Among lovers of ornamental fish, the place of honor is striped platydoras. This is a beautiful large catfish with a bright color. It has a peaceful nature, so multi-species aquariums are suitable for it. The fish prefers to lead an active life at night, but in comfortable conditions it can “walk” during the day, delighting the owners with its curious disposition.
Description
The fish are native to the waters of South America. Catfish striped platidoras belongs to the Armored family, so it’s easy to guess that it has a kind of “armor” in the form of hard plates on the body and head. In addition, there are spikes on the sides that can be pricked. On both sides of the head are two pairs of dark antennae. No less remarkable is the coloring. Wide stripes of black and light color stretch from head to tail. The older the fish, the less pronounced the pattern becomes. These are large fish. Adults reach an average of 15 centimeters, although they grow to 20 in the wild. Females, when viewed from above, appear larger and fatter than males. By external signs, these fish can be confused with long-nosed catfish. They can be distinguished from each other by the length of the muzzle andadipose fin, in the long-nosed they are more oblong. In good conditions, striped platydoras lives for about 12 years.
Kom content
This fish is unpretentious and hardy, so it does not require careful care. For catfish, it will be enough to change 30% of the water once a month. This pet prefers a liquid of medium hardness, which will be enriched with oxygen. The volume of the aquarium must be at least 120 liters. The lighting is subdued. If you like to watch the life of fish at night, you can install an LED lamp that emits red or moonlight.
Platidoras striped needs shelter, nooks and crannies to explore. Clay pots, voids in snags, plastic tubes are suitable for this. In addition, there must be good sand at the bottom, because in the wild these fish like to burrow into it. Due to the fact that they dig, a slight coating can appear on aquarium plants. Catfish are not inclined to eat algae, but small plants can be an exception. If you monitor the condition of the aquarium and the quality of the food, the likelihood of the fish getting sick is very small.
Feeding
In nature, striped catfish feed on crustaceans, mollusks, detritus, and everything that falls to the bottom, so we can say that they are omnivorous fish. In the main diet, the fish should have protein food with the addition of plant components. This can be pelleted food (which settles) along with frozen bloodworms. Catfish also like rainworms, tubifex and even live moths.
Feeding should be daily, but at the same time, you need to control the amount of feed. The striped catfish is known to be prone to overeating. There were cases when they died from immoderate consumption of food. The best time to feed is just before the aquarium lights are turned off.
Reproduction
There are many fish that can be successfully bred at home, but they do not include striped platydoras. These catfish for sale are propagated by hormonal injections, but naturally, even in large aquariums, this is very rare. There is very little information on this process, since most often, with successful spawning, breeders found already swimming fry.
For spawning, it is necessary to prepare a separate aquarium in which temperature (270), acidity (up to 7 pH), hardness (up to 60) is controlled) and water level (20 cm). Floating plants are also launched. In addition, before spawning, it is important to keep producers separately and feed them with live food. The nest of leaves must be built by the male. The female lays about three hundred eggs. But for the implementation of spawning, it is necessary to use the pituitary suspension. After this process, the producers are evicted. The incubation period is 72 hours. On the fifth day, the larvae begin to swim. Young animals are fed live dust, microworms. Growth takes a long time.
Compatibility of aquarium inhabitants
Striped catfish are bottom andpeaceful fish. Regardless of the size of their "neighbors", they treat them well. But there is a danger that very small catfish fish will be regarded as food. They can be hooked to aggressive fish, since the striped platydoras has strong armor that will protect. For example, characins, cyprinids, gambusias, anabontids and catfishes, which do not have pronounced territorial rivalry, are suitable for the neighborhood. You can also add Central and South American cichlids.
Striped catfish is suitable for group and single keeping. If several Platydoras live in an aquarium, they may show territorial enmity, and skirmishes will occur from time to time. But do not be afraid of this, because they will not cause harm to each other. Over time, this behavior may change, and they will be able to live in the same shelter, as they often huddle in flocks in nature.
