If you are a fish hobbyist, then you must have at some point thought of ways to make your aquarium as unique as possible. Most aquariums hold the most basic types of fish like tetras, goldfish, and guppies as they are easy to care for, easily available, and less expensive, thus a preference for many. But if your lifestyle is unique, then be ready to meet some strange aquarium residents.
The Arowana
Your first glance at an Arowana might mistake it for a dinosaur because of its razor-sharp teeth and evidently powerful jaws. The Arowana originates from the Amazon River basin and thus can grow to lengths of up to 30 inches in size in a controlled environment. If the Arowana is your preferred choice of fish, then your aquarium tank needs to be 4ft x 4ft minimum due to the large size of the fish.
A large aquarium tank will enable the fish to move around freely and thus it will not feel stressed by its environment. The Arowana prefers a diet of frozen pellets and food, shrimp, bugs, and crabs. Because of being a heavy feeder, the maintenance of the fish calls for cumbersome and regular filtration of the aquarium tank to prevent the fish from contaminating its environment from its waste.
The Arowana love and prefer a wild environment, and thus a surrounding of rocks, sand, and plants will depict to them a much healthier natural habitat. It is also notably important not to startle an Arowana as due to their jumpy nature evident in the Silver Arowana, or you might end up trying to save it from the floor. For more fish with strange teeth check out, Six Weird Fish with Even Stranger Teeth.
The Axolotl
The Axolotl or the Mexican Salamander, as the name suggests, originated from Mexico City. The notably cute and unique fish is an exotically classified amphibian. Their carnivorous nature forces them to dine on feeder fish, worms, and insects. Thus, an aquarium tank containing an Axolotl should not include other small sized fish as they might end up being dessert.
The aquarium should have smooth and dainty sand to protect their sensitive skin from damage. As a minimum requirement for keeping the Axolotl, one needs an 11-gallon aquarium tank. The delicate skin of the Axolotl also forces a lot of care to be in place while dealing with the aquarium’s water conditions. Thus, it is advisable to change and test the water in the aquarium frequently.
The Ghost Shrimp
The Ghost Shrimp have an unlucky history of being used as fodder for the much larger predatory aquarium fish. However, recent changes depict them as popularized aquarium pets as they do not require a lot of care and thus are easy to breed. Moreover, their transparent appearance is as unique as it is appealing and thus valued by a good number of fish hobbyists.
The survival of the Ghost Shrimp in any aquarium is an easy guarantee if the invertebrates do not find themselves in the same population as the predatory aquarium fish.
The Flowerhorn
The Malaysian Flowerhorn Cichlid is a one of a kind fish due to its exquisite size and beauty only displayable through its majestic mixture of unique colors. The bold display of the fish is what makes it a highly popularized aquarium asset to the fish hobbyists that are always looking for something unique and different to add to their aquarium collection.
The combined makeup colors that highlight the beauty of the Flowerhorn are orange, yellow, pink, red, and blue together with an epic flower-like signature mark on its body. The simple beauty of the fish does not, however, translate to its character as they are aggressive as they are carnivorous. Thus, they love to rule a large aquarium tank by themselves hence each should have their tank as a safety precaution.
The Flowerhorn diets on live foods, flake, and pellet. They can be as big as 16 inches in size and can live for 5 to 8 years.
Ranchu Goldfish
If you are looking to make a unique aquarium, then you should consider keeping a Ranchu Goldfish. The Goldfish breed is as unique and unusual as its name suggests. The prized fish breed appears to be lacking a face because of its obscured eyes and mouth by its head tissue.
They like to dine on tubifex worms, daphnia, blood worms, and brine shrimps. However, feeding them freeze-dried foods will prevent bacterial infections and parasites in the aquarium tanks. They should however not be in the same tank with other competitive aquarium mates due to their poor vision and thus are slow to find food.
Regardless of whether you are stocking your aquarium with a goldfish or wild and exotic creatures, make sure to follow care instructions closely. This will ensure your pets have a happy home that you can enjoy as well. Also, please note that the fish listed above CAN NOT be kept in the same tank together. Do. Your. Homework. 🙂
Elizabeth is an avid fish owner and is a contributor for It’s a Fish Thing. When she isn’t tending to her aquarium, Elizabeth enjoys practicing yoga, playing tennis, and hiking with her dog, Rufus.
