In this article we will find out what a shellfish (placoderm) is. Where does it naturally occur, can it live in a home aquarium, besides, can it be with other fish in a common pond?
Dunkleosty shell fish
Dunkleosteus is an extinct shellfish known from skulls dating back 360 million years. Their remains have been found in Cleveland, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, California. Other dunkleosteids have been found in Russia, Poland, Morocco, Belgium.
Dunkleost was covered with outer thick plates. Although, unlike other placoderms, his smooth armor did not cover his entire body, but only a small front part with his head together. To be more precise, in the process of evolution, the lateral and dorsal plates were somewhat shortened, while the rest of the body remained free of them, thereby making it possible to freely maneuver, and develop decent speed when chasing prey.
The pectoral fins protruded far to the sides, like a shark's. Probably, the protrusion of the fin to the side exceeded halfbody width of the fish. The contours of the pectoral fins of arthrodires were similar to those of the Paleozoic cartilaginous fins. Probably, the structure of the pelvic fins was also similar.
Description
The armored pike (garfish) lives in the waters of Central and North America, as well as in the Caribbean. She prefers slightly brackish or fresh water. Rarely enough, but it also comes across in the sea.
Some researchers claim that armored fish on our planet lived in the Cretaceous era - 200 million years ago. In America and Europe, the remains of this fish were found. To date, there are 7 varieties of such pikes in the world.
The armored fish, the photos of which are presented in this article, grow to an impressive size. Although very large specimens are quite rare. The largest armored pike reaches 130 kg in weight and more than three meters in length. Her appearance fully corresponds to her character - she is very aggressive and, as the locals say, dangerous. The predator, in the fight with another fish, digs into the head of the victim with sharp teeth, after which it bites off. Then she returns to the body of her prey in order to continue the meal. There are known cases of these fish even attacking humans.
Application
Shelled fish is rarely used for food, but its meat is quite edible. In some markets in Central America, it can be found on sale. Of greater interest are garfish for sport fishermen specialized in catching various exotic individuals. Necessaryto admit, not everyone can catch such a giant. Yes, and it is very difficult to find it in small overgrown reservoirs. Only an experienced angler can do this.
Spotted Pike
The shellfish is also called the spotted shellfish. She is a predatory fish. It grows up to 1.2 m. The largest known weight is 4.4 kg. Her life expectancy is about 18 years. The body can be painted in several colors - from brown to light olive shades. It shows a pattern of spots of darker shades. The sides are slightly lighter than the back, while the belly is almost white. Slightly rounded tail fin. The dorsal and anal fins consist of nine or seven rays.
This fish lives in the Mississippi, as well as other rivers that flow from the Noeses to the west of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. She chooses brackish water.
Aquarium armored pike
At the moment, this representative of predators is very common. Armored fish in large aquariums reaches 30 centimeters in length. In small containers, such a pike quickly stops expanding and growing.
Her scales are hard as stone. It is located in oblique rows and resembles decorative tiles in its shape. This fish has a beak-shaped snout, with long and narrow jaws, studded with a huge number of teeth.
Building features
This fish has an unusual anatomical structure. Her vertebrae do not have depressions on both sides, which are present in other fish. They are on one sidedeepened, and convex - on the other. This structure is more characteristic of amphibians. In armored pikes, the swim bladder is also involved in respiration.
This is a single large specimen suitable for a large and spacious display tank. The fish is of interest to specialists due to its external resemblance to the usual Central European pike. At home, they usually do not contain old fish, although even they are quite aggressive towards all other inhabitants of the tank.
Contents
At the moment, there is a trend towards the fact that predatory fish are kept at home. Many people think that watching the tiny and calm inhabitants of the underwater world is quite boring. While predatory big fish, their temperaments are actually interesting. Connoisseurs of the exotic appreciate the daring disposition and the manifestation of aggression.
The armored pike is considered a bright representative of the community and an incredibly popular inhabitant of aquariums. In order for her to reach 30 centimeters at home, she needs an aquarium with a volume of at least 150 liters. In this predator, the dimensions depend directly on the parameters of her dwelling. Among aquarists, the most popular is the armored spotted pike.
This fish prefers to live in the upper parts of the water. Its neighbors are mostly larger. They live in the lower layers - this allows them to peacefully coexist with the predator we are considering.
Water and aquarium requirements
We told you that you need a big aquarium to keep these fish. If you want to grow a large individual,then you will need a "reservoir", the volume of which will be at least 500 liters. In this case, water should have the following parameters: hardness - dH 17, temperature - 20 ° C, acidity - pH 8.
For the maintenance of such pikes, water filtration and aeration are required. There should be few plants - for fish, the space free for swimming is much more important.
Food
Experienced aquarists say that these predators do not suffer from a lack of appetite. They eat small fish in incredible numbers. In other words, the armored pike is incredibly voracious. Consequently, in caring owners, you can most often find well-fed individuals in aquariums, sometimes resembling a floating log. Due to the greed of these fish, it is not necessary to keep them together with small individuals.
Finally…
Not so long ago, in one of the television programs, the candidate of medical sciences Mark Sandomirsky stated that in the sediments of the Devonian period there are huge reserves of psychic destructive energy left by the twilight consciousness of armored fish, which pose a great danger to humanity. This transmission caused a lot of rumors, talk and mostly ridicule. We will refrain from commenting…
