Panamanian sturisoma: proper care

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Panamanian sturisoma in nature lives in South America in fast-flowing rivers. She belongs to the genus Sturis, in which there are about twenty amazing individuals. Some varieties of these fish have been successfully bred in aquariums for several years. This aquatic inhabitant belongs to the Mail catfish family.

Description

They have a beautiful shape and active behavior. Sturis is rarely transported, so people got used to breeding them on their own. The Panamanian sturisoma quickly gets used to life in an aquarium, even if it was moved from its natural habitat to an artificial one.

This is a cleaner fish, excellent at scraping the contents of the walls and other objects of the aquarium. Of all the first responds to feeding. In large aquariums it can reach twenty centimeters, excluding the tail fin.

Appearance and differences of individuals

The body is elongated, low, flattened from below with a long caudal peduncle. The head is elongated, there is a small outgrowth on the snout. The ends of the lobes of the forked caudal fin are filiformly elongated. The fins and body are reddish-yellow in color. From eye to tail findark brown stripe. The belly is silvery white with yellow-brown spots. Females of this species are paler in color, before spawning, their abdomen becomes very elongated. The head of the female is narrower, wedge-shaped. An adult mature male has thick bristles on the cheeks, the female does not have them.

Contents

Sturisoma Panamanian catfish - a peaceful inhabitant of the aquarium. During the day they lie on snags, stones, soil, and begin active behavior at twilight. There should be several females per male. You can keep them in a common aquarium with small fish. The aquarium must be at least 160 liters. The temperature is ideally kept within 24-28 degrees, hardness 4-10. The acidity should not exceed 7.2. It is important to change regularly 25% of the water in the aquarium so that the Panamanian sturisoma feels good. The content is not difficult, but the fish need a strong current, which is created by special devices. Negatively tolerate a large number of ciliates.

What should be in the aquarium

Everything for the aquarium can be purchased at specialized stores. Fish need plants, stone slabs, driftwood. There must also be a mechanical-biological filter to create a strong current.

Food

Mainly the diet of these fish should include vegetable food. Live food and artificial in the form of tablets and flakes. Panama sturisoma is demanding on cleanliness, therefore, feeding the fish should be in moderation. Since the food decomposes, polluting the aquarium. Catfish are hard to bear. With maintenance, the problem of starvation sometimes arises. When they are in an aquarium with other inhabitants, especially with ancitrus, the amount of food should be increased.

Breeding

Puberty in fish comes about one and a half to two years. At this age, males are a little territorial and may attack females, however, this does not harm them. If the conditions in the aquarium are uncomfortable for fish, then in males up to three years old, resorption of odontodes may occur. Due to inappropriate maintenance, they may not grow back, and their owners think that they only have females. To determine the sex as accurately as possible, you should consider the genital papule of mature fish.

Individuals, ready for spawning, begin to clear the area where the clutch will be. The male does this and does not let the female in until the place, in his opinion, becomes clean enough. As a rule, they choose stone slabs, but also often spawn on aquarium glass, driftwood. Places for laying catfish are chosen with running, oxygenated water. More often vertical sections are chosen, but sometimes masonry is also made on a horizontal surface.

Egg laying occurs in batches, lasting from thirty minutes to several hours. It happens on different days, and you can see eggs at different stages of development. For one spawning, about 200 eggs are fertilized by the male. After that, the female leaves, and the male follows the offspring. He directs fresh waterfor eggs. Incubation time - up to seven days. After hatching the larvae, the male stops courtship. This is how Panamanian sturisoma is derived. Breeding is easy, but requires attention. If desired, using a tube, you can plant the larvae in a separate container. After two or three days, they begin to give food: scalded leaves of nettle, dandelion, cabbage, plankton, shellfish meat.

If a male spawns with more than one female, then you should not be afraid for his he alth. He can take care of the eggs for weeks, but he quite allows himself to leave and go down for food, but at the same time he does not stop watching the females. At the slightest hint of an encroachment on their offspring, it returns to its place to the masonry.

In order to breed and maintain this type of fish at home, you need to prepare everything for the aquarium. Speci alty stores will help you. And then you need to make sure that the Panamanian sturisoma feels comfortable. Recently, these catfish have become in demand, and aquarists have become more interested in them. They attracted the attention of people with their peculiar character and unusual shape. Fish do not leave indifferent even those who do not like catfish.

This species is not the most demanding in care, but it is still important to adhere to certain subtleties in the content so that the fish grow well and develop fully.