Varieties of aquarium catfishes are great - you can choose from more than eight hundred variants. Among them there are species suitable for both beginners and experienced owners of aquariums. For example, the sackbranch som (Heteropneustes fossilis) is poisonous, so it is not recommended for beginners.
At the moment, there are ten families of catfishes that are suitable for aquarium maintenance:
- fringed;
- armored;
- chain mail;
- sackbranch;
- armor;
- Pimelode;
- hacking;
- shilbovye;
- wide-legged;
- electric.
All of them are united by a naked body, without scales, covered with skin or bone plates, and antennae. Let's talk about the three most popular among beginners aquarists types of catfishes:
- Agamixis white-spotted (Agamyxis albomaculatus) - the most common inhabitant of aquariums. Growing up to 10 cm, he needs an aquarium from 100 liters. The optimum temperature will be 25-30 ° C, the soil will be coarse-grained. They feed agamixis with chopped strawberries and other live, frozen and vegetable fodders. It gets on well with other fish species.
- Brocaded pterygoicht (Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps) - a catfish with a beautiful leopard coloring. The length reaches up to 30 cm and lives up to 12 years. It will require an aquarium with a capacity of 100 liters. The temperature regime is 24-30 ° C. Forage is mainly herbal, with the addition of a cut tube; can be fed and industrial feeds for bottom fish. Brocaded pterygoicht may be aggressive towards large fish and males of its species, but it is calm to the inhabitants of the middle and upper layers of the aquarium.
- The somatic chanter (Synodontis nigriventris) is an interesting species, the feature of which is swimming up belly (except when it plows the bottom in search of food). Lives up to 10 years, grows up to 6 (male) - 10 (female), see. The optimal for the change-over will be an aquarium from 50 liters, in which 24-27 ° С are maintained. It feeds on both animal and vegetable feeds. Somik-perevertysh - peace-loving schooling fish. It is best to select active neighbors of similar sizes.
Most catfish live in tropical ponds, but the conditions of keeping different species in the aquarium may differ. There are both, catfish, friendly to other fish, and quite aggressive predatory aquarium catfishes.
Contents of aquarium catfishes
Consider the following moments to care for the catfish. Aquarium catfish - cleaners by their nature, they pick up the remains of food from the bottom. In doing so, they dig the soil and raise water particles in the soil - so that the water is not turbid, you need a powerful filter. In addition, Soma are rather secretive fish, they need thickets of grass and a variety of shelters in which they can feel safe. Most of them are nocturnal. An exception is the speckled catfish (Corydoras paleatus) - you can watch it in the afternoon.
Aquarium catfishes - reproduction
For reproduction of aquarium catfish, a spawning ground is required - a capacity of up to 30 liters. Water hardness should be up to 15, acidity - 6-7 Ph, temperature - about 20 ° С. In the container put a plant or a piece of plexiglas, on which the female will lay eggs. With a female, it is necessary to run two or three males. When the female will spawn eggs, it and the males should be transplanted, and the temperature of the water should be increased by 7-8 ° C and antibacterial preparations added to avoid spoilage of the eggs with a fungus. Three days later the fry will appear. For them, the temperature is reduced to the original value, and fed live feed 4 times a day, gradually adding to the ration of the chopped tubule and other feed.
As for the lifespan of aquarium catfishes, everything depends on the type of catfish in this question: antsitrus on average survive to 5 years, pteragoplichts - to 15, agamixis - to 17 years.