5 Most Exotic Freshwater Fish
Most Exotic Freshwater Aquarium Fish
5 Discus
Discus are colorful, graceful and charismatic tank inhabitants. Discus are considered to require a higher level of care than other aquarium fish. Their basic requirements are a larger aquarium (3ft+ is recommended) and stable, clean water. For this reason alone they are not recommended for the beginner aquarist. Discus can be housed with many any other fish as long as they require the same water conditions. They are not compatible with larger aggressive fish such as oscar's or smaller fin nipping varieties.
Discus
Discus fish are a genus of cichlids native to the Amazon River basin. They have bright colors, and a circular shape (hence the name). They are popular because of their markings, patterns, and wide variety of exotic colors.
The most popular types are the red, blue and turquoise Discus. They can grow fairly large, with a height and length of about 8-10inches when full grown.
Another main reason hobbyists love Discus is that these fish tend to take on some personal behaviors and might even recognize you and greet you when you approach the tank.
4 Flowerhorn
The Flowerhorn Cichlid originates from Malaysia. These Cichlids as hybrids are highly popular amongst hobbyists because of their great size and beautiful mix of colors.
They come in combinations of blues, reds, pinks, yellows and orange with wonderful dark flowerlike markings on their bodies.
FlowerHorn
This carnivorous and aggressive species prefer large tanks all to themselves; only one should be kept per tank.
They prefer a diet of pellet, flake and live foods, will grow to be 16 inches and have a lifespan of 5-8 years.
Flower Horn is a unique fish with a very interesting behavior, temper and completely unusual appearance.
Those who decided to keep Flower horn in a tank have never regretted it.
Cichlid fishes as a rule aren’t very critical when choosing their couple match, therefore they can make couples not only with their kind, but also with completely different cichlid fish types.
Such a peculiarity gave breeders a possibility to obtain a number of amazing hybrids with different kinds of fishes. Not all the hybrids are successful, some of them doesn’t have good coloring, some become sterile after such breeding.
But there are always some exceptions.
One of the famous and popular tank fishes – parrot cichlid, is exactly the result of artificial crossing. As well as a flowerhorn cichlid, it’s a son of genetics and Malaysian aquarists persistence.
It was Malaysia where thorough line breeding and different cichlid types breeding (which ones no one yet knows for sure) was performed to get a healthy and fruitful breed.
Flowerhorn cichlid fish is a hybrid, however it doesn’t tend to get sick, it’s good looking and fruitful.
3 Potamotrygon Leopoldi
The Xingu River ray, white-blotched river stingray, or polka-dot stingray (Potamotrygon leopoldi) is a species of freshwater fish in the family Potamotrygonidae. It is endemic to the Xingu River basin in Brazil and prefers rocky bottoms.It is sometimes kept in aquaria. P. leopoldi reaches up to 40 cm (16 in) in disc width, 75 cm (30 in) in total length and 20 kg (44 lb) in weight. Females grow larger than males. It is closely related to the similar P. henlei from the Tocantins River basin and P. albimaculata from the Tapajós River basin.
Typical Tank setup: Filtration is one of the most important aspects of a ray set-up. A large and efficient biological filter is needed to cope with the amounts of biological waste produced by an active, predatory fish of this size. Dim lighting is preferable, although once settled in most rays will also be active under brighter conditions. Plants that require rooting in the substrate will be eaten. Use river sand as this will give a lovely natural look.
potamotrygon leopoldi
Recommended Minimum Aquarium Capacity: 265 gallon / 1000 litre
Compatibility: Rays have to be among the top predators in the habitats they live in nature and are unsafe to keep with most other species. On the contrary they also seem to prefer a quiet life and will often fail to thrive when kept alongside very aggressive or territorial companions. The best tank mates are large enough not to be eaten, peaceful and ideally occupy the upper parts of the tank. Some cichlids, such as Oscars work well. Plenty of enthusiast’s arowanas with their rays, and in a spacious tank this can be a very remarkable combination.
2 Datnoid
The Datnoid comes from Indonesia and Thailand waters. They are also called Tiger fish because of their large black stripes and tiger-like patterned bodies.
You will need a fairly large aquarium because this fish can grow to be 65 cm. You should try to mimic the natural conditions and habitat of the Datnoids native surroundings.
Plants and hiding spots will be a good idea since they love to hide and mimic stalking and hunting behavior.
Despite their love for hunting, this fish species is non-aggressive and should be kept with other docile fish. Their diet consists of frozen food, pellets and live food.
Datnoid fish. Tiger fish
The natural habitat for the Datnoid is fresh and brackish waters in Indonesia and Thailand. Datnoids are sometimes called Tiger fishes, since they display a tiger-like pattern on their bodies. They also have a habit of stalking their prey before they catch it, just like a Tiger does. There are four actual Datnoid species available to the aquarist. In addition to this, a lot of other fish species, such as the Red Datnoid, are called Datnoids and sold as Datnoids without being true Datnoids.
The Datnoid hunts by vigilantly stalking its prey and then unexpectedly open its large mouth and suck in the animal. The predatory nature of the Datnoid makes it an unsuitable companion for smaller species in the aquarium. Instead, choose fish that is to large to be considered prey by the Datnoid. The Datnoid is docile and non-aggressive and should therefore not be kept with aggressive species that will stress it. The Datnoid can sometimes be a little hostile to newcomers in the aquarium, but it will usually become friendlier as soon as it has grown accustomed to the new inhabitant.
1 Arowana
The Asian arowana is the world’s most expensive aquarium fish. It is a tropical freshwater fish from Southeast Asia that grows three feet long in the wild. It is a fierce predator dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. It has large, metallic scales, like coins; whiskers that jut from its chin; and it undulates like the paper dragons you see in a Chinese New Year’s parade. That resemblance has spawned the belief that the fish brings good luck and prosperity, which is why it has become a highly sought-after aquarium fish.
When I attended the Aquarama International Fish Competition, which is a bit like the Westminster dog show for fish, these 10 rare, albino arowana showed up with a police motorcade, protected by armed guards, to prevent anyone adding poison to the tanks. The highest price [for a single fish] is $300,000, which supposedly sold to a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Some would say the Arowana looks like a dinosaur with their large powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth. They also come from the Amazon River basin and can grow to be 48 inches in the wild and 30 inches in captivity.
These fish are large, so you will need to have a large tank, 4ft x 4ft or even larger so they will have enough room to turn around easily.
They prefer to feed on live fish such as crabs, bugs, shrimp or frozen food and pellets. As they are a large fish and consume a lot of food, they will produce large amounts of waste so heavy filtration is extremely important.
They will be most comfortable if their environment is as close to their natural habitat as possible. They should be surrounded with plants, sand and rocks.
Certain species, like the silver Arowana in the wild jumps out of the water to capture prey. Make sure you do not startle an Arowana or you might be trying to pick it up from the floor!
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