Lyalius: description of the fish, maintenance and care in the aquarium

The lalius fish is quite interesting. Although it has a very gentle name, this fish in nature is a real hunter of flying insects. Being almost on the surface of the water, it “shoots” a jet of water and knocks down flying insects. After that, she can only feast on her prey.

Description, appearance

This is one of the smallest and most attractive labyrinth fish, growing up to 2 inches in length. The shape of the body is strongly flattened and looks more like an irregular ellipse. The fish represents the macropod family. Until recently, it had the classic species name Colisa lalia, but then received the species name Trichogaster lalius. Under this name, the fish is listed on the IUCN special list with a mark of “Low Concern”.

In front of the pectoral fins are the ventral fins, which differ in shape in the form of threads and serve as organs of touch for the fish. According to experts, this fish is necessary, since it mainly lives in muddy reservoirs. With the help of these “whiskers” the fish examines the bottom and bypasses various obstacles. On the caudal, anal and dorsal fins, you can see a red border around the perimeter. The anal and dorsal fins are quite long, since they begin almost at the beginning of the body, but at the same time they reach the anal fin.

It is important to know! These fish are quite easy to distinguish by gender: males are somewhat larger, have more expressive colors, and the fins are elongated and pointed at the ends, as well as a flatter abdomen. In addition, in males, the antennae are red, while in the female they are yellow.

Classic laliuses are distinguished by a striped body color, therefore the body is decorated with transverse stripes that even go to the fins. At the same time, the red stripes are interrupted, and the silver stripes have a silver tint. Males have more catchy colors: the body has a silver tint, and red-blue stripes are located on it. The abdomen of males is purple.

West German aquarists in 1979 bred another species called “red lalius” (Trichogaster lalius) which has a completely different body color. The males of this artificially bred species have a red-crimson body, while the head and back are turquoise-blue. It is believed that the “red lalius” is the most effective fish, although recently types of blue, green, cobalt, rainbow or coral tones have appeared.

natural habitats

The homeland of lalius is India, while the most numerous populations are found:

• In the state of Assam.
• in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
• in the state of Bihar.
• in the state of Uttarakhand.
• in the state of Manipur.
• In the state of Uttar Pradesh.

In addition to India, lalius live in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and the Republic of Indonesia. There is information that this species appeared in Singapore, Colombia and the United States. The favorite habitats of this amazing fish are the tributaries of rivers, overgrown with dense aquatic vegetation.

Interesting fact! These fish are not afraid of dirty water, therefore they live in small, well-warmed up by the sun’s rays, reservoirs. These can be rivers, just streams, ponds, lakes, irrigation canals, rice plantations, etc.

Lyalius are able to breathe not only with gills, but also with a unique labyrinth organ, which allows the fish to breathe ordinary air.

Maintenance and care in the aquarium

Many American and European aquarists refer to laliuses as dwarf gourami. In fact, this cannot be a mistake, since these fish are their close relatives. These fish are quite unpretentious, but they are distinguished by a rather high cost, which is explained by some difficulties in their breeding. Therefore, Russian aquarists do not often prefer lalius. This beautiful and very attractive fish lives on average for about 2 and a half years, although many claim that it can live at least 4 years.

Choosing an aquarium, its preparation

Since lalius are not large and are used to living in a limited space and even in muddy water, about 15 liters of water is enough for two fish, and if there are more fish, it is better to purchase an aquarium with a capacity of 40 liters. Even in a small aquarium, several (not a couple) individuals are able to take root, although a larger one will be much more interesting for them, since there will be somewhere to hide. As mentioned above, the purity of the water is not of fundamental importance, but its temperature should be at around +24 to +28 degrees: after all, the fish is thermophilic.

Important information! The air temperature should be approximately the same, since the lalius breathe not only through the gills. If the air temperature is lower than the water temperature, then the fish can easily catch a cold by swallowing atmospheric air.

Lyalius are distinguished by increased shyness, so the aquarium should be installed in a quiet place, away from human fuss and harsh sounds. The aquarium should be loosely covered with acrylic glass, as fish occasionally appear on the surface. To make them feel protected, aquarium algae should float on the surface of the water. Vegetation should be present not only on the surface: there should be a lot of it in the aquarium itself, since dense thickets are the favorite habitats of lalius. In such thickets, the fish feel completely safe.

Despite the fact that the fish is not so demanding on water quality, the following requirements are imposed on the aquarium:

• Availability of aeration and filtration system.
• Avoid strong currents.
• Change water regularly.
• There must be bright lighting.
• Daylight hours should be long.

The nature of the soil is not of fundamental importance, although the fish look better on dark soil.

Compatibility, behavior

In order not to observe constant confrontations between males, it is better to have one male and several females at home. Despite this, males often chase females if there are no rivals for them in the aquarium. If you choose a larger aquarium, about 60 liters, then you can keep several males. At the same time, there should be a lot of algae in the aquarium, then the males will divide the entire volume into several zones of their influence and will defend their territories from their rivals.

Lyalius are cautious and non-conflict fish, so they get along peacefully with other types of aquarium fish. For example:

• With zebrafish.
• With not big catfish.
• With haracinidas.

It is important to know! These fish should not be kept next to predatory species, including bettas and barbs, which are quite cocky. They not only break the fins-threads, but often beat the laliuses to death.

Diet, diet

This type of fish is distinguished by the fact that they are particularly picky in their food and feed on both algae and plankton, as well as small insects and their larvae. When kept in artificial conditions, they eat any food that is offered to them: live, purchased or frozen. At the same time, they should not be overfed, and even more so, offer coarse or large food due to the structural features of their digestive system. In this regard, any feed must be carefully chopped. It is permissible to feed them with various types of flakes, especially since the feeding fish rise to the surface.

For feeding lalius, food components of any origin are suitable. For example:

• Artemia.
• Corretra.
• The pipe worker.
• Spinach.
• Salad.
• Various algae.

Many aquarists believe that these fish should not be fed bloodworms, as it negatively affects their digestive tract.

Interesting to know! Lyalius are quite voracious fish, so they can eat more food than necessary. As a result, they begin to gain extra grams of weight, so the portions should not be large, and once a week the fish should starve.

Overeating is typical only in cases where there are no other types of fish in the aquarium. If the laliuses live together with other types of fish, then they are not in danger of overeating, because they are shy and they manage to pick up only the remnants of food.

Reproduction and offspring

At the 4th or 5th month of life, these fish are ready to breed. Before the spawning process, the female and male are specially fed live food, after which they are placed in a special aquarium with a capacity of 40 liters, while the water layer should be no more than 15 cm. This is necessary so that the fry can survive while their special respiratory organ not fully formed. The female with the male forms a nest from air bubbles, as well as aquatic plants such as duckweed, raccia or pistia. The nest covers up to ¼ of the entire surface. Its height is up to 1 cm, while it is so durable that it retains its functions for up to 1 month.

In this aquarium, where the offspring of lalius will subsequently be born, neither filtration nor aeration should be carried out, while the water temperature should be at +27 degrees and no less. Dense algae should be present in the aquarium so that the female can hide in them from an aggressive male. As a rule, the male becomes aggressive after the female lays eggs. During the period of courtship for the female, he is attentive to the female. At the same time, he spreads his fins and bends, inviting the female to the nest. When the female lays eggs, the male immediately fertilizes them, after which the eggs float to the surface of the water, since they are lighter than water. After this process, the female is transferred to another aquarium, and the male remains near the nest. For him, a rather difficult period begins, since he even forgets about food. After 12 hours, fry are born, which sit out in the nest for several days. Somewhere, after a week, the fry begin to slip out of the nest, and the male begins to catch them and, with the help of his mouth, again determines them back to the nest.

Interesting fact! The fry are increasingly starting to leave the nest, and the male begins the most difficult period. In the end, he ceases to cope with his duties to return the fry to the nest. He starts to catch them and just eat them. Therefore, during this period, the male himself is already planted, otherwise he is able to gobble up all his offspring, especially since he is very hungry.

During this period, despite the activity of the fry, they need food. They often die of starvation, so they need to be actively fed so that they have a densely stuffed abdomen with food. After the male is transplanted, a week later the fry are offered food in the form of Artemia nauplii or microworms.

During this period, they are no longer fed with ciliates, and in fry, the abdomen turns orange. During this period, fry must be constantly monitored, as more developed individuals begin to prey on weaker ones. To prevent this, the fry are sorted by size and seated in separate containers.

Diseases of fish lalius

These fish have the same diseases as other types of aquarium fish. At the same time, there are diseases that are not transmitted, as well as those that are transmitted, so it makes sense to focus on contagious diseases. These include:

• Hexamitosis and trichodinosis.
• Ichthyosporidiosis and ichthyophthiriosis.
• Glugeosis and branchiomycosis.
• Dactylohyrosis and dermatomycosis.
• Lepidorthosis and gyrodactylosis.
• Also fin rot.

These gentle fish get sick quite often. So that the immunity of the fish does not decrease, it is necessary to follow a reasonable diet, giving preference to live food. In addition, you need to follow the right care.