Flare epiplatis (clown pike) belongs to the family of spawning cyprinids. It has a controversial classification, in connection with which it belongs to both the genus Epiplatys and the genus Pseudepiplatys. Both Latin names are considered correct.
Description of where it lives
In the wild, fish is common in West Africa, found in countries such as Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The usual habitat of epiplatis is shallow marshes and slowly flowing forest streams.
Outwardly, he looks like a pike. The small body of the flare epiplatis (see photo in the review) is elongated, flat on the sides at the back. His eyes are colorful, burn with a blue-green color. The male is usually colored brighter than the female. Four parallel wide stripes of a dark hue pass along the body of the fish.
The tail is prominent, with a bright orange stripe in the middle in the form of a flaming torch, along the edges of which there are red lines against a blue background, in shape resembling a flame. Thanks to him, epiplatis acquired its name. The color of the remaining fins, depending on the species, may be brown-yellow in combination with brown, red, blue.
Females look less noticeable, not having such a bright color, except in some cases. Their size does not exceed 1.5-2 cm, in contrast to males, the length of which can reach 3-4 cm.
Content Rules
In order for the flare epiplatis to feel comfortable in the aquarium and periodically give offspring, it is necessary to create conditions for it that require quite simple maintenance.
Clown pike love to swim in packs of 6-8 pieces. You can keep them in one aquarium only with peaceful species of fish. In no case should neighbors be predatory or cocky aquatic inhabitants.
An ideal aquarium for keeping flare epiplats is the ideal place. The small size of the fish allows you to keep them in a tank with a volume of 15 to 40 liters.
The main time period for the pike is in the upper part of the water column. Therefore, in the aquarium, the bottom area is more important than the height.
You can arrange a habitat with thick algae, including with floating roots, use decorative stones, driftwood.
Sometimes males of epiplatis arrange tournaments among themselves, showing fins. In addition, they are very jumping, so the presence of a cover for the aquarium is often necessary.
Soil is used from sand or small gravel of dark color. There should be enough light, so it is recommended to place the aquarium closer to the window. You will also need to filter and partially do a water change every 7-8 days.
When leaving, flare epiplatis also makes water demands. It is recommended to use a liquid that is close in composition to neutral. The main criteria are 23-26 °; acid index pH 6.5-7.5; hardness dH 2-6 °. If the liquid is softer, it will be depressing on the epilatis. Also, the fish are not adapted to the flow, so artificial aeration is unacceptable for them.
Diseases
Flare epilatis is rarely amenable to disease. Possible damage to oodiniosis, for the treatment of which the antibiotic bicillin-5 is used.
In order to prevent infection, salt crystals can be added to the aquarium in a ratio of 10 g to 7-10 liters of water. At home, fish live from 2 to 4 years.
Food
Flare epiplates feed on rising to the surface of the water. Food for them can be dry, lively and frozen. It includes small bloodworms, cyclops, daphnia, artemia, granules and flakes.
Feeding pikes need fractionally small parts. The favorite fish food is insects (aphids, fruit flies, cockroach and cricket larvae). When hunting for them, epiplatis pop out of the water.
Breeding
At six months old, clown pike is ready to breed. To breed fish at home, you will need a spawning tank measuring 20x20x20 cm. Water is used from a residential aquarium, adding a little settled and softened. Her level should reach 8 cm.
Due to the fact that fish eggs are not resistant to fungal diseases, the water needs fresh and clean. Capacity is supplemented by plants, such as Thai fern and richia.
For the active start of spawning, the water temperature will need to be gradually increased to 27-28 °. It should be taken into account that if the producer is active enough, then 3-4 females will need to be planted. The spawning period usually lasts about 10-14 days.
For breeding of epiplatises, a group will need a capacity of 50 liters. You can place 20 males in it, but with a predominance of females, in the amount of 3-4 fish per 1 producer. With this method, the spawning period lasts up to several weeks. Feeding during this time should be varied and plentiful.
Floating vegetation and its roots serve as a good substrate for sticking sticky eggs. They are approximately 1 mm in diameter, colorless. On the day the female produces several eggs, the number of which every day can be different. The incubation time lasts about 12 days.
The born fry are ready to swim in search of food. There are no special difficulties with their feeding. Initially, the fry feed on ciliates, and later they can be given artemia and various microworms.
In process of hatching of larvae, fry should be separated from eggs and sorted into separate small size containers, if possible wide. This is due to the fact that small individuals of epiplatis are prone to cannibalism. Most often they can be found on the surface of the water near the glass. They attract attention with a spot on the head of a steel shade.
Also at home, you can achieve results with pair breeding. In this case, the female and the male after spawning will need to be returned to the aquarium where they lived before.
Features of offspring care
How to contain at home flare epiplatises that have just been born, I do not know everything. The best food for the little ones is living dust. Some fry prefer micromin and microworms. In this case, in the aquarium in this case there must be a powerful aeration so that the feed mixture is in continuous motion.
The growth of fry initially occurs slowly, but this is until the stripes barely visible to the eye appear in the color of the epiplatis. Further, the rate of development increases markedly. During this period, a larger aquarium is needed for mature fry. You should also control the size of the feed elements, it should not be too large.
Upon reaching 2-3 months, epiplatases already differ by sex. But before transplanting the young in the aquarium to the parents, it is necessary to prepare it. To do this, gradually add water from their future habitat to the fish tank.
Conclusion
When keeping and breeding flare epiplatises, there are no special difficulties, but still attention and caution will not hurt. If all the necessary conditions are met, the clown pike is ready to delight with its beauty and give brightly colored offspring.