Broccoli catfish - the dream of an aquarist

In the USSR, the first brocaded catfish came straight from Thailand. The fish was so unusual that almost immediately attracted the attention of aquarium lovers. Of course, it can not be said that our aquarists did not see the representatives of the Chalk family at all: they knew the ancistrus, the lorikarii and the otocines very well. Although ... It is worth noting that business with them had only the capital's amateurs, whereas up to the province representatives of this wonderful breed almost did not reach.

Therefore, before the fall of the iron curtain, the catfish pterygoicht brocade was rather rare in domestic aquariums. And it's a pity, these catfishes are a real find for the owners of large aquariums, since their ability to clean the biotope from overgrown green algae is well known.

Not surprisingly, the first time a small catfish enterprising second-hand dealers sold at a price of up to $ 5 (!) Apiece, and at that time the money was huge. Fortunately, the importation of catfish in our time is put on stream, and therefore the prices for them are in most cases quite acceptable for most aquarium lovers.

The young brocaded catfish is simply magnificent. It differs not only in its original form, but also in complex behavior, which almost instantly forces one to pay attention to it. You have to reckon with their size - a large aquarium allows you to grow fish up to 40 centimeters in length. Such broiled catfish, whose photo can be seen in the article, becomes a real decoration of any aquarium. Its uniqueness also lies in the fact that with proper care, he not only remembers the owner, but also begins to trust him completely. And to trust so much that hefty fish can literally be taken in hand.

By the way, the brocaded catfish is a rather unpretentious guest. Small specimens can successfully live even in an aquarium for 50 liters, but to hope for their rapid growth and good health in this case is simply silly. In order for your pets to feel fine, you will need a minimum capacity of 150 liters. Despite the fact that in the literature it is said about the schooling of these fish, it is better to keep them in splendid isolation. Young individuals get along well with each other, but adult specimens refer to the presence of their "colleagues" is extremely cool. But even the smallest representatives of other species of adult brocaded catfish (not to mention the young) is not at all threatened.

As already mentioned, the ability of these fish to clean the aquarium inspires respect. One adult catfish literally in a week is able to polish a completely overgrown aquarium with a liter of aquarium liters for two hundred. Holding in a vessel a couple of young catfishes that retain good motor activity, you can forget about cleaning the vessel altogether. By the way, we knowingly said about the youth of the fish, since adult catfish prefer food more salty: boiled cabbage, pumpkin, zucchini and spinach. In addition, for their prosperity, it is useful to start a natural snag in the aquarium: with their mouth-suction cup, they polish it up to perfect smoothness.