Akantoftalmus Kühl is a charming aquarium inhabitant. Contents, reproduction, compatibility with other fish

Among aquarists, a fish, called Akantoftalmus Kühl, is quite popular. To some it is known under the names acanthus, pangio and even "traffic cop." The fish is an interesting object for observation. By the way, all of its behavioral features have not been solved so far, the more interesting it is to identify them.

Pedigree of the "traffic cop"

In the wildlife, the Akantoftalmus Kühl (pictured in the article) is fairly widespread in the south and east of Asia. It is often found on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo, mastered the reservoirs of Thailand and Singapore. In natural conditions the fish prefers mountain and forest rivers characterized by muddy bottom. Open, steppe spaces of acanthophthalmus are not of interest - it requires a thick layer of deciduous litter.

Description of fish

Outwardly it looks like a brightly colored worm. Body elongated, spindle-shaped, slightly flattened laterally, reaching a length of 10-12 centimeters. The main color of the color is light, along it there are transverse thick strips of different intensities of brown color. Their number and density are individual for each individual. On the upper part of the body there is no scales at all, the lower part is covered with very small, almost indistinguishable scales.

Near the mouth grow antennae, three pieces at each corner. Under the eyes grow small spines (one by eye).

Behavioral features

Akantoftalmus Kulya - fish bottom and night. It begins to manifest activity at dusk. The schools are not noticed for fish, but if there are one or two individuals in the aquarium, they constantly hide and leave shelter only deep at night. Therefore it is recommended to keep 4-5 individuals in a home pond.

In acantophthalmus, the air bubble is closed in the bone membrane. This "design" allows the fish to change buoyancy and greatly affects their behavior. If the atmospheric pressure drops sharply, the Kühl's acantophthalmus becomes much more mobile, and the acceleration of motion can be very sharp. If you follow the behavior of the fish, you can pretty accurately predict the weather.

Akantoftalmusy very shy. In the room where the aquarium stands, it is undesirable to make noise or turn on too bright a light. Frightened, the fish quickly turn pale, tend to hide, often burying themselves in the sand. And if acantholphthalmus is in the upper layers of water, it can jump out of the aquarium.

Habitat conditions

If you liked the Akantoftalmus Kühl, the content of its special troubles will not deliver: the fish is rather unpretentious. However, certain rules have to be adhered to.

1. Due to the fact that acanthophthalmus refers to bottom fish, it is not the height of the aquarium that is important, but the bottom area. Even for one individual a home pool should be taken with low walls, but 50 liters. For an average flock, the volume must be at least 80 liters.
2. In the water "house" must be located stones, driftwood and shards, in which its inhabitants will hide. It is also recommended to plant the aquarium fairly tightly with plants that also serve as shelter. In this case, all shelters should be wide enough so that the fish do not get stuck in them.
3. The bottom is covered with fine sand at least 3-4 cm. There should not be any rough or sharp inclusions in it, about which the acantophthalmus of Kühl can be injured.
4. The water filter should be covered with a grid, so that the curious fish can not climb in there, nor can the aquarium top, so that it does not jump out of it.
5. The temperature is maintained in the range of 24-28 degrees Celsius, the acidity is not above 7.4 pH.
6. Lighting is weak and diffused.

Water changes weekly to a third of the aquarium volume. If the acanthophthalmus constantly keeps closer to the surface, do an unplanned cleaning and check the filter: the water may be contaminated.

Akulftalmus Kühl: compatibility with other aquarium inhabitants

Some aquarists advise to keep "traffic cops" without extraneous neighbors. However, these are not categorical recommendations. Akantoftalmus Kulya - the fish is peaceful and accommodating. Strongly it is not necessary to settle it except with predators: either your population will be eaten, or the acanthophthalmus will eternally hide. All kinds of haracin and labyrinth are quite compatible with loaches. Suitable in the neighborhood of the discrepancies, small cichlids, spawning kartozuby. It is not necessary to populate the corridors with which Kant's acantophthalmus will compete for shelter.

Feeding

In nutrition, "traffic cops" are also uncomfortable. The main diet includes a pipe man and bloodworm, almost all dry and frozen food is suitable. The snails from small, fry and caviar are eaten by acanthophthalmus, so during the reproduction of other fish it is better to plant them in a separate pond. The only condition that is met during feeding is the lowering of food to the bottom.

How to increase the population

Observing the funny fish an aquarist will surely want to have more of them. And this will be the only capriciousness of such an inhabitant as Kul's acantophthalmus: its reproduction is possible only in natural conditions. In any case, voluntary. In order for the loaches to give offspring in captivity, gonadotropic drugs are required that are injected into the producers. Far from everyone cope with this task. If you are confident in your abilities, equip the spawning grounds. The area of its bottom surface should be no less than a square meter. It is necessarily forgiven by a grid, so that parents do not bite marked caviar. When the female spawns, it is returned to a stationary aquarium. On the fourth day after hatching the fry are already actively eating. As a meal, a chopped pipe man, "dust" and infusoria are suitable.