"singing catfish" Platydoras costatus Black catfish with white stripes

Among lovers of ornamental fish, Platydoras striped takes pride of place. This is a beautiful large catfish with a bright color. It has a peaceful nature, so it is suitable for multi-species aquariums. The fish prefers to lead an active life at night, but in comfortable conditions it can “walk” during the day, delighting its owners with its curious disposition.

Description

The home of fish is water South America. The striped catfish Platydoras belongs to the Armoraceae family, so it’s easy to guess that it has a kind of “armor” in form of hard plates on the body and head. In addition, there are spikes on the sides that can be pricked. There are two pairs of dark antennae on both sides of the head. The coloring is no less remarkable. From the head to the tail they are wide and light in color. The older the fish, the less pronounced the pattern becomes. This large fish. Adults reach an average of 15 centimeters, although in the wild they grow up to 20. Females, when viewed from above, appear larger and thicker than males. By external signs these fish can be confused with longnose catfish. They can be distinguished from each other by the length of the muzzle and adipose fin; in the longnose they are more elongated. IN good conditions Platydoras striped lives about 12 years.

This fish is unpretentious and hardy, so it does not require careful care. For catfish, it will be enough to change 30% of the water once a month. This pet prefers medium-hard liquid, which will be enriched with oxygen. The volume of the aquarium must be at least 120 liters. The lighting is dim. If you like to watch the life of fish at night, you can install an LED lamp that emits red or moonlight.

Platydoras striped requires shelter, secluded corners and places to explore. Empties in driftwood and plastic tubes are suitable for this. In addition, there must be good sand at the bottom, since in the wild these fish like to burrow into it. Due to the fact that they dig, a light coating may appear. Catfish do not tend to eat algae, but small plants may be an exception. If you monitor the condition of the aquarium and the quality of food, the likelihood of the fish getting sick is very low.

Feeding

In nature, striped catfish feed on crustaceans, mollusks, detritus, and everything that falls to the bottom, so we can say that they are omnivorous fish. The fish's main diet should include some plant components. This can be granulated food (which settles) along with frozen bloodworms. Catfish also like tubifex and even live moths.

Feeding should be daily, but at the same time you need to control the amount of food. It is known that the striped catfish is prone to overeating. There were cases when they died from excessive consumption of food. The best moment feeding is the time before turning off the lights in the aquarium.

Reproduction

There are many fish that can be successfully bred at home, but striped platydorus is not one of them. These catfish are propagated for sale using hormonal injections, but naturally, even in large aquariums, this happens very rarely. There is very little information on this process, since most often with successful spawning, breeders found the fry already swimming.

For spawning, it is necessary to prepare a separate aquarium in which temperature (27 0), acidity (up to 7 pH), hardness (up to 6 0) and water level (20 cm) are controlled. Floating plants are also launched. In addition, before spawning, it is important to keep the spawners separately and feed them with live food. The male must build the nest from the leaves. The female lays approximately three hundred eggs. But to carry out spawning it is necessary to use a pituitary suspension. After this process, the producers are evicted. The incubation period is 72 hours. On the fifth day, the larvae begin to swim. The young are fed live dust and microworms. Growth takes a long time.

Compatibility of aquarium inhabitants

Striped catfish are bottom-dwelling and peace-loving fish. Regardless of the size of their “neighbors,” they treat them well. But there is a danger that catfish will regard very small fish as food. They can be added to aggressive fish, since the striped platidoras has strong armor that will protect. For example, characins, cyprinids, gambusiaceae, anabontids and catfish, which do not have pronounced territorial rivalry, are suitable for proximity. You can also add Central and South American cichlids.

Striped catfish are suitable for group and single keeping. If there are several Platydoras living in an aquarium, they may become territorial and fights will occur from time to time. But you shouldn’t be afraid of this, because they won’t harm each other. Over time, this behavior may change, and they will be able to live in the same shelter, since in nature they often flock together.

The armored catfish family includes almost one hundred species. These South American catfish grow up to 25 cm in length. They are distinguished by large scales with spines and powerful serrations on the first spines of the pectoral and dorsal fins. Fish make different sounds with them. They can be heard even at a distance of 25-50 meters.

Fishes of this family lead only night image life, and the sounds made serve to communicate with each other. Great value sounds occur during the breeding season. The males use them to attract the female and also let their rivals know that the place is occupied. Armored catfish guard a nest, usually built from floating plants.

Amblydoras “sing” very beautifully. Their sounds are very similar to the melodic trills of small frogs. Also publish various sounds star agamyx, .

What to feed armored catfish

You need to feed armored catfish alive. Suitable bloodworms, tubifex, coretra. A quarter of the diet should consist of plant foods. This can be algae growth, scalded and chopped lettuce, spinach, and cabbage leaves. You can also use special pellets for catfish for feeding.

Catfish making sounds - video

Platidor, prickly or striped platidoras(Platydoras costatus) - aquarium fishfamily Armored or side-scaled catfish (Doradidae) .

Area

In nature Striped platidoras lives in tropical waters of South America. These catfish They are nicknamed “grumblers” because they make specific sounds using their pectoral fins and swim bladders. In nature, with the help of these sounds, fish find a partner and also warn of danger. The platidors publish them during stressful situations or in territorial conflicts.

Appearance and gender differences

U striped platidoras massive, flattened and tapering body. The head and body of this catfish are covered with armor - 28-31 hard bone plates. There are spines on the sides of the body. There are sharp projections on the gill covers. At the platidor big eyes, a large, elongated mouth and two pairs of dark brown mustaches on both jaws. The body color is dark brown. Along the back, along the entire body, there are two longitudinal light yellow stripes. The lower part of the head, abdomen, adipose fin and large dorsal fin are light yellow in color. By dorsal fin there is an oblique strip of dark brown color. The pectoral fins are large and have small sharp spines. Because of this, when catching platidora, you should not use a net, since the catfish can become entangled and when untangling, you can be seriously injured by the thorns (the injection is quite painful). For catching you need to use a plastic container. At the slightest danger, it spreads its fins. Sexual differences: the male is smaller, slimmer and more contrasting in color; At the slightest danger, the female turns dark brown, and only the strip of spines remains light yellow. In nature, these fish can reach up to 22 cm in length, but in an aquarium they can only grow up to 15 cm. In an aquarium they can live up to 12 years.

Conditions of detention

Prickly platidor - peaceful, nocturnal and very interesting fish. Due to the fact that its activity occurs at night, it can be observed during feeding. This afternoon catfish hides in various shelters, but sometimes it can be seen on open to review places (for example, between the filter and glass). Platidor bottom fish, and therefore stays in the lower layers of water. Content not a difficult task. For this you need aquarium with a volume of at least 80 liters, decorated with thickets live aquarium plants and various shelters (grottoes, snags). Platidoras prefers soft soil (gravel, sand) and dim lighting. As neighbors for this aquarium fish may come various types fish, with the exception of very small ones. Optimal water parameters for keeping platidoras: hardness 2-15°, pH 6.0-7.5, temperature 22 - 26°C. Requires filtration, aeration, flow and weekly water changes up to 30% of the volume aquarium. Platidor feeds on dry, plant food (20-30%), but prefers live food (bloodworms, tubifex, worms, small shrimp, small pieces of meat or fish). Prone to gluttony. Sometimes, instead of collecting food from the bottom aquarium, the catfish float to the surface, turn over with their belly up and collect food from the surface of the water.

Breeding

Puberty Prickly platidor reaches at the age of 2 years. For breeding needed with a capacity of 100 liters, with dim lighting and active aeration. You need to place various shelters in the spawning tank (without sharp edges) and floating aquarium plants(For example, Riccia). Water parameters: hardness up to 6°, pH 6.0 - 7.0, temperature 25 - 27°C, water level at aquarium should not exceed 20 cm. Before spawning, spawners must be seated and fed with live food and fish fry 7-10 days before spawning. The male in the spawning area builds a nest with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm from plant leaves. The female can also lay eggs in bottom holes, gluing them to the substrate. For spawning, a pituitary suspension of bream and sterlet is used. The female platidora lays up to 300 eggs. After spawning is completed, the spawners are removed. The incubation period is 48-72 hours. On days 5-6, the fry begin to swim and feed. Starter food: live dust, microworm, Artemia nauplii. The fry grow very slowly.

Platidoras striped is a cute catfish from the armored family, a favorite of aquarists and an excellent “neighbor” for the inhabitants of a home aquatic tank. Its geography natural distribution quite clear: it lives mainly in countries Latin America– Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil.

Platidoras: characteristics of the species

Platidoras has an elongated black body. On the sides it is decorated with long horizontal stripes of a contrasting light color. He has large eyes with clearly defined pupils and two pairs of mustaches.

The most amusing feature of this breed is “ vocal abilities" The Platydoras striped catfish makes a wide variety of sounds, especially to attract a mate during spawning, or to scare away predatory fish. For this, aquarists call it the singing catfish.

As a result of deliberate tension of a certain muscle, the fish emits a deep vibrational sound, quite intense and audible even through the aquarium wall.

Platidoras is a rather strong and large catfish, so keeping it in a small aquarium is undesirable. For free movement, the catfish will need a tank with a volume of 150 liters. Do not forget that you have decided to acquire a bottom-dwelling fish with a nocturnal lifestyle that requires shelter during the daytime.

Therefore, soft muddy soil, snags, pipes, stones, vegetation and caves - all this is extremely important for the comfortable life of Platydoras striped. Your pet will be able to live in the middle part of the water column, but still prefers to explore the bottom. Bright light directed at its new habitat is extremely undesirable.

Despite its widespread popularity among aquarists, keeping Platydorus striped fish is quite troublesome, especially for beginners. This breed does not tolerate feeding standard dry and granular mixtures. Of course, there are lucky ones who were able to accustom their pets to such a diet, but there are few of them, and the nutrition of their pets may not have a very positive effect on the health of the fish.

Another " pitfall» – the size of the aquarium. Large tanks are expensive and not everyone can afford them. And in cramped spaces, your catfish may feel unwell.

At the same time, the Platydoras catfish is an incredibly positive fish that is interesting to watch. Representatives have a peaceful character, so their compatibility with their “neighbors” in their living space is usually not called into question. The fish is quite shy, and its peak activity occurs during twilight and night time.

During the day, your pet vitally needs shelter to hide from sunlight, sleep or watch life in the water. During its wakefulness, the fish is active: it swims quickly, burrows into the ground, explores the bottom and utilizes waste products.

Cleaning the fish’s home yourself, of course, will not save you from the need to carry out general cleaning capacity, but will significantly reduce its frequency. Be sure to include plenty of rocks, velvety soil, driftwood, and plants with thick leaves in your aquarium.

In its natural habitat, the Platydoras catfish lives for 20 years. If kept correctly in captivity, the fish will delight you for at least 13-15 years.

Basic rules for caring for catfish:

The minimum container size for keeping fish is 150-200 l;
The water should be soft, in the range of 1-13 dH;
The acid-base balance must be maintained within 6-7.5 pH;
Comfortable temperature – 23-29°C;
It is better to cover the aquarium with a lid: your catfish can leave it even during daylight hours;
There is no need to overfeed your pet. He is prone to obesity and overeating;
Provide your pet with food mainly in the evening;
Feed platidoras with tubifex, bloodworms, earthworms;
The diet should include more proteins, but plant nutrition is required;
There is no need to add salt to the water in the aquarium: the fish’s immunity may weaken;
Don't overdo aeration and filtration. Catfish like a gentle flow of water;
If you get several representatives of this breed at once, build a separate shelter for each;
Compatibility of catfish is favorable with cichlids and other large fish. The catfish will definitely destroy small things at night;
It is not recommended to keep it with aggressive breeds.

Breeding catfish

Breeding Platydoras striped, unfortunately, is problematic and is not at all suitable for beginners.

For favorable spawning, fish often require injections of the reproductive hormone gonadotropin:

Fish reach sexual maturity no earlier than 2 years;
Spawning almost always has to be stimulated. To do this, the fish is injected with bream pituitary gland or human chorionic gonadotropin;
Before the breeding process, it is advisable to feed catfish with live fry;
To store caviar, a substrate is needed;
The female lays about 200-350 eggs in one act;
The development of fry occurs over several days;
The young take a horizontal position and swim 5-6 days after birth.

Fry are traditionally fed 4-5 times a day, mainly with live food with the gradual inclusion of plant products.

Platydoras costatus

Platidoras belongs to the order of armored catfish, which in case of danger are capable of making peculiar sounds. These fish are also called talking catfish.

Platidoras striped spends most of its life at the bottom, and during daylight hours mainly in shelters or thickets of plants. At night, he crawls out to feast on the eggs of other fish, fry, or special food prepared by a caring owner.

Feeding Platydoras

These catfish are quite voracious and can feed on a variety of sinking foods. They love animals very much, but they will not refuse dry food. 20-30 percent of the Platydoras diet should consist of plant foods, or you can simply use spirulina-based food. Such foods as “Tetra TabiMin”, “Tetra PlekoMin”, “Al Motyl”, “Sera Premium Spirulina Tabs”, “Sera Viformo” have proven themselves well.

Platydoras striped: content

To keep a pair of Platydoras, you need an aquarium with a volume of at least 100 liters. It is advisable to plant it with plants and equip it with various shelters in which these catfish will feel good. The optimal water temperature for these fish is +24-+30℃, hardness up to 15°, pH 6-7.5. Aeration, filtration and weekly replacement are required. aquarium water by 10-20% of volume.

Platidoras is a peaceful catfish, but fry and small fish (up to 4-5 cm) are not suitable for its neighbors, since they are perceived by catfish as food.

It is advisable to catch catfish from an aquarium with a net made of dense fabric (rather than a mesh), since platidoras spread their fins when stressed (and pectoral fins have spikes with a hook at the end) and can easily get tangled.

In a large aquarium, platidoras under good conditions reach a size of 18 cm. Males are smaller than females, but are more contrastingly colored. Puberty in these catfish occurs at two years.

The lifespan of platidoras is 10 - 12 years, but there are cases when such catfish lived up to 15 years, it all depends on the conditions of detention.