So, today I was surfing the Web, looking for a topic for today’s post. First of all, you guys should understand that I love organization, so any kid of classification system is greatly appreciated by me! Well, I found an article at Live Aquaria.com that tickled my fancy. The author has created his own classification system for all of the aquarium fish out there. While this system is interesting, it’s important to remember that it isn’t authenticated or certified in any way. Each of the seven categories of fish contains specific features and species.
The first category of aquarium fish that the author recognizes are Catfish. There are well over 2,000 varieties of catfish, most of them fresh water, but a few in the salt water real. Catfish are easily recognized by their skin, which isn’t made of scales, but instead resembles armor. When purchasing a catfish for your aquarium it is important to remember that certain species can grow to up to 7 feet in length and that most catfish are specialized feeders.
Next comes the Characiforms which include characins, tetras, hatchetfish, pencilfish, and splash tetras. These fish are commonly caught from the wild in areas such as Africa and the Americas. It is important when purchasing fish from this category to remember that they’ll need special care as they are adapted to wild environments. Some of these fish can also be dangerous.
We now come to the Cichlids category. Species in this category of aquarium fish include specimens from Africa, the tropical Americas, and Asia. These fish are popular because most of them are very brightly colored. However there are a few things that potential owners of these fish should be aware of. Because fish in this category possess parental skills they can be quite territorial and even aggressive if their young are threatened.
These are only three of the seven categories of aquarium fish outlined in Live Aquaria’s article. Check in tomorrow for information on the remaining four categories of popular aquarium fish!