Fishkeeping or taking care of fish in an aquarium is an interesting hobby.
If you’re a beginner aquarium hobbyist, the archipelagic state of the Philippines makes for a perfect place to source your water pets since there are a lot of species of freshwater fish that can be found in the country’s body of waters.
But before anything else, you should consider checking with the local regulations about the breed you are allowed to keep–whether they are endangered or not. It is also important to invest in the right sized tank and learn some of the fish’s common behaviors before mixing them with other species.
Here are some kinds of fish you can add to your aquarium:
1.Flowerhorn cichlids
They are man-made hybrids that came from the family ofSouth African Cichlids. In the Philippines, you can find Flowerhorn cichlids at pet shops around Manila.
Many fish hobbyists love its colorful appearance and “distinctively shaped heads”. According to theFishkeeping World, these species are not very welcoming to foreign fishes, but since they still prefer to swim together with their kind, this helps them lower their aggression and stress levels.
2. Goldfish
It is actually ill-advised to put a goldfish in a bare fishbowl. When you want to include goldfish in your tank, it requires a well-equipped tank with proper filtration and airflow to create a comfortable environment for the fish. It is also important to keep your water quality clean to avoid the transmission of diseases. Moreover, goldfish are a very sociable kind of species, otherwise, isolation can lead them to illness or death.
In the Philippines, there are vendors who sell goldfish using their motorcycle with a side cart. Complete with water and battery-operated tank, they roam around the local market or nearby neighborhood to sell goldfish and other kinds of water species.
These fish naturally love to live in really clean water, which requires owners to set up an aquarium with canister filters, ensuring that the water acidity suits its preferred range at 6.5-7.8pH.
3. Guppy
Guppies appear to be very attractive because of their large and colorful tails that are attached to their small bodies. They have evolved to live alone but when it comes to reproduction, they spawn easily once mixed with the opposite gender. If you’re planning to have a guppy, your aquarium must have a lot of plants where they can hide. A standard heater and filter are also required. Most people prefer to have male guppies because their tail coloration is more vibrant than the females’.
There are a lot of guppy breeders in the Philippines and most of them are in Bulacan.
4. Molly
They are a close relative to Guppies and can be found in the freshwater stream in some parts of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. These species are active breeders.
They consume vegetables and algae in their natural habitat. Mollies require eating two to three times a day, but beware not to overfeed other species when you mix them together in a tank.
5. Puntius Barbs
Puntius Barbs are easy to care of because they are omnivorous, meaning you can feed them even relish vegetables like squashed peas. You can set-up subdued lighting on its aquarium to highlight its metallic gold and silver hues. These small schooling fish are commonly found in the southern Philippines.
An aquarium filled with plants is suitable for their hiding places. When taken well care of, they can live for up to five years.
6. Rasbora
Rasboras can be found mostly in the southern part of the Philippines as well as in the tropical rivers of South East Asia. They usually come in bright colors. They are one of the easiest fish to breed and to take care of because they don’t need any particular equipment in their tank.
7. Zebra Danio or Zebrafish
They generally live in aquatic tropical environments, characterized by black and white stripes within their bodies that make them look like Zebras. They are small and active and they always come in groups of 5 to 6 of their kind. Danios are perfect for a beginner aquarist because they don’t require much water care and prefer to live peacefully. Its age limit reaches up to five years.
They can be found in the fourth-longest river in the Philippines–Pampanga River.
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