Labeo is an aquarium fish, belongs to the cyprinid family, originating from Thailand. It is important to know how to properly maintain it, since there are certain nuances that we will consider.
Description
Labeo is a fish with a thin, oblong body and slightly flattened sides. The back is arched stronger than the belly.
A distinctive feature of this species is the large fins, consisting of 15-18 rays, outwardly similar to sharks. The caudal fin consists of two blades.
Labeau has a small head, but rather large eyes. Near the mouth - horny villi and 2 pairs of antennae.
The fish has an unusual mouth structure: fringed lips, designed to cut algal fouling and scraping organic debris.
The size of the labe in captivity is 15 cm, and in nature it can reach 90 cm.
Other salient features of the fish are species dependent. Let's consider them in more detail.
Kinds
Consider the varieties of labeos that are suitable as pets.
- Two-tone labeo or bicolor - lives in reservoirs of Thailand. It was imported to Russia in 1959. Coloring: velvet black torso, fins of red or bright orange hue. Anal, abdominal and fins on the chest are transparent.
- Black Labeo (or Black Morulis) It has a black velvet color with a brownish overflow, sometimes with a blue. The color of young individuals is light gray or silver, with golden or red scales. In contrast to the two-tone black labe, the body is completely black, including its fins and eyes.Habitat: fresh water reservoirs of Southeast Asia (Thailand, the island of Borneo, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos).
- Green or Thai labe. This type of labeo has an unusual dark olive color with a golden overflow. The belly is silver, a dark strip from the stigma to the extremity; there is a dark spot near the caudal fin. All fins are reddish. It is found in fresh waters of Thailand.
- Labeo frenatus albino (red fin). The body of this fish is thinner and longer than other types of labeos. The eyes are red, like the fins (sometimes only the tail is red, and the rest is white). The body is white with a pinkish tint. It lives in Thailand.
- Silver labe - a rare species that has a very unusual silver color with rainbow tints. There is a black speck at the tail. Habitat Africa, river Nile.
- Congolese Labeau found in the rivers of Congo, Ogove in Gabon. The upper edge of the dorsal fin is in the shape of a sickle. Unusual leopard color: green-brown spots on the golden body of the fish.
- Harlequin (colorful). Inhabits Africa in the Congo River. Harlequin differs in that the individual changes color with age: against a beige background of young fish there are dark brown and reddish spots, and on black fins - orange stains, the adult individual acquires a gray color. The size of harlequin labeos may exceed 30 cm.
- Glofish - This is a genetically modified labe that glows in blue light or under the influence of ultraviolet rays. There are two shades: purple and orange. Like albino phrenatus, fins and eyes are reddish in color.
How to distinguish between female and male?
Knowing the sex of the labeos is not easy, but possible. A mature female has a more elongated and well-fed body.
The male has a pronounced keel, and the fin on the back is more pointed and long.
In addition, the male anal fin is edged with black during breeding.
Sex of young individuals is almost impossible to distinguish, since there are almost no differences.
How to choose?
If you want to buy a Labeau, then the question arises, how to choose it correctly.
First you need to decide on the type of Labe. After all, these are quite large aquarium fish, which means that you will need a free vessel (volume of about 150 liters). Types of smaller labeos - green, albino and silver. Their length is up to 10-15 cm.
If you want to keep other fish together with labe, then choose less aggressive species - silver, albino and Congolese labe.
To choose healthy fish, follow their behavior: labeo is a fairly mobile and active fish, so it should move freely around the aquarium. Lethargy and immobility - a signal of poor health or old age labe.
Content Rules
As mentioned above, there are some features in the labe content, so it needs proper care. Let's look at where and how to properly maintain this fish so that it is healthy and lives as long as possible. With proper care, a labe can live up to 9 years.
Aquarium Requirements
Labeo is an aggressive territorial fish, which means that if you prefer to contain several individuals of this species, think about the volume of the aquarium. It should be from 150 liters, since one representative of the labeo needs 50 liters of water.
Labeo lives in the middle and lower water column.
To differentiate the territory, use all kinds of decorative elements: pots, driftwood, artificial caves, stones, artificial and real plants. This will serve as a refuge for residents.
Soil is better to get a dark color. Lighting should not be too bright, more diffused.
Water quality parameters:
- rigidity 4-20 units (some species up to 15);
- acidity (pH) 6-7.5 (neutral);
- temperature + 23.27 ° C (for labe albino - up to 31 ° C).
Filtration and saturation of water with air, as well as the replacement of 20% of the total liquid volume about once a week are required.
It is important to know that Labe fish can pop out of the aquarium. Therefore, you need to take care of the lid for the container.
What to feed?
The kind of labeo is omnivorous. He prefers live food: tubifex, daphnia, bloodworm, coronet, larvae, worms and insects. Black Labeo does not mind eating animal food: for example, beef heart and other meat (preferably frozen).
It should also be noted that a labeau can play the role of an orderly, eating up decaying fish.
These fish can also be offered plant foods: spinach, slices of cucumbers, zucchini (frozen).
You can also diversify the diet with oatmeal, special granules and tablets.
And, of course, there is a place for dry substitute foods intended for this species. It is also important to give labe vitamins.
Compatible with other fish
Labe fish are quite aggressive, so you need to carefully approach the selection of roommates for them. After all, a labeo is also aggressive towards its relatives (except for the Congolese labeo, this is a school of fish that should be kept in groups). And the female carefully guards her territory. But as we discussed above, each representative of this species needs a separate limited territory with shelters.
It is noteworthy that the labeo does not notice small fish, but attacks more often their relatives or fish of their own size and larger.
This is because smaller fish swim almost always in the upper and middle water column. In addition, smaller species are faster, so often labeos are simply unable to catch them.
Note that Labe has a special dislike for fish with a catchy color.
Consider the table of specific varieties, combined and incompatible with labe.
Other breed compatibility | ||
Possible neighborhood | Partially | Incompatibility |
angelfish, barbs, catfish, corridors, zebrafish, gourami, bots, mollies, pecilia, catfish plecostomy, iris, rassbori, swordsmen, tetras | African cichlids, discus, eel, guppy, shrimp, crab | cockerels, South American cichlids, goldfish, Koi carps, astronotus, Siamese algae eater |
Compatible fish - individuals that are able to swim freely throughout the aquarium, as well as in the territory of the labe.
Partially - individuals, which are permissible to be hooked up to a labeo only in limited territories.
Incompatible - those species that can never be combined with labeos. The consequences are fights between individuals and their death.
Breeding
Reproduction of Labe at home is a rather time-consuming and problematic task. They are bred mainly in Thailand on industrial farms. But still, the reproduction of this species is possible at home.
It is necessary to choose two healthy males and one female for spawning. And also prepare a volume tank from 200 liters with slightly porous liquid, which must be defended for several days.
All kinds of shelters should be present in the aquarium: castles, stones, driftwood, caves, plants.
Content Requirements:
- weak, diffused light;
- air enrichment, providing a channel;
- rigidity - up to 4 units;
- acidity (pH) - 6.0-6.5;
- temperature - + 24.27 ° C;
- fluid level - not more than 40 centimeters.
During spawning, individuals need to proper nutrition, namely: feeding live food. Daphnia, lettuce, tubule, cyclops, bloodworms, frozen vegetables - all this is an ideal top dressing for two weeks before spawning.
During the week, it is necessary to plant the fish in a spawning, divided by partitions. After a day, you need to replace part of the water.
Reproduction is only possible with hormonal injections (suspension of the pituitary gland of carp fish or chorionic gonadotropin). The injection must be injected into the muscles located in the back: the female - 2-3 mg (the dose depends on weight and type), distributed into two injections with a break of 12-24 hours, and the male - 1-1.5 mg during the second injection females. After this, future manufacturers need to keep 4-6 hours apart.
Then spawning begins, at this time it is necessary to weaken the flow of water. The female throws up to one thousand eggs, after which spawning individuals eat the eggs, which are at the bottom, without touching the eggs floating in the water. After the breeding process, the producers should be planted.
Now we start sorting the eggs: after a couple of hours we remove the whitened - dead eggs, and put the rest in an incubator of 20 liters with the same water parameters as in the vessel.
After 14 hours, labeo larvae emerge from the eggs, and a few days later the larvae turn into fry. They need to be fed live dust, plankton, rotifers and ciliates.
Do not be discouraged if about half of the fry die - this is natural. But the rest of the young will correctly and actively develop, there will be no problems with fry. However, you need to sort the fish from time to time, because they develop very unevenly.
Remember, young individuals of a lighter color, which they will change with age.
Possible problems
To summarize, considering the problems that may arise in connection with the care of the Labe fish.
Disease
Although these fish have strong immunity, diseases do not bypass them. The most common diseases are ichthyophthyroidism, dropsy, and bacterial infection.
Breeding difficulties
As mentioned earlier, injections are necessary to stimulate hormones, which is quite problematic. It is also not easy to breed Labeos due to the lack of males in the litter.
Aggressiveness
It is very difficult to select neighbors for the Labeau, since this species actively protects its territory, which can lead to the death of pets.
Actually, keeping this type of fish is not so difficult. You just need to choose the right aquarium and follow the rules of maintenance. Then your pet will be healthy and will live for a long time.
For compatibility of labeos in the aquarium, see below.
