Catfish tarakatum - unpretentious aquarium fish

Catfish tarakatum (Hoplosternumthoracatum) - fish from the family of the detachment of somiformes, belonging to the family of armor, or calligraphic catfish. It has an elongated and squeezed on the sides a brown body with black specks. For a catfish, a wide head is typical, on which the mustache is located: two pairs on the lower jaw and one pair on the upper jaw. There is a fatty fin. Catfish tarakatum is a peaceful fish that does not threaten its neighbors. And large fish do not touch it because of the presence of a shell, formed of strong bone plates.

Sexual differences

The female is slightly larger than the male. The male stands out in a more colorful color. It is characterized by elongated and pointed pectoral fins. The first ray of pectoral fins is similar to a solid bone spike of red color. The pectoral fins of females are short and round in shape.

Spread

Catfish tarakatum lives in South America and on the island of Trinidad. He lives in both flowing and standing water bodies (in the basins of the Amazon and Guiana rivers). Mainly adheres to the bottom. When the reservoir dries up, the catfish burrows into the mud and waits for the rainy season to begin. He is most active at dusk. These catfishes are also called aquarium cockroaches because they are brown, mustached and ineradicable. And they can live in waters with a very high content of nitrates and organic substances. Here such unpretentious fish is a catfish tarakatum. The photo depicts it in natural conditions.

Reproduction

Sexually mature catfish grows in a year and a half. In nature, these fish begin to breed in the spring, when fresh water enters the reservoirs and atmospheric pressure drops. To stimulate their spawning in the aquarium, you can change the water and increase its temperature. The male begins to build a nest on the surface of the water. The material for this is air bubbles, which are fixed by the male on a wide sheet of any plant. It is necessary to take care of the presence of such a leaf in the aquarium. If there are several pairs of fish in the aquarium, then it is necessary to put more sheets on several sheets than the pairs, so that the males do not arrange fights because of the leaves. The female glues eggs (1000-1500 pieces) to the bottom of the leaf. After this, the male drives her away and takes care of the caviar herself. At this time, it is desirable to lay the female off.

Care

In the aquarium catfish, the tarakatum adheres to shady places. Therefore, you should fill the bottom with a variety of shelters: driftwood, caves, shells, place aquarium plants. One catfish requires 50 liters of water, a couple - 100 liters and more. It is desirable to maintain the water temperature at 22-28 ° C. Water is changed twice a month for 1/5 of the volume. In nature, catfish live in very poor oxygenated water. Because of this, they acquired a respiratory organ, which makes it possible to breathe atmospheric air. The habit of climbing to the surface of the water and gaining air remained in the catfish and in the aquarium. Tarakatums are omnivorous: they eat any dry and live food. They like to collect food from the bottom. In the aquarium can live more than twenty years, reaching 20 centimeters in length, adjacent to any fish. Characterized by the very peaceful nature of catfish tartakatum.

Diseases of fish

The catfish can become infected with furunculosis and mycobacteriosis. He undergoes an infection of the gill plates. The diseased fish should be placed in a container with a solution of medications.