We always try to get a pet that soothes our mind. A pet, with which w can talk to, or simply can show it off to other people. A pet that maybe small or big, but attracts us by its colours, by its activeness, which inspires us to be the same. There is a small pet that fulfills all these requirements, and adding to it, there is something more, like a bonus point, that is these do not sleep. Guessed it so far? A pet that does not sleep, or if sleeps then keeps its eyes open? I guess, it is pretty much clear now that the pet is a fish. A single fish is owned by very few people. Usually an aquarium, as small as a glass bowl, or as big as a full sized aquarium is set up by the people to let these pets enjoy an artificial habitat, which is moulded in such a manner that it resembles to their natural habitat.
Here we will be discussing about the a few types of fishes among thousands of types that are usually kept as pets by the people around the world.
- African Cichlids
Cichlids are usually small in size, as small as 2.5 cm, while a few of them are large enough to be treated as an ancestor of this small fish. The largest cichlid found had length approximately equivalent to 1m. Not all cichlids are aquarium fishes, a few of these kinds like the African Cichlids, South American Cichlids are meant to act as pets. African Cichlids, as the name specifies, are found in the oceans and rivers of Africa, and also in aquariums of many people. These fishes are a little aggressive, and possessive about their region, when put with other fishes in aquarium, but they usually are easy to take care of. Furnishing the aquarium with water plants may lead to defining a particular territory of this fish, and lead to less aggressiveness in this small creature.
- Goldfish
Goldfish is one of the most domesticated kind of fish. It has been a part of aquarium since a long time, and will remain as such for a lengthy duration. The bright golden colour of this fish renders it to be one of a kind. Selective Breeding of this fish is done to obtain other kind of species. There is not just one kind of goldfish, whereas their are hundreds of other kinds of fishes, which also enjoy the name and designation of being a goldfish. Goldfish is also one of the most studied kind of fish in the history of science and evolution.
- Catfish
For those who know some facts about catfish, domesticating it would not seem to be a decent option, as catfish is known to be a predator, but on the contrary, they adjust extremely well with other fishes of various kinds when in an aquarium. They are very calm and don’t usually attack other fishes. Catfish prefer the company of their own kind, so it is referred that these kinds of fishes must be kept in a pair, in fact all the fishes mentioned here must be kept in pairs, as no one likes to be alone, unless their is an absolute requirement of it.
- Algae Eaters
My aunt used to have an aquarium. There was a fish in it, which, instead of swimming, always sucked the glass panel from the inside. On enquiring about it, I got to learn that it was a kind of an Algae Eater. Various fishes are covered under this kind, but all have a resembling look. They seem to have a straight body, so that they face no problems while consuming their diet. These algae eaters are commonly kept by fish owners, as they serve as a cleansing agent for the aquarium, and also add up to the beauty of the aquarium. Sometimes, supplies of algae need to be made to these eaters, in the form of fresh or dry algae, available at pet stores.
- Clownfish
When a person hears about an aquarium with fishes, there are just two things that come up to their mind. The first is a “Goldfish”, and the second being “Finding Nemo”. A movie inspired from a kind of fish, which is so attractive that a person who once sees it, cannot get their eyes off it. Even the maker of “Finding Nemo” said in an interview that they just saw a couple of these fishes in an aquarium. They didn’t know the species, but couldn’t get their mind off it, so made a search on it, and picked this kind of fish for getting casted in their movie. Although these fishes cannot talk, as is shown in the movie, but they surely are great and attractive pets. They are known to be pretty much social fishes, and don’t attack other fishes, although their size won’t allow them to attack other fishes.
These are just a few kinds of fishes, usually kept as pet by people, but there are hundreds of other fishes kept as pets, depending upon the interest of the people, as a few wealthy people are also known to have build a large enough aquarium, where they kept sharks and whales as pets. Usually these pet fishes feed on fish food, which can easily be obtained in pet shops. These fish foods have been produced to meet the dietary requirements of fishes.