CHAPTER

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CHAPTER

Fish

20


History of Fish

• Earliest evidence: Fossils from Ordovician period (425 to 500 million years ago)– Slow bottom dwellers with thick, bony plates/scales;

poorly developed fins; no jaws (Ostracoderms)– Became extinct ~250 million years ago

• From Ostracoderms evolved two groups– Placoderms: ~395 million years ago– Acanthodians: ~410 million years ago

• From Acanthodians evolved class Osteichthyes– Sarcopterygii subclass: Only two orders today– Actinopterygii subclass: Now over 20,000 species in

34 orders


Characteristics of Fish

• Cold-blooded vertebrates that breathe with gills and move and balance with fins

• Most covered with scales• Skin has other elements

– Glands that produce slimy mucus– Chromatophores that give fish colors– Sensory receptors

• Long, folded heart with two chambers• Spherical eyes with no eyelids• Inner ears and taste buds• Digestive system according to diet• Most bony fish have swim bladders


Orders of Ray-Finned Fish

• Cypriniformes (characins, gymnotid eels, loaches, minnows, suckers)

• Siluriformes (catfish)• Atheriniformes (flying fish, half beaks, killifish,

needle fish)• Perciformes (cardinal fish, glassfish, and

related fish)• Tetraodontiformes (box fish, ocean sunfish,

puffers, triggerfish)


Orders of Ray-Finned Fish (cont.)

• Scorpaeniformes (scorpion fish, sculpins)

• Gasterosteiformes (pipefish, sea horses,

sticklebacks, trumpetfish)

• Mormyriformes (mormyrids)

• Osteoglossiformes (bony tongues, freshwater

butterfly fish, mooneyes)


Major Families of Order Cypriniformes, Suborder Characoidei

• Characidae (tetras and characins)

• Gasteropelecidae (hatchet fish)

• Anostomidae (headstanders)

• Hemiodontidae (pencil fish)

• Citharinidae (moon fish)


Major Families of Order Cypriniformes, Suborder Cyprinoidei

• Cyprinidae (minnows and carps)

• Gyrinocheilidae (algae eaters)

• Cobitidae (loaches)


Major Families of Order Siluriformes

• Siluridae (glass catfish)

• Schilbeidae (three-striped glass catfish)

• Mochokidae (upside-down catfish)

• Pimelodidae (unarmored catfish)

• Callichthyidae (armored catfish)

• Loricariidae (sucker catfish)


Classification of Order Atheriniformes

• Suborder Exocoetoidei– Family Exocoetidae (halfbeaks and flying fish)

• Suborder Cyprinodontoidei– Family Cyprinodontidae (killifish or egg-laying

tooth carps)– Family Anablepidae (four-eyed fish)– Family Poeciliidae (live-bearers or viviparous

top minnows)

• Suborder Atherinoidei– Family Atherinidae (rainbow fish or silversides)


Suborders of Order Perciformes

• Percoidei

• Blennioidei

• Mastacembeloidei

• Anabantoidei


Major Families of Suborder Percoidei• Apogonidae (cardinalfish)• Centropomidae (snooks, robalos, and glassfish)• Grammidae (basslets)• Nandidae (leaf fish)• Cichlidae (cichlids)• Pomacentridae (damsel fish, anemone fish)• Monodactylidae (fingerfish)• Toxotidae (archer fish)• Platacidae (bat fish)• Scatophagidae (scats)• Chaetodontidae (butterfly fish)• Labridae (wrasses)


Major Families of Suborder Blennioidei

• Acanthuridae (surgeons, tangs, and unicorn fish)

• Family — Zanclidae (Moorish Idol)


Major Family of Suborder Mastacembeloidei

• Mastacembelidae (spiny eels)


Major Families of Suborder Anabantoidei

• Anabantidae (climbing perch)

• Helostomatidae (kissing gourami)

• Belontiidae (fighting fish and paradise fish)

• Osphronemidae (gourami)


Classification of Order Tetraodontiformes

• Group of saltwater species called triggerfish– Three dorsal spines, second locks upright into the first– Found throughout the world– Widely varied colors, patterns, and shapes

• Common species– Undulate or orange-green triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus)– Picasso or white-barred triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)

• Can be kept in community aquariums but may be aggressive to smaller fish

• Maintain water temperature at ~75°F• Feed on chopped meat, shellfish, meat-based

sflake foods


Classification of Order Scorpaeniformes

• Made of lion fish (dragon or turkey fish)• About 14” long• Native to Indo-Pacific and Red seas• Primarily reddish-brown with numerous white

bands encircling the body• Long fin rays, poisonous spiny ray• Feeds on live fish or chopped meats,

voracious appetite• Maintain water temperature at ~77°F• Can be kept in community aquarium with fish of

equal size


Classification of Order Gasterosteoidei

• Made of sea horses• Vary from black to yellow

– Yellow or oceanic sea horse: About 2” long, native to Indo-Pacific marine waters

• Have hard body covering, no caudal or anal fins• Swim in vertical position

– Prehensile tail anchors to plants and coral• Fairly difficult to keep

– House in species aquariums– Maintain water temperature at 77°F

• Feed on live foods


Classification of Order Mormyriformes

• Contains mormyrs and elephant-snout fish• Long-nosed elephant-snout fish (Gnathonemus petersi)

– Native to dark, turbid fresh waters of Africa– Grows to 9” long– Dark brown-black with a violet iridescence– Two yellowish-white, irregular, vertical stripes between dorsal

and anal fins– Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins edged with white– Lower lip is tool for digging for food on stream bottom– Emit electrical field around body for movement in darkness

• Will adapt to community aquarium with dark, secluded hiding places

• Maintain water temperature at 75°F• Feed on insects, insect larvae, and worms


Classification of Order Osteoglossiformes

• Made of fish with long anal fins and reduced or no dorsal fins (often called knife fish)

• Move by undulation of long anal fin• African knife fish (Xenomystus nigri)

– Grows about 8” long– Primarily light brown with lighter underside– Occasionally rises to surface to swallow

atmospheric air– Is peaceful and can be kept in community aquarium

with other peaceful fish, dark areas, and vegetation• Maintain water temperature at ~79°F


Desired Qualities of Fish Aquariums• Can be made of glass, Plexiglas, acrylic• Size requirements

– Tropical freshwater: Maximum 1” of fish/every 10 square inches of surface area

– Cold freshwater: Maximum 1” of fish/every 30 square inches of surface area

– Marine: Maximum 1” of fish/every 48 square inches of surface area• Location free of drafts, out of direct sunlight, with level surface• Filters/air pumps for dissolved oxygen• Other filter for waste removal• Chemical/biological filters• Protein skimmer• Water heater/thermometer• Lighting• Decorative items


Feeding Methods for Fish

• Diet according to feeding approach– Small and large fish: Flake foods from fish, fish eggs, wheat, and

vegetables and usually added vitamins and minerals– Middle feeders: Small pellets that skin slowly– Large top feeders: Floating fish sticks– Bottom feeders: Sinking pellets

• Supplement with other foods– Can feed live foods (water fleas, earthworms, flies, maggots,

wood lice)– Supplement with vegetables (chopped or shredded lettuce,

chopped spinach leaves, canned peas)– Minced or chopped meat for carnivorous fish

• Feed small amounts 2 to 3 times daily


Fish Diseases and Ailments

• Parasites– White spot– Slime disease– Hole-in-the-head– Velvet disease– White fungus growth– Flukes– Anchor worms– Fish lice

• Bacterial diseases– Finrot– Mouth fungus– Neon disease– Tuberculosis– Pseudomonas and Aeromonas


Fish Reproduction

• Via internal or external fertilization

• Egg layers– Egg-scatterers– Egg-buryers– Egg-depositors– Mouth-brooders– Nest-builders

• Live bearers

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