Cherry fish - Characteristics, habits, detailed care

Cherry fish (Puntius titteya), the most popular freshwater aquarium fish with bright orange-red color, gentle, easy to raise, cheap price.

Cherry fish (Cherry fish - Puntius titteya), a small freshwater aquarium fish with outstanding colors with bright orange-red tones, gentle temperament, likes to live in schools, easy to raise, very suitable for small aquariums or large community tanks.

If you want to know more detailed information about the origin, habits and care of cherry fish, please follow the article below of nice fish !

Cherry fish information :

Origin of cherry fish

Cherry fish is also known as cherry carp.

The cherry fish, scientifically known as Puntius titteya, is a freshwater ornamental fish native to Sri Lanka in South Asia, especially the Kelani and Nilwala river basins. They prefer to live in rivers and streams with slow currents, not too deep, stable temperatures, clean water environments, and dense vegetation and aquatic plants.

Nowadays, thanks to its beautiful appearance, high adaptability and low price, cherry fish are very popular in the aquatic world of Vietnam.

Cherry fish appearance

The brilliant appearance of the cherry carp.

Cherry fish stand out with their small appearance and bright colors, very prominent in the aquarium. Let's learn more about this interesting aquarium fish.

• Size : 4 - 5 cm in adult fish.
• Shape : Body is quite slim, long, slightly round.
• Color : The main color is bright orange-red, like the color of ripe cherries, hence the name "cherry fish". Female fish are lighter in color than male fish.
• Fins : The fins are lighter in color than the body, and may even be transparent or slightly translucent.
• Black streaks : On some male fish, they also have black or dark streaks appearing on the caudal fin, which looks very prominent.
• Head : The fish's head is small, the mouth is located below, suitable for searching for food at the bottom.
• Fins : The dorsal and caudal fins are square, slightly rounded, and look very balanced.
• Swimming style : Gentle, flexible, graceful, often swimming in schools.

Cherry fish behavior

Cherry carp like to live in schools.

Right below are the typical habits of cherry fish, let's find out if there is anything interesting and special about it!

Like to live with the herd

Cherry fish are schooling fish, because they are quite small in size, so they only feel safe and become more active when living in a group. It is best to keep a school of 6 or more.

gentle nature

This fish has a friendly, gentle temperament and rarely fights or bites other fish in the tank. However, during breeding season, males may chase each other to compete for females.

Prefers to operate in the middle and lower floors

Cherry fish are usually only active in the middle and bottom layers of the tank, where they always swim in schools, looking very cheerful and prominent.

Is an egg-laying fish.

Unlike many other small freshwater aquarium fish, the cherry fish is an egg-laying species. The female fish will choose places with many aquatic plants to lay eggs scattered in there. And especially, this fish is quite clumsy, has no habit of taking care of eggs or fry, they can even eat their own eggs.

Therefore, if you want them to reproduce successfully, you need to separate the male and female fish after they have laid eggs into a separate tank so that the eggs can safely hatch into baby fish.

Instructions for raising cherry fish to have beautiful colors

Cherry fish prefer clean, quiet water.

If you want to raise healthy cherry fish with beautiful colors, please refer to the super detailed fish raising instructions shared below.

Preparing the cherry fish tank

Before raising cherry fish, you need to design a suitable aquarium to help this fish quickly adapt to the new environment and grow healthily. Please note the following requirements.

• Tank capacity : Minimum 60 liters for a school of 6 - 8 fish, optimal is 80 - 100 liters so the fish can swim most comfortably.
• Water filter : Choose overflow filter or external membrane filter to create gentle flow
• Aerator : Necessary to provide oxygen for fish, especially at night.
• LED lighting system : Choose a color light specifically for colored aquarium fish to help them have the most beautiful colors.
• Aquarium decoration : Plant many aquatic plants such as java moss, dog tail grass to create shelter for fish, need to add driftwood, decorative rocks to create private space and make the aquarium look more beautiful. For the aquarium floor, you can choose fine sand or small gravel.

Water parameters suitable for cherry fish

Although cherry fish are quite easy to raise, in order for them to grow and have beautiful colors, in addition to designing a suitable aquarium, you need to maintain stable water quality and meet the following criteria:

• Water treatment before releasing fish : Use dechlorinated tap water, filter for at least 3-5 days to help the microflora system be as stable as possible.
• Temperature : 23 - 27 degrees Celsius, keep stable, avoid sudden changes that cause stress to the fish
• pH : 6 - 7.5, slightly acidic.
• Hardness : 5 - 15 dGH, soft to slightly hard.
• Ammonia, Nitrite : 0 ppm
• Dissolved oxygen : High > 5 mg/L, need to run aerator continuously.

Tips to help stabilize water parameters :

• Change water periodically every week from 30 - 50% of water.
• Limit the amount of excess food to avoid contaminating the water.
• Equipped with good filtration system to help stabilize microorganisms
• Plant lots of aquatic plants to both increase oxygen levels and help absorb nitrates.

What do cherry fish eat?

Cherry fish are omnivorous and do not require much in terms of food, so you can feed them some of the following foods:

• Industrial food : Small, flake pellets, you can choose specialized types to help fish have beautiful colors.
• Fresh or frozen food : Bloodworms, daphnia, red worms, artemia
• Other foods : Crushed boiled egg yolks, crushed vegetables, etc.

Note :

• Fish should be fed 1 - 2 times/day, with enough food to eat in 1 - 2 minutes.
• It is necessary to rotate food between types to ensure adequate nutrition for fish.
• Be careful when feeding fish live foods such as bloodworms as they can carry pathogens.

Common diseases in cherry fish and how to treat them

Cherry fish price list

Cherry fish are beautiful and very cheap ornamental fish so they are very popular. If you want to buy them, please refer to the following price list!

Note :

• Fish prices may vary depending on store, time and shipping costs.
• You should buy in combo to get the best price.
• Choose healthy, active fish with beautiful colors.

Beautiful cherry fish images

Please take a look at the pictures of cherry fish showing off their brilliant beauty compiled below to understand why this freshwater aquarium fish is so popular!

Two cherry carp are swimming side by side.

A cherry crucian carp with a vibrant red-orange color.

A cherry pompano is swimming among the aquatic plants.

Above, nicefish.net has shared with you detailed information about cherry fish . This is indeed a super popular freshwater aquarium fish, eye-catching colors, gentle temperament, easy to raise, suitable for even those who do not have much experience. If you want your aquarium to be more lively and beautiful, try choosing cherry fish!

If you want to learn more about other freshwater or saltwater aquarium fish to understand more about the aquatic world, please visit our Blog section.