Red-tailed catfish, or fractocephalus, is a very bright, beautiful exotic fish. Usually they grow large enough. And they grow very fast. Therefore, only small individuals are suitable for small aquariums. These fish do not like to move a lot and, like all catfish, prefer to relax at the bottom of the aquarium or hide in shelter.
Red-tailed catfish: homeland
Fractocephalus lives in the waters of the Amazon on the South American continent. At home, this fish is very popular with local fishermen. The meat of fractocephalus is dark in color and saturated with useful trace elements. In addition, according to those who have tried it, it is very tasty.
Aquarium red-tailed catfish: appearance
This is a pretty attractive fish. The body of the fractocephalus is oblong, the head is large, the eyes are large, bulging. Near the mouth of the fish there are as many as three pairs of long white antennae. The red-tailed catfish got its name due to the red tail and fins of the same color. And the body of the fish itself is usually black or gray. It should be borne in mind that with age, the bright color of the tail gradually begins to fade.
As mentioned earlier, fractocephalus reaches quite large sizes. In the river environment, you can meet fish up to 120 cm in length. And there is even a copy that has reached almost 1.5 meters! In aquarium conditions, their length is not more than 60 cm.
Red-tailed catfish: content
Catfish love to have a nocturnal lifestyle. Therefore, during the day they often sleep or hide in shelters. They prefer to spend most of their time at the bottom. They are very calm. But nevertheless, it is better to keep them alone or with the same large fish. Otherwise, small fish will be uncomfortable with such a huge neighbor.
In addition, fractocephalus is very gluttonous. Therefore, small fish that swim next to him are in danger of being eaten.
Fractocephalus will require a large capacity. The aquarium should be at least 300 liters in volume. This fish does not like bright and direct light, prefers diffused. The soil for the aquarium is gravel and nothing more: no driftwood, embankments or objects resembling stones. Fractocephalus is very strong and with a sudden movement can inadvertently break through the glass of an aquarium with a heavy object, which will turn under its tail.
Favorable temperature for the content of red-tailed catfish - from 22 ° C to 28 ° C. In addition, he is very picky about the purity of the water. Therefore, it is necessary to change it once a week, at least 1/5 of the part. You also need to monitor the hardness of the water. It should be at least 4 ° and not more than 12 °.
Almost everything eats red-tailed catfish. He is absolutely picky. He loves dry food in granules, and live, and beef meat, and worms, and frozen fish. If you feed it correctly and well, then it will grow very quickly.
Red-tailed catfish: breeding
Fractocephalus begins to breed no earlier than when they reach the age of 1.5 years. But under aquarium conditions, this species of fish does not breed at all. So all the red-tailed catfish that live with us are foreigners, and they are imported from Asian countries.