Aquarium chain catfish: types, description, photo

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

Of the huge variety of catfish, perhaps the "loricarian" or chain catfish have the most unusual appearance. Their name originates from the word "lori-ka". So called in ancient Rome the armor of legionnaires. The entire body of fish of this species is covered with symmetrically arranged bone plates that fuse together.

Description of catfish

The chain mail family can be divided into five subfamilies, which include seventeen genera and more than two hundred species. Unlike catfish of other species, Loricariidae are not predators. The basis of their diet is algae, plant leaves.

And now we will take a closer look at the most popular types.

Ancistrus stellata

These chainmail aquarium catfish are relatively small in size. Their bodies are elongated and flattened, covered with hard scales (only the abdomen remains free from it). The mouth resembles a suction cup. It has horn-shaped scrapers that allow the fish to scrape food off various hard surfaces (such as algae growths).

Chain pearl catfish have a body and fins painted in a thick and rich black color, with a scattering of white-blue small dots,which become light brown with age. On the fins of juveniles, you can see a wide white edging, which disappears over time.

The male is distinguished by special branched leathery processes that are located on the sides of the head. Experts call them tentacles. In females, such processes are completely absent or very poorly developed. The male is usually much larger than the female and can be up to 8 centimeters long.

Ancistrus vulgaris

Chain catfish, whose species are very diverse, differ from other aquarium inhabitants in their characteristic, somewhat flattened body shape. Ancistrus vulgaris is no exception. Its body shape is teardrop-flattened. The head is rather large. The mouth is a sucker, with horn-shaped outgrowths (scrapers).

The whole body of this fish is covered with armor. Sailing dorsal fin in a calm form is pressed to the body. The fins are painted in different shades of gray with a light yellowish tint. Light dots are scattered all over the body.

Outwardly, males have a more slender body. They have a dorsal fin higher than that of females, and the tail fin is much wider. Males have leathery outgrowths on their heads, which are absent in females.

Hypancistrus Zebra

Chain catfish of this species have such a bright color that it is impossible to confuse them with other varieties. These are alternating stripes of black and white, because of which the fish was named so.

Headhypancistrus elongated, eyes set very high. If you look at it from above, you can see that the eyes are connected by a white wide strip, from which four transverse ones extend. The upper jaw has seven to eight long, curved teeth on each side, which bifurcate towards the edge. The lower jaw has only eight deeply forked teeth.

The tail fins of the fish are V-shaped. In adults, all fins are decorated with white and black stripes.

Males are noticeably larger than females. Their ventral fins have spines. The same growths are present in the mouth area. Females have a more rounded abdomen. In a home aquarium, these fish do not grow more than 9 centimeters. They live in captivity for about ten years.

Brass Glyptoperichthus

These chainmail catfish are the dream of every aquarist. This is due to their very spectacular appearance. The brocade glyptoperichthus has an elongated and slightly flattened body. Brown spots are scattered on its light brown background. The dorsal fin is shaped like a sail. Catfish have well-developed oral suckers, thanks to which they stick to the surface of the glass of the aquarium so strongly that it is quite difficult to tear them off from it. Around the mouth, you can see antennae thickened at the base, which are trimmed with a skin fold.

Brocade catfish grow up to 60 cm in length. Males are larger, slender and their color is much brighter than that of females. Thorns are clearly visible on the pectoral fins.

Contents

Chain catfishlive and develop perfectly in ordinary fresh water with a temperature of + 26 ° C. At the same time, its acidity should be neutral, slight deviations are allowed.

When decorating an aquarium, artificial plants are more often used. Of the living, herbs with a good root system are welcome - cryptocoryne, echinodorus.

Catfish lead a secluded lifestyle, do not like bright lighting, prefer subdued. These fish need a lot of hiding places. They can be stones, grape roots, where they could retire, relax or just sleep. In the aquarium, you need to install snags, which are a source of edible cellulose for catfish.

Feeding

These fish are omnivorous, but the basis of their diet is coretra, bloodworm, brown bread, tubifex, lean meats, daphnia, and special dry food. For complete nutrition, feed catfish with spirulina tablets.

Some types of chain catfish prefer plant foods. Only pronounced predators require special feeding.

Chain catfish - breeding

During the preparation for spawning, fish need a varied and plentiful feeding of live food. At this time, it is better to seat females and males in different containers. The spawning ground must have a volume of at least 20 liters and a height of 20-25 cm. Fresh tap water is poured into it. Within two days, the spawning ground is aerated. Then several bushes of plants with hard and wide leaves can be placed in it. The water temperature drops by 2-3°C, but itshould not be lower than +18° С.

Mail catfish are planted in the spawning ground in the evening, at the rate of one female for three males. Spawning usually starts in the morning.

This variety of aquarium fish has an interesting feature - they become more decorative with each subsequent spawning. Often, catfish spawn in a common aquarium. In this case, it is necessary to transfer the eggs together with the substrate to a separate container.