Map Fish

Map fish is a relatively common tropical fish. They have a large body and move slowly. Although their nature is not fierce, their appetite is astonishing. Experienced fish enthusiasts have trained map fish, and some even recognize their owners. Some well-trained map fish can even jump out of the aquarium and take food from their owners' hands.

Origin: Guyana, Venezuela, and the Amazon River Basin in Brazil.

Recommended water temperature: 18-25 degrees Celsius.

Water quality requirements: pH level of 7.0-7.5.

Alias: Piglet fish, tail star fish, black pig fish, star beauty fish. Belongs to the family Cichlidae.

Personality: Very aggressive, sometimes cannibalistic and may eat their own fry. However, if kept with other species of fish for a long time, it will protect them.

The map fish was originally named Lobotes ocellatus by Jean-Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, a 19th-century zoologist and founder of the Comparative Zoology Museum at Harvard University, in 1831. However, the genus Lobotes is entirely marine, and the fish of this genus are known as tripletails (family Lobotidae), while the map fish is a freshwater species. Therefore, Lobotes and the map fish have no meaningful relationship. It is speculated that Agassiz chose Lobotes to describe the map fish because he believed one or more of his specimens were collected in the Atlantic Ocean. Considering the resemblance of the map fish to marine tripletails in appearance and the incorrect location information, it is not surprising that the map fish was initially assigned to Lobotes, as many early species descriptions were based on specimens transported to zoologists from distant regions, and these specimens often had little specific locality data. The subsequent classification of the map fish was in the genus Astronotus, with Astronotus deriving from the Greek words "astra" meaning ray and "noton" meaning back. The species name ocellatus is Latin for spotted, referring to the spotted pattern on the fish's body. The genus Astronotus was previously considered monotypic, but later research revealed that various other species of "map fish" are abundant in South America. The originally described map fish (Astronotus ocellatus) appears to be limited to Peru and Brazil.

Fish enthusiasts are advised to keep map fish. Map fish often fight, opening their mouths, inflating their gills, trembling their dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, rapidly flapping their pectoral fins, and attacking the opponent, sometimes resulting in scale injuries. They are also the most sociable fish among tropical fish, enjoying being close to humans. When their owners approach the aquarium, they immediately swim closer. They also accept their owners' touch and even jump out of the water to take food from their owners' hands.

Ichthyophthyriosis, there are small white dots on the body and fins of the fish.

The pathogen of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is caused by ciliated protozoan parasitizing on the skin or gills of fish. I. multifiliis belongs to a kind of ciliated protozoan. The mature parasite has a horseshoe-shaped macronucleus. Young fish only have a round, oval, or rod-shaped macronucleus. The parasite is soft and plastic, with variable morphology. This disease is one of the most common and prevalent diseases in ornamental fish. Its characteristics are fast transmission, wide prevalence, and great harm.

Treatment method: Raise the temperature to 30 degrees Celsius, and the temperature can be increased appropriately. 32 degrees Celsius is the highest, and usually 30 degrees Celsius for two days can cure it. The ichthyophthirius stops growing at 28 degrees Celsius and dies in large quantities at 30 degrees Celsius. Pay attention to the water temperature, the highest is 32 degrees Celsius, the fish cannot stand higher than that, and high temperature is harmful to aquatic plants in the tank. Water mold disease often infects the injured tissues and dead eggs of fish, forming a cotton-like covering, also known as cotton or water cotton disease.

Fish suffering from this disease is usually caused by poor water quality. When the water quality is poor, fish are susceptible to water mold when they are injured.

Treatment method: Use malachite green or methylene blue to effectively inhibit the pathogens. You can also use potassium permanganate medicated bath for 20 minutes. Once a day until cured. When using a potassium permanganate medicated bath, the fish should be taken out separately, and the water should be adjusted to pink, the color can be deepened. Do not adjust it to purple, as the concentration of purple is too high. Remember: do not raise the temperature to deal with water mold. Many people think that raising the temperature is good for water mold. In fact, it is not. When the temperature is high, the fungi will reproduce and deteriorate faster. Room temperature is sufficient for treatment.

Head hole disease is common in medium to large-sized fish, and there is one or more holes on the head of the fish with pus-like substance inside.

The cause of head hole disease is temporarily unclear, and a large part of it may be caused by bacteria.

Treatment method: It is very simple. Take out the fish, then use a cotton swab to clean the pus in the head hole, fill the hole with yellow powder, and apply a red ointment on the outside to isolate the yellow powder from water, so that the yellow powder will not dissipate easily. Once a day, it will gradually improve in two or three days. If there is no improvement, continue the treatment.

Black spot disease is common in goldfish, koi and other eurythermal fish.

Some scales of the fish turn black, different from the color of the fish itself. The cause of this disease is poor water quality and bacterial infection. This disease has a small harm and a slow onset time. However, if it lasts for a long time, it will still cause the fish to become weak and die.

Treatment method: Add some salt to the water to enhance water quality. In mild cases, it will be cured. If it is severe, you can add some antibacterial drugs for auxiliary treatment. For example, methylene blue and oxytetracycline.

Pineconing disease (dropsy), the scales all over the body of the fish stand up, and the fish looks like a pinecone. If the condition persists, the scales will fall off, making it unable to swim and eventually leading to death.

The pineconing disease is caused by the accumulation of water in the scales of betta fish, causing the scales to stand upright. It is usually divided into systemic and local types. The systemic pineconing disease is more severe and usually occurs in fish with severe dropsy. Dropsy in fish is caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, resulting in a soft and bloated feeling of the body. Once this symptom is found, it should be treated immediately. It is usually not easy to cure after the critical period. The second type is simple pineconing disease caused by infection with Bacillus lipidorthosae.

Treatment method: 1. Prepare a mixture of 1% table salt water and 1% baking soda water, soak the fish body for 10 minutes, it will take effect after multiple treatments. 2. Use potent antibacterial drugs such as penicillin for complete tank disinfection. In a 50-liter tank, use the ratio of two penicillin injections.

Enteritis, the fish shows normal performance in all aspects, but has white feces.

There are generally two reasons for enteritis. One is caused by internal parasites (we classify this condition as enteritis caused by internal parasites). The fish has white feces but still eats. Enteritis caused by internal parasites can be treated by using kanamycin or metronidazole to remove the internal parasites. The other is enteritis caused by bacteria. This type of enteritis is characterized by blackening, refusal to eat, fin shrinking, aggregation, and the biggest feature is abdominal distension. This type of enteritis is the most deadly. The feces are mostly pus-like white feces or dragging.

During treatment, kanamycin can be used. For a 25-liter water, use two injections of kanamycin for a half-hour bath and then remove the fish. Once a day until cured. Metronidazole can also be used to treat enteritis. Twist the metronidazole tablets into foam, and then sprinkle them into the medicated bath tank. Two tablets for 25 liters of water.

Rotten flesh, rotting skin disease.

The fish's body is rotten. Sensitive parts that are injured are infected by bacteria, resulting in poor long-term healing.

Treatment method: Apply red medicine to the wound. Put antibiotics such as oxytetracycline and penicillin in the tank. Isolate from other fish to avoid pecking at the wound.

Water Quality Regulation: Generally, add new water every 10 days to gradually increase the water level. The transparency should be maintained at more than 30 centimeters, and the dissolved oxygen should be above 5 milligrams per liter. During the hot summer season, the map fish are active, and there will be more harmful substances such as ammonia nitrogen and nitrite in the water, which will seriously affect the growth of the map fish. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the amount of added water and adjust the transparency of the water. Test the water quality every 10 days, including water temperature, transparency, acidity and alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrite, etc. Use probiotics (such as EM bacteria) and other water quality improvers to regulate water quality and bottom quality based on changes in water quality and bottom quality (microbial preparations should not be used together with disinfectants), and maintain a good pond environment to reduce the occurrence of diseases.

Feeding Management: After artificial domestication, you can feed artificial formulated feed with a protein content of 35-38%, and add red pigment additives, such as shrimp astaxanthin. Feed 2-3 times a day, or you can feed small fish and shrimp and other palatable feed. Feeding should adhere to the "Four Fixity", which means fixed time, fixed quantity, fixed location, and fixed quality. Feeding amount: artificial formulated feed accounts for 3-4% of the fish body weight, and palatable feed accounts for about 1%. Because map fish have a ferocious appetite, it is necessary to patrol the pond and observe their feeding and activity conditions to ensure that the feed is sufficient and avoid fights between fish.

Disease Prevention: Map fish rarely suffer from diseases, but the principle of "prevention first and treatment combined" should be adhered to. Spray with quicklime or disinfectant once every 15 days to prevent the occurrence of diseases.