Live-bearing fish

The world of aquarium fish is incredibly diverse, but among all this diversity, livebearing species occupy a special place. Unlike most fish, which spawn eggs, these amazing creatures give birth to fully formed fry that are ready for independent life. This spectacle never ceases to amaze and delight both novice and experienced aquarists.

Feeding Floating plants will help shade certain areas of the bottom. You can use:

Dry specialized catfish food is suitable as a basis: sinking tablets, granules, animal-based wafers.

Breeding and reproduction

An unpretentious and hardy species, easy to keep and breed, with brightly colored selective forms. All this makes the fish an excellent candidate for a community aquarium. It can be recommended to novice aquarists.

“Black Prince”

The main focus should be on filtration. A powerful external filter is essential.

Taracatum plants are only needed as shelter. They are not interesting to catfish as food, but taracatum can accidentally damage the roots when digging in the ground. It is better to cover the roots of live plants with stones or place the plants in pots. You can green up your aquarium with artificial plants. Live plants with a strong root system are suitable:

Part of the diet should consist of live, fresh, or frozen food:

Ameca splendens

An active, lively fish, it has a feisty character, which limits the potential range of compatible species, but at the same time makes it an interesting object to observe.

White mollies

Otherwise, the list of equipment is standard:

Taracatus actively dig in the substrate. Any sharp, unfinished edges can injure the catfish or damage their whiskers. For safety reasons, it is recommended to use only rounded substrate. It is essential to create shelters on the bottom using driftwood, stones, ceramics, and other decorations.

The white peciola is a decorative variety of the common peciola, in which the genes responsible for the manifestation of color pigments have been suppressed during selection. The result is a complete absence of any colors on the body except white.

Belonesox

A small, formidable predator, resembling a Central European pike, only in miniature. Requires a special diet. It is difficult to find suitable tank mates.

White swordtail

The white swordtail is a continuation of the Koi swordtail variety, in which red and black colors were removed (suppressed) during selection. As a result, the fish acquired a solid light milky-white color, semi-transparent in places.

Brachiraphis Rosen

A bright, active fish with a difficult temperament. Easy to keep, but breeding can be difficult, which is why it is not as popular as other livebearing species.

Forktail swordtail

This is an artificially bred species. It first appeared in the United States in the late 1960s as a result of hybridization between the flag swordtail and the lyretail swordtail.

Gambusia

An active, unsociable fish, it is distinguished by its endurance and successfully adapts to various water conditions. An excellent candidate for a beginner aquarist's first fish.

Girardinus

A simple, unpretentious species, not distinguished by bright colors, but easy to keep and breed. An excellent candidate for a first aquarium fish.

Girardinus metallicus

A very easy fish to keep and breed. It goes well with most other species of comparable size. The only drawback is its unremarkable coloration.

Black Prince guppy

This is probably a collective name for several breeds that have similar body coloring. For example, not fully colored Black guppies or black and white Tuxedo guppies.

Hornwort can be planted in the aquarium in bunches in the background or side plan. Use tweezers for planting, or you can tie it to the decor or a sinker with fishing line.

A characteristic feature is the absence of black pigment (melanin) in the body coloration and red eyes. It is worth noting that albinos are not always white; the coloration can be any and combine many colors.

Yellow guppy

Water parameters

Green guppies

Care

Regularly rinse the foliage under running water to clean it of debris, plaque, and organic residues that can accumulate on the plant, as well as to improve the biological filter in the aquarium. Be careful not to damage the fragile stems and leaves.

A characteristic feature of this breed is the presence of vertical stripes on the back of the body, irregularly shaped strokes resembling a snake pattern.

Swordtail guppies

These fish got their name because of the special structure of their tail fin, which has elongated lower rays resembling a sword blade.

Neon guppy

A key feature of this variety is the presence of special iridophore cells in the body of the fish, which cause the appearance of iridescent neon or metallic shades. At the same time, the coloration of the fish can be very diverse.

Common guppy

Unlike many selectively bred varieties, the common guppy has modest coloring, resembling its wild relatives living in nature. For this reason, it is less common in aquariums.

Tuxedo guppy

Guppy Tuxedo or Guppy Smoking in translation from English. The name refers to the distinctive coloring of the fish — light on top (front part of the body) and dark on the bottom (back part, tail).

Endler's guppy

A lively, bright fish. Easy to keep and breed. All this makes it a good choice for a beginner aquarist. Due to its high fertility and undemanding habitat, it is considered by many to be a good source of constant live food for predatory species.

Dermogenis

A peculiar fish with an unusual appearance and a difficult temperament, it does not have bright colors, but nevertheless has its fans among aquarists.

Yellow platy

It is a selectively bred variety of the common Petsilia. It is distinguished by its characteristic yellow coloration of the body and fins.

Livebearing fish are those whose fry are born fully formed rather than hatching from eggs. Unlike most fish, which lay eggs, in species such as guppies, mollies, and platies, the young develop inside the female and are born ready to live. This gives them an advantage — the survival rate of the fry is much higher. These fish are popular with aquarists because it is interesting to watch them reproduce, and it is easier to care for their offspring.

Green swordtail

It is one of the most popular fish. However, aquariums mainly contain its selected forms, which have bright colors and various body patterns.

Golden Mollies

Golden or Yellow Mollies are a color variety of many breeding forms. The characteristics of their care and behavior depend on the species from which a particular variety originated.

Golden swordtail

The golden swordtail is a separate species that can be distinguished from the selected yellow varieties by the presence of black edging on the tail “sword.”

Golden Teddy

A bright, attractive fish. Keeping them involves a number of difficulties in terms of maintaining high water quality, so they are not recommended for novice aquarists.

Livebearing fish are an excellent choice for novice aquarists. Their unpretentiousness, bright colors, and ease of breeding make caring for an aquarium an exciting and relaxing hobby. These fish adapt easily and delight their owners with their constant movement and liveliness.

Watching fully formed fry come into the world is a special pleasure. It is not only an interesting process, but also a great opportunity to see the full life cycle right in your home aquarium. This experience brings you closer to nature and teaches responsibility.

By choosing livebearers, you will get a bright, dynamic underwater world with minimal hassle. They will bring you a lot of joy and will be a great start in the world of aquarium keeping.