Alice White
Chrysiptera para soma (Chrysiptera para soma) is a very beautiful tropical fish belonging to the pomacentral (reef) fish family. It is also called the fish-girl. In its natural environment, it lives in coastal lagoons, coral reefs in the Western Pacific, and in eastern Indian. Distributed in the waters of the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Ryukyu Islands.
Appearance and habits of yellow-tailed chrysipters
Chrysiptera has an oval-shaped body flattened from the sides and a pointed muzzle. On the head, there are very large eyes with black or bright blue irises and small nostrils. The mouth is at the tip of the muzzle. The body is covered with large scales, often their edges are marked with a strip or colored dot. The dorsal fin is very long, the soft and spiny parts are sometimes separated by a notch. Chrysiptera blue yellow-tailed has a very beautiful blue body color with a contrasting tail of bright yellow. This color looks amazingly beautiful against the background of corals and living stones. The color of the fish is enhanced by neon lighting.
Chrysiptera males are larger and slender than females and reach 7 cm in length in natural conditions. In aquariums, they rarely reach this size. Males become aggressive towards females when preparing to mate. After spawning by females, Chrysler males become very territorial and are responsible for the preservation of eggs. Males very jealously protect their future offspring, with their fins pump fresh water to the place where the eggs are laid, with their mouths they remove dead eggs and organic waste. After the appearance of the larvae, the male stops caring for the offspring.
Rules and conditions for keeping Сhrysipters in aquariums
Chrysiptera is suitable for those who are just starting to breed aquarium fish, as it is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and endurance. Ideal as a first inhabitant if you want to start an afresh marine aquarium. When choosing fish, you should pay attention to the color of their body, it should be bright blue, the tail should be bright yellow, all fins should be intact. If the store kept chrysipters in large aquariums, then you should not buy specimens with signs of damage, which were clearly pursued by more aggressive fish.
For a comfortable living, you should know some of the features of the content of chrysipters:
- Aquarium equipment. Chrysler must be kept at a temperature of 24-27 degrees, with a water density of 1.023-1.025 and a pH of 8.1-8.4. For a comfortable habitat of one individual, an aquarium of 90 liters of volume or more is suitable. For a small flock of blue yellow-tailed chrysipters, a 200-liter aquarium is suitable. Aquarium lighting should be bright or moderate.
- Get along with other inhabitants of the aquarium. Chrysiptera has a relatively peaceful character, but at the same time, it is territorial in relation to its relatives, especially if it is alone. Therefore, it is recommended to keep a flock of 3-7 chrysipters in a spacious aquarium, but they should only be planted at a young age and at the same time. This will make the fish less aggressive. Chrysipters do not harm ornamental shrimps and strong invertebrates and show moderate aggression towards fish of the same size or smaller neighbors. Fish in nature prefer to live among dense coral thickets. Therefore, in an aquarium, they prefer to stay close to rocks. They swim out of their usual territory only in search of food or hiding from aggressive pursuers. But at the first opportunity, they return to their usual habitat again. If the aquarium has a significant number of hiding places, then the chrysiptera becomes less aggressive. Males guard and defend their territory. If a female and male pair is formed, then they live in a relatively small aquarium. But at the same time, the fish still fight among themselves. Caring for the fish is not difficult, so it is recommended to start them for beginners. Fish rarely get sick. Their life expectancy is on average 4-6 years, but some individuals live longer.
- Feed. In natural conditions, yellowtail chrysiptera feeds on plankton, therefore, in the aquarium, it willingly eats most of the food. Will not give up frozen brine shrimp, squid, bloodworms, krill, cyclops with the addition of dry granules and flakes. When kept in reef aquariums, this species should not be fed frequently. To keep them feeling well, they need to diversify their diet by adding vitamin-fortified shrimp and Mysis shrimp.
