Aquarium catfish fish: photo and description, care

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

Aquarium catfish are one of the most popular fish. They have a large number of varieties that differ in size, shape, color scheme, and behavioral features. Compared to other inhabitants of domestic waters, some types of catfish aquarium fish are very unpretentious, hardy and disease resistant. For this reason, they are recommended for beginner aquarists with no experience. Catfish are considered orderlies, because, living at the bottom, they eat sunken food residues.

Feeding

Cats are predatory and herbivorous. Predators can be fed with fresh frozen food - bloodworms, tubifex, enchitrius. If small fish (guppies, neons) live in an aquarium, catfish can also feed on them.

Herbivorous catfish can be fed with lettuce leaves, nettles treated with boiling water. Also suitable boiled zucchini, pumpkin. You can give fresh cucumber.

Dry and pelleted food can be used to feed these individuals.

Since catfish are bottom fish, when feeding them, it should be borne in mind that food does not always reach them, as other aquarium inhabitants eat it.

Catfish are very fond of eating snags, sometimes they polish them to a shine.

Aquarium size

For the maintenance of catfish aquarium fish, it is desirable that the home pond be with a wide bottom. For a comfortable habitat for these specimens, the water must be changed and filtered in time. For small species of catfish, the volume of the aquarium should be from 50 to 200 liters, and for large individuals - 300 liters.

Features of water and lighting

Catfish feel good in standard conditions. Water temperature is from 22 to 28 degrees, acidity is required neutral with slight deviations. S alt water not allowed.

It is advisable to install a powerful filter. For catfish, it is important that the water is clean and oxygenated. For this reason, half of the water in the pond needs to be replaced every week.

Aquarium fish catfish live at the bottom of the vessel. They don't need bright light. On the contrary, they require subdued light or the presence of many shelters in the form of snags, plants and stones. In this case, the catfish will swim freely during daylight hours.

Design

In an aquarium with catfish, you need to pick up large plants with good roots. If the species of catfish is herbivorous, all small plants will be eaten by them. Gravel and sharp stones should not be used as substrate, as they can injure the fish's abdomen and mustache, which will lead to infection and loss of taste buds.

Catfish are very fond ofhide, so they need to make some kind of shelter. It can be castles, houses, thick plants, stones, bowls or driftwood. In this case, the catfish will feel comfortable.

Neighbourhood

Aquarium fish catfish are peaceful in nature. They usually don't get into fights with other fish. But sometimes individuals of different sizes may conflict with each other.

When choosing catfish in an aquarium, it is necessary to take into account the nature of the other inhabitants. If these are small fish, then it is better to purchase herbivorous catfish. If the rest of the fish are large and aggressive, it is better to put powerful catfish with them, you can predatory ones that could stand up for themselves.

You should avoid the neighborhood of catfish with crayfish and crabs.

Diseases

Catfish diseases can be caused by incorrect content. In this case, the situation can be easily corrected: change the water more often, observe the temperature regime, take into account the peculiarities of their content. In addition, diseases can be introduced with other fish, snails, plants, live food. In this case, you can not do without drugs. It should be remembered that medicines that include table s alt and copper sulfate are not suitable for catfish.

Sometimes these fish can react to stress by changing color - they turn pale, they have light spots. But after they calm down, the color takes on its original form. In case of problems with digestion, catfish are placed in an aquarium with a snag. In general, the treatment of these fish is practically no different from the treatmentany others living in captivity.

Beginner aquarists should remember that catfish are aquarium fish that must be properly cared for. This will save you from unnecessary troubles and problems.

Reproduction

Reproduction in catfish is simple. If there are no other fish in the aquarium, you can not transplant them to another body of water. In the case when the inhabitants of the aquarium are of different species, for spawning it is necessary to transplant three or four males with one female into another container with a volume of 30 to 70 liters. Water should be clean, soil - soft, vegetation - dense. To speed up the breeding process, it is necessary to change the water temperature within 17-25 degrees for several days and do aeration. Spawning usually begins in the early morning. When the caviar is laid, it is recommended to darken the place where it is located. The fry are fast growing. They can be fed powdered dry food, ciliates. After a week, you can add finely chopped bloodworm and tubifex.

Popular types of catfish

The name and photo of catfish aquarium fish give an idea of the diversity of the detachment. Some of them are surprising with their bizarre shape and unusual appearance. Photos and descriptions of catfish aquarium fish will help novice aquarists choose suitable specimens for their aquarium. When choosing, it is recommended to be guided not only by the appearance of individuals, but also by ease of maintenance. Here will be presented the most popular species with photos of catfish aquarium fish.

Spotted corridor

The most popular name for this aquariumfish - catfish speckled. This is the most common catfish of the whole genus. The body length of these fish is up to 6.5 cm in males and up to 7.5 cm in females. The body itself is covered with bony plates, has a pale olive color with a blue or green sheen. Two pairs of whiskers located on the upper jaw are designed to search for food at the bottom of the aquarium.

The lifespan of these catfish depends on the temperature of the water and averages 3-5 years. As the water temperature rises, this period decreases.

Speckled catfish, like other corridors, rise to the surface of the water to breathe atmospheric oxygen. These fish are very peaceful and quite active. But sometimes they can sit in one place for a long time and look for food.

It is preferable to keep speckled catfish in flocks of 3 to 5 individuals, so they feel comfortable. Barbs, zebrafish, viviparous, dwarf cichlids, tetras are suitable as ideal neighbors for them. These catfish love cool water, so they should not be kept with warm water fish, including discus. It is also necessary to avoid proximity to aggressive and large species.

Golden catfish

These bottom fish belong to the corydoras family. Their name is due to the unusual golden color.

Golden catfish are peaceful, so they can coexist in an aquarium with any species. Their body is protected by bone plates. For this reason, they are invulnerable to aggressive specimens.

These catfish eat from the bottom of the food that others have not eatenkinds. Thus, no food remains on the bottom. They eat both dry and live food. In search of him, they muddy the water, so the aquarium needs a filter.

Golden catfish lead an active lifestyle in the dark, when looking for food. During the day, he sits in secluded places, on stones and snags.

Ancistrus

These catfish are very popular with aquarists, as they are very diligent. They clean the dirty surface of the aquarium in a short time. In addition, these fish are unpretentious in content, outstanding in behavior, it is very interesting to watch them.

The body of ancistrus has a teardrop shape, covered with bone plates. The color varies from gray to black. The catfish has a wide head, round eyes, a sucker-shaped mouth with horn-shaped scrapers. Thanks to this structure, it can clean the walls of the aquarium, the surface of snags.

Ancistrus feel comfortable in clean water, maximally saturated with oxygen. Therefore, aeration is required, as well as filtration of water in the aquarium, which must be replaced weekly with fresh settled water.

When decorating an aquarium, secluded places should be provided for these catfish. Castles, caves, grottoes made of stones, snags, as well as thickets of plants with a good root system are suitable for this.

Ancistrus are friendly and non-aggressive, they coexist well with any species. They are combined with cichlids, cold-loving fish, including veiltail and telescope. Avoid close proximity to large fishhaving powerful jaws.

Glass catfish

The length of these small catfish can be from 4 to 10 cm. It is distinguished by a transparent mother-of-pearl scaleless surface of the body. Above the upper part of the mouth, these specimens have two antennae. This catfish got its name "glass" because its bones and entrails can be seen through the skin. Photos of glass catfish aquarium fish give an idea of the unusual appearance.

These catfish have very fragile he alth, so you need to carefully study all the requirements for caring for them. It should be noted that the water in the aquarium should be soft, slightly acidic, with a temperature of 21-26 degrees. For such individuals, only live food is suitable. If they managed to accustom them to special feeds, the presence of shrimp, insects or their larvae in the diet is mandatory.

Glass catfish is peaceful. He quietly coexists in an aquarium with other types of fish. These catfish must be kept in pairs in an aquarium, and even better, several individuals, as they die alone.

Since glass catfish like to hide, you need to provide secluded places and thickets of plants for them in the aquarium. In this case, they will feel safe.

Loricaria

These fish are bottom dwellers. From the description of aquarium fish of loricarii catfish, you can get an idea of the unusual appearance.

They are called lizard catfish because they crawl from one place to another. In the aquarium, the length of loricaria is from 15 to 18 cm. They have an elongated body of red-brown or orange color, turning into a long tail, mouth with suckers. with which he scrapes the algae. Loricaria are the orderlies of the reservoir.

These fish are very calm in nature, easily get along with other species. They live at the bottom of the aquarium. It is better to keep them in a small flock, then they will behave bolder and become more visible in the aquarium.

For small flocks of loricaria, an aquarium of at least 70 liters is required. The bottom should be fine soil or sand, as they love to burrow into it.

Like other catfish, Loricaria love to hide. Therefore, equipping the aquarium, you should provide for them a variety of shelters. They thrive among lots of plants and avoid bright lights.

Water required is clean and oxygenated.