Today, an aquarium is a frequent decoration of the home interior. After all, he brings to the house not only comfort, but also a piece of the underwater world, which is so interesting to watch. And more often than others, freshwater aquariums appear in apartments: they are easier to care for than marine ones, but the variety of underwater inhabitants is in no way inferior to marine ones. Below we will talk about one of the most popular fish contained in domestic waters - catfish ancistrus.
But before moving on to a detailed description of the fish, let's make a reservation - we take as a basis the description of the common ancistrus, which is most often found in amateur aquariums. Below we briefly consider some derivatives of its forms, which are also of great interest to aquarists.
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Ancistrus catfish has an elongated shape, a grayish-black color. Yellow dots are evenly scattered throughout the body. The head is large relative to the body, it has a mouth with a suction cup. He has big lips. It is with the help of the suction cup that the catfish is fixed on the walls of the aquarium or underwater snags, and scrapes algae with its lips.
The dorsal fin is large. It has a flag shape. The adipose fin is weakly expressed, while the pelvic fins and the caudal fin are well developed. Withwith their help, the fish also moves around the aquarium. On the sides, the body is protected by keratinized plates that protect the fish from predators.
The catfish does not swim in the water column, it moves mainly along the bottom and vertical walls, but it moves quickly. It can hang on the glass for a long time, attaching to it with its suction cup.
The male ancistrus catfish is no different from the female in color, but it is not difficult to distinguish them from each other. With age, the male develops characteristic whiskers on the front of the head (horns). The female also has them, but much smaller. Also, males are larger than females: they usually reach 12-15 cm in length, the latter are somewhat smaller.
Natural habitat
Ancistrus vulgaris is native to South America, from where it was brought about 100 years ago. It can be found in stagnant and slow-flowing water bodies in the central and northern parts of the mainland.
Under natural conditions, Ancistrus catfish grows much more than in a home aquarium. Although this rule is typical for all fish, with the exception of those varieties that were bred artificially.
Containment conditions
Catfish is undemanding to water parameters, it feels good with medium hardness. The temperature range can also be from 15 to 30 degrees, but water of 22-26 degrees will be optimal.
It is important to keep the aquarium clean so that the water does not become cloudy. The recommended capacity for one fish is 40-50 liters. Under such conditionsAncistrus will grow well and be able to find enough food for itself. But it is not recommended to launch two or more fish into a small aquarium, since by their nature they are territorial (only in relation to their species), and weaker individuals will be constantly oppressed by their fellows.
Otherwise, all conditions are similar to the standard for all species, that is, in the aquarium it is necessary to provide filtration and oxygen supply to the fish and moderate lighting.
What does Ancistrus eat?
There is nothing difficult in feeding this species, it usually finds its own food. Ancistrus catfish, the maintenance of which will not cause difficulties even for a beginner, feeds on algal fouling, scraping them from the walls and leaves of plants. Thus, in a large domestic pond, additional feeding may not be required, but this is the case when the aquarium is densely planted with plants and has an established biological balance. Well, it does not have an overabundance of bottom dwellers.
But more often the fish needs to be fed. For this purpose, you can use specialized feed purchased at a pet store. Or you can do it differently and give him herbal supplements yourself. These could be:
- peas;
- cabbage;
- lettuce, spinach;
- dried leaves of nettle, dandelion;
- sliced cucumber;
- carrots and other vegetables.
Before serving such food, it must be scalded with boiling water. This is done not only to soften, but also withpurpose of destroying pathogenic bacteria.
It is worth noting that Ancistrus is not a shy fish and can easily take food from other species. You can often observe such a situation in the aquarium, when you feed the fish and the rest of the food sinks to the bottom, then the catfish begins to actively eat them. At the same time, he drives away all the fish that want to pick up food. Consider this fact when selecting food for the general population of the aquarium.
Why not give live food?
As for feeding with live components, Ancistrus eats well both frozen food and live bloodworms or tubifex. But experienced aquarists do not recommend doing this for two reasons:
- Firstly, catfish, eating these types of food, can get used to them and stop performing their functions as an aquarium cleaner, which will lead to even more fouling of the walls and leaves.
- And secondly, with frequent feeding with live food, the fish may die, since its digestive system is not adapted to such nutrition. Ancistrus is a herbivorous fish, not an omnivore or predator. This must not be forgotten.
These mistakes are often made by those who start aquarium catfish for the first time. They just don't have enough experience. In the first case, the situation can be corrected by stopping giving him live food, but in the second case, only by stopping feeding the same type of food in time.
Compatibility with other fish
Ancistrus catfish, the care and maintenance of which is within the power of a child, still requiresthe correct selection of neighbors in the aquarium. He gets along well with all types of moving fish, regardless of their size. Catfish will never even eat fry of viviparous species. But he will not refuse fish caviar. This is worth considering. Therefore, it should not be kept in spawning tanks intended for spawning.
All types of characins, barbs, guppies, swordtails, iris and other mobile species will become excellent neighbors for him. But there are also unwanted neighbors. With whom Ancistrus catfish are incompatible, it is with sedentary species (goldfish, sac-gill catfish, discus, etc.). The reason is simple - it will stick to their bodies and leave wounds on them through which infection can enter.
Another undesirable neighbors for them will be other bottom fish. In this case, there will be competition for food, even if there is enough food for everyone. It has already been verified that in small aquariums, ancistrus catfish, the size of which is larger than the competitor's fish, will mercilessly drive it around the entire aquarium. This primarily applies to algae-eating fish such as Gyrenocheilus and Otocinclus affinis.
Inhabitants living in the water column are not touched by catfish, except for feeding time. After all, he drives them away from food that has fallen to the very bottom. Ancistrus catfish are also compatible with each other, but only if there is an aquarium of sufficient volume and food supply.
How does reproduction work?
When a couple or more fish are kept in a common aquarium, sometimes spawning occurs by itself, but the aquarist aboutthis is usually found out too late, when there are almost no fry left. For this reason, purposeful spawning is recommended. At the moment when the female ancistrus catfish is ready for this, you can proceed. You can determine this by a full belly stuffed with caviar.
As a spawning aquarium, a capacity of 30–40 liters is used, a ceramic tube is placed on the bottom and constant water aeration is established. The male is placed first in the spawning ground, after a few hours the female. 1/3 of the water is changed to fresh and the temperature is lowered by a couple of degrees, this stimulates spawning.
Reproduction of Ancistrus catfish usually occurs at night, the female lays on the substrate cleaned by the male from 40 to 200 pinkish-yellow eggs. After spawning, the female must be removed. The male will take care of the eggs and larvae, fanning them with his fins and removing the dead eggs.
After 4-7 days, the first fry appear. From this moment, the male is also removed from the spawning aquarium, and I begin to feed the fry. Bottom tablets available from aquarium fish food companies are well suited for this purpose. You can also feed small ancistrus and vegetables such as zucchini or carrots.
As the fry grow, they must be sorted, as the stunted ones can be eaten by larger brothers. In general, cannibalism among aquarium fish is common, so do not be surprised if you notice this in your aquarium.
Ancistrus color variations
Catfish aquarium ancistrus has several popularvariations that are significantly different from the original form. They were bred by aquarists during a long selection and selection, and today they are successfully fixed. This means that artificially bred color will prevail in their offspring, and only occasionally natural signs of the species will occur.
Let's consider the most popular ones.
Albino form
Albino catfish is also a frequent inhabitant of home aquariums. All its difference from ordinary catfish is in color. It has a yellow body color. There are also veil fish of this color.
Another characteristic feature that distinguishes it from other varieties are red eyes. Such a detail stands out noticeably against the background of a yellow color. It is worth considering that their immunity is weaker than that of ancistrus vulgaris. But this is common to all albinos, regardless of species.
In all other respects, these fish are similar to their original form.
Yellow Ancistrus
Very similar to an albino, with the only difference that it has ordinary eyes and a more saturated yellow color. He also doesn't have reduced immunity. The content of the ancistrus catfish of this color is similar in everything to the fish of the usual color.
Red variation
In lifestyle it is similar to the common ancistrus, with the difference that it leads an even more secretive lifestyle and has a shorter body length (up to 4 cm). He also needs more stable water parameters: the temperature is within 27-30 degrees, the hardness should be moderate. But that's not all. Regular water changes required.
Also inaquariums, you can find other varieties of this catfish, such as stellate and leopard ancistrus. All of these species can also have veil fins, and if you have such fish, then carefully monitor the hardness of the water - at a high level, the fins can split. This applies to all fish with this unique feature.
Interesting facts
Here are some interesting facts about this fish:
- As you know, these fish are often called "stickers" because of their suction cups. In everyday life, it was precisely this that stuck with them. And not all novice aquarists know the scientific name of this fish.
- The average lifespan of ancistrus is 5 years, but on forums and websites about aquarium fish you can find information about much longer lifespans. It happens that under good conditions catfish live up to 10-12 years, but such cases are quite rare.
- The temperature of the water in which the ancistrus lives directly affects its size. And if a catfish grows in an aquarium with a low temperature, then it will be much larger than a fish grown in more comfortable conditions. In the respective markets you can often see such individuals. Often they are not even sold, but simply used to demonstrate the size, thereby attracting buyers.
- Females of this species have the ability to change sex. This happens if many females and no males live in one aquarium. By the way, females of other species, for example, female swordtails, have a similar feature. And a number of marinefish, females change sex from a certain age, and not only in cases when it is necessary.
- Although photos of Ancistrus catfish can often be seen on aquarium sites, where it is positioned as a tireless orderly of the bottom, in practice it is not so simple. It really cleans windows and plants. But with age, the quality of such cleaning weakens. Therefore, the best way to keep the aquarium clean is young fish, not adult fish.
