Sack-gill catfish has an exotic look. Its habitat is limited to the fresh waters of the countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Laos, Thailand, India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. In natural conditions, it can reach impressive sizes - from 60 to 70 cm. Currently, this catfish is very popular among aquarists.
Description
The body of the saccilli catfish is long and slightly flattened laterally. When a fish swims, its movements resemble snake-like ones. The head is small, pointed, eyes are small. Around the mouth are eight pairs of fairly long whiskers.
The fins of this catfish are small and slightly rounded, except for the anal, since it has a long and pointed shape. Two of them, namely the thoracic and dorsal, are equipped with poisonous spikes. That is why you need to take catfish in your hands with great care, because their injections are quite painful. The action of their poison resembles a bee. For this reason, it can pose a serious danger to people predisposed to various kinds of allergic reactions.
The catfish, ranging from gill wings to the tail itself, has unusual respiratory organs, thanks to which the fish can breathe air, lying for a long time and motionless at the bottom of the aquarium or buried in silt. There are several options for its color, including gray-black, brown and albino.
Conditions of detention
Sack-gill catfish - unpretentious fish. For his comfortable living and free swimming, an aquarium of more than 100 liters is needed. The capacity must be designed in such a way that it has enough stones, caves and snags. In addition, it must be equipped with both a filter and an aeration system.
When choosing a soil, preference should be given to fine pebbles. She needs to fill the bottom of the aquarium with a layer of 1.5-2 cm. It is desirable that the container has a lid, as catfish often jump out of its limits. Without water, the fish can survive no more than two hours. Most often, she dies due to injuries sustained by her when falling from a height.
Care
Caring for sack-gill catfish will not take much time. Water in the aquarium needs to be replaced weekly by about a quarter of its volume. Its temperature should be at least +22 ... + 25 ⁰C.
Somics are quite voracious and can eat both live and frozen food. They can be fed with pieces of fish and shrimp, scraped meat, etc. Newborn fry eat artemia with pleasure.
Compatibility
Sack-gill catfish is a predator suitable for a species aquarium. You can’t keep small fish with him, otherwise they will become his prey. For him, solitary existence is preferable. The activity of the fish occurs in the dark, and during the day she likes to climb into some shelter or dig into the silt.
Often, catfish of this species are quite peaceful, but sometimes they can sort things out with their neighbors, fighting for their territory. In rare cases, they show aggression, but only when they attack themselves. Sack-gill catfish in an aquarium can be kept with small fish, but only as long as it does not outgrow them. As soon as it becomes larger than them, it is better to move small guppies, scalars, zebrafish and telescopes to another aquarium.
Large species such as labeos, polypteruses, barbs, irises, cichlids, calamites and gourami can become good neighbors for catfish. Also, sometimes parrot fish is planted in his aquarium. Given the fact that catfish most often keeps near the bottom, with it you can contain various horseback species of fish.
Breeding
Puberty in sack-gill catfish occurs in the second year of life and may be accompanied by a change in color. To create good conditions for reproduction, it is necessary to equip spawning grounds, the volume of which should be approximately 100 liters. Its filling should be similar to the main aquarium. After that, a suitable pair of catfish is deposited there and they begin to stimulate spawning by gradually increasing the temperature of the water, bringing it to the level of +27 ... + 29 29C.
On average, a female can produce about five hundred eggs. These catfish do not build special nests for their future offspring, but try to arrange them in some kind of shelter. Protects caviar and deals with young animals exclusively male. However, it is best to place the parents in a common aquarium immediately after spawning, and replace a quarter of the water. Larvae are born in a day. Unfertilized and whitened caviar will contaminate the spawning grounds, so it must be removed in time.
Fry is formed already on the third or fourth day after fertilization. Initially, their respiratory organs are not well developed, so they often have to rise to the surface of the water in order to get enough oxygen. Given this feature, the water column should not exceed 20 cm.
The fry are transplanted into the main aquarium only when they reach 5-6 cm in length. It is worth noting that they grow unevenly, so you need to monitor their development and plant the largest individuals on time, as they can start fights over the territory and eat their smaller counterparts.