brand. This company produces high quality balanced feed for different types of fish. For thorns, it is better to choose flakes or chips, since the granules quickly sink, and these fish do not like to dig in the ground. Tetra has a food that is recommended for all types of glofish fish - Tetra Rubin and TetraPro Color. The flakes contain a natural dye, thanks to which, after a week of feeding, the color of the fish will increase.

For breeding thorns, the fish are allocated a separate container. An aquarium with a volume of 20 liters or more is suitable. Glofish, although peace-loving fish, parents who are hungry after spawning can eat their own caviar, so it is advisable to install a special net at the bottom. Eggs will slip into the cells and will be inaccessible to adults. Instead of a net, you can use Javanese moss, its dense thickets will protect future fry.

It is advisable to equip the spawn with a good aeration system. Installation of lamps is not required, daylight diffused light is enough for the fish. Water indicators should correspond to the aquarium conditions in which the fish were kept. This will reduce the stress of transplanting them. It is only necessary to change the temperature by raising it by 2-3 degrees. This action perfectly stimulates the spawning of thorns.

Fish are placed in the spawning grounds in the evening, and mating games can be observed in the morning. Males circle around the female, and she lays eggs at this time. Fish spawn for about 2-3 hours. After the completion of the process, the fish are immediately deposited.

On the second day, tiny larvae appear from the eggs; they do not swim yet and feed on the yolk sac. As soon as it dissolves, the babies should be fed. By this time, full-fledged fry have already formed from the larvae, which actively swim around the aquarium in search of food. They are fed live dust, brine shrimp nauplii or special dry food of small size.

From such a union, colored fry appear: some take the color of the mother, and others - the father, but a fry of a completely different shade may appear. That's why it is very interesting to breed ternies glofish... It is also worth noting that when these fish are crossed, some of the babies will be colorless.

Thorncia is an unpretentious and rather hardy fish, but, like all living things, it is susceptible to diseases. Let's consider the main problems that may arise.

1. Hypoxia... In an overcrowded aquarium and in the absence of aeration, the fish can often swallow air from the surface of the water. This indicates a lack of oxygen.
2. Oodiniumosis - an infection that can be introduced with plants or new fish. The main symptom is a golden yellow coating. Copper sulfate is used for treatment.
3. Chlorosis - chlorine poisoning. Occurs when unstable tap water is added to the aquarium.
4. Pleistophorosis - a dangerous disease that affects haracin fish species. The movements of the diseased individual become constrained, areas with a white coating appear on the abdomen. The disease is considered incurable, it is recommended to destroy all fish and thoroughly disinfect the aquarium.

Healthy glofish thorns are active, they are bright, beautiful. An aquarium with these fish will be a wonderful interior decoration.

For how the glofish thorn looks like, see below.