Of the huge variety of catfish, perhaps, “loricaria” or chain catfish have the most unusual appearance. Their name originates from the word "lori-ka". So called in ancient Rome Legionnaires' armor. The whole body of fish of this species is covered with symmetrically arranged bone plates that grow together.
Description of catfish
The chain mail family can be divided into five subfamilies, which include seventeen genera and more than two hundred species. Unlike catfish of other species, loricaria are not predators. The basis of their diet is algae, plant leaves.
And now we will dwell in more detail on the most popular types.
Antsistrus is stellate
These aquarium catfish are relatively small in size. Their bodies are elongated and flattened, covered with stiff scales (only the abdomen remains free from it). The mouth resembles a suction cup. It has horn-shaped scrapers that allow fish to scrape food from various hard surfaces (for example, algae growths).
Pearl chain-catfish have a body and fins, painted in a dense and saturated black color, with a scattering of white-blue small dots that acquire a light brown tint with age. On the fins of young individuals you can see a wide white edging, which disappears over time.
The male is distinguished by special leathery branched processes that are located on the sides of the head. Specialists call them tentacles. In females, such processes are absent altogether or very poorly developed. The male is usually much larger than the female and can reach a length of 8 centimeters.
Antsistrus ordinary
Chain catfish, whose species are very diverse, differ from other aquarium inhabitants in their characteristic, slightly flattened body shape. Nor is Antcistrus vulgaris. His body shape is teardrop-flattened. The head is quite large. The mouth is a suction cup, with horn-shaped outgrowths (scrapers).
The whole body of this fish is covered with "armor". The sail-like dorsal fin is calmly pressed to the body. The fins are painted in different shades of gray with a light yellowish tint. Light specks are scattered throughout the body.
Outwardly, males are distinguished by a more slender body. They have a dorsal fin higher than that of females, and a caudal fin much wider. Males have leathery outgrowths on their heads that are absent in females.
Gipancistrus Zebra
Chain catfish of this species have such a bright color that it is impossible to confuse them with other varieties. These are alternating stripes of black and white, due to which the fish was so named.
The head of the hypancystrus is elongated, the eyes are set very high. If you look at it from above, you can see that the eyes are connected by a white wide strip, from which four transverse ones depart. The upper jaw has seven to eight long curved teeth on each side, which are bifurcated to the edge. The lower jaw is equipped with only eight deeply forked teeth.
The caudal fins of the fish are V-shaped. In adults, all fins are decorated with white and black stripes.
Males are noticeably larger than females. The ventral fins have spikes. The same growths are in the mouth. Females have a more rounded abdomen. In a home aquarium, these fish do not grow more than 9 centimeters. They live in captivity for about ten years.
Brocade gliptopericht
These chain catfish are the dream of every aquarist. This is due to their very spectacular appearance. Brocade gliptoperichtus has an elongated and slightly flattened body. Brown spots are scattered on its light brown background . The dorsal fin is sail-shaped. Catfish have well-developed oral suckers, thanks to which they stick to the surface of the glass of the aquarium so strongly that it is quite difficult to tear them away. Around the mouth can be seen thickened at the base of the antennae, which are trimmed with a skin fold.
Brocade catfish grow up to 60 cm in length. Males are larger, slimmer and their color is much brighter than that of females. Spikes are clearly visible on the pectoral fins.
Content
Chain catfish live well and develop in ordinary fresh water with a temperature of + 26 ° C. Moreover, its acidity should be neutral, slight deviations are allowed.
When designing an aquarium , artificial plants are more often used. From living herbs with a good root system are welcome - cryptocoryne, echinodorus.
Somics lead a secluded lifestyle, do not like bright lighting, prefer muffled. These fish need numerous shelters. They can be stones, grape roots, where they could retire, relax or just sleep. In the aquarium, you need to install driftwood, which for catfish is a source of edible cellulose.
Feeding
These fish are omnivorous, but the basis of their diet is coronet, bloodworms, brown bread, tubule, low-fat meat, daphnia, as well as special dry food. To ensure that the nutrition is complete, feed the catfish with spirulina in tablets.
Some types of chain catfish prefer plant foods. Special feeding requires only pronounced predators.
Chain Catfish - Breeding
During preparation for spawning, fish need a varied and abundant feeding of live food. At this time, females and males are best planted in different containers. Spawning should have a volume of at least 20 liters and a height of 20-25 cm. Fresh tap water is poured into it. For two days spawning aerate. Then, several bushes of plants with hard and wide leaves can be placed in it. The water temperature decreases by 2-3 ° C, but it should not be lower than + 18 ° C.
Chain catfish are spawned in the evening, at the rate of one female per three males. Spawning usually starts in the morning.
This variety of aquarium fish has an interesting feature - they become more decorative with each subsequent spawning. Often catfish spawn in a common aquarium. In this case, it is necessary to transfer the eggs together with the substrate to a separate container.