Few aquarists know that the favorites and decorations of their aquarium - catfish - are the oldest fish of the planet, surviving to the present day.
Freshwater reservoirs of the world have about twothousands of different kinds of catfish. Approximately 800 species have aquired in aquariums. These sympathizers mostly have a broad head and flattened sides. They completely lack scales, in some places it is replaced by bone plates. Catfish are bottom fish, most of them are rather unpretentious - enough ordinary aquarium conditions. Homeland catfish aquarium - water reservoirs around the world, the habitat of many species varies considerably. Details of the contents of some fish, their habits, differences in shapes and colors will be described in our article.
A favorite of many aquarists is a motley catfish.The motherland of the fish - South America - Brazil, Argentina, as well as Paraguay and Uruguay. It belongs to the genus Corridoras and one of the species of Scabby or Calligraphic catfish. Sometimes it is called a catfish ordinary, simple or marble catfish. This is a typical omnivorous bottom fish, peaceful, with a peak of activity at night. The speckled catfish is quite unpretentious in food, it is easy to keep at home. Often, the catfish selects the remains of the feed of other fish, but sometimes it is recommended to give special food in the form of a special tablet for the catfish. The speckled catfish is called the "old-timer" of aquariums. His first breeding at home was recorded in 1878.
To the genus Corridoras is also the golden catfish.The motherland of fishes is South America. There, on sandy areas of various reservoirs, he feels particularly well. In aquariums, this bottom fish can reach a length of just over 7 centimeters. Coloration in yellow-brown colors. Of particular interest to everyone who observes this beautiful fish is the way to move the golden catfish. He moves his body from one place of the bottom to the other with thorns that are located on the pectoral fins.
A distant guest from the Amazon River Basin -thoracatum. This catfish, whose birthplace is Brazil, can reach up to 18 centimeters in length. A feature of males torakatumov is formed from the anterior ray of the pectoral fin, protruding bone spike of red or orange. She prefers darkness, often hides in shelters. This is a fairly peaceful catfish. The native land of the fish during the spawning of the torakatum on the reservoirs is covered by a large number of floating nests of this original catfish. The fact is that fish build special foam nests under objects floating on the water surface or leaves. And they do not release any air bubbles with the mouth, but with the gill covers. During spawning at home, a piece of polystyrene is most often used, which, after the female sweeps the eggs, is moved together with the eggs to a separate aquarium. Or they simply plant the female out of the aquarium, as the male can start it away from the nest.
Shark catfish, the birthplace of fish - Thailand, very fond ofsociety. And to the extent that often loneliness in him causes stress. Unhurried catfish does not like sudden movements and changing lighting. If in a room where there is an aquarium, sharply turn on the light, a shark catfish can become so frightened that it starts to rush about the aquarium and can injure its nose in an attack. This is a fairly large representative of soms. The Siamese shum catches up to 30 centimeters, and the Highfalcon shark up to 50 centimeters.
Ancistrus - a very original catfish, homelandsmall fishes - Brazil. Male antsistrus have on their head specific bushy leathery processes, which is very like the children who watch these fish in the aquarium. In general, the body is dark gray in color, with bright spots. But the coloring can "turn pale", in Ancistrus it is changeable. Often fish sucked to the glass of the aquarium and are scraping algae. The homeland of the catfish of the aquarium is the Amazon River, where the habitat is soft, slightly acidic water. But the fish easily adapts to life in hard water, which must be cleaned and saturated with oxygen.
Sinodontis is an African catfish.The motherland of the fish is the waters of the Congo River. Cynodontis is often called a pivot, because they turn over their belly upwards and swim over the surface, collecting prey with their fluffy mustaches. A lot of coloring options have this catfish, whose homeland made it "invisible" in the aquarium. Spotted color and various shades of colors make it, despite its large size, imperceptible on the bottom of the aquarium, and it takes a long time to find it. Fish feels unprotected if there is not enough shelter in the water.
Brocaded pterygoicht - a luxurious handsome catfish.The motherland of the fish is the Orinoco River. Its name came from a peculiar brocade - evenly spilled black or dark brown spots. Has a large magnificent dorsal fin, which in shape resembles a sail. The mouth is a large sucker. Recently, is popular with aquarists. It grows up to 30-35 centimeters. It should be borne in mind that if the Parchide Pterygoplichta is kept together with large sluggish and slow fish, it will try to stick to them, as a result, scales can be damaged. Probably, it attracts mucus. Basically, this is a very peace-loving fish, without problems getting along with small species.
