Macrognatus: description, types, content and care

In addition to four-legged pets, aquariums with various fish species and marine inhabitants are often placed in the home, as well as in public and office premises. Among such representatives of marine fauna, it is worth highlighting macrognatus, whose features and appearance determine its demand among aquarists.

The inhabitant of the water depths with such an interesting name refers to prickly eels, whose habitat is the countries of Southeast Asia. In recent years, it is this type of fish that is in high demand among humans, since it can become a real decoration of home aquariums. Macrognatus comes from the mastastembelid family. Its external features are not much different from ordinary prickly eel, however, keeping as an aquarium fish is quite possible, it will be enough to study its main nuances.

Its long and slightly elongated body is a bit like a snake, at one end there is a visually noticeable head. A remarkable feature of the fish is the ability to grow in the natural environment to a half-meter mark, however, in closed conditions of human dwellings, this type of fish rarely reaches more than 25 centimeters in length. To protect themselves from other predators living in the water, a large number of spines are present on the upper body of the macrognathus.

Both sexes in the family have dorsal and anal fins, the presence and location of which determines the similarity with the tail. The color of the described species of fish varies from the environment. Therefore, it can be brown in different shades, as well as red, pink, scarlet. Dorsal fins additionally adorn large spots of dark color with a gold rim; pectoral fins in fish are not. The abdomen of the macrognatus is usually colored more evenly, differs from the rest of the color in the lighter tones of the base color.

On the whole, blackheads of this type are distinguished by their exacting habitat, in light of which they are found in the wild only in certain Asian countries - Sumatra, Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. There macrognatus inhabits small lakes and rivers. In continental conditions they are bred only artificially.

At night, macrognaths go out in search of food. They feed on plankton, caviar of other small fish, shrimp and small crabs. It was established that blackheads are able to stay outside the reservoir on land for some time, usually this interval is a maximum of 1 hour. At first, in the aquarium, fish can exhibit fearful behavior, but as they adapt, they can be observed more often. Macronatuses that are small in age can be kept in a single container in small groups, but as they grow older they can cause frequent conflicts, especially in fish of the same sex.

Among the macrognatuses, several species stand out that can be kept in captivity.

This representative of the fish family will have a brown body, similar in color to dark shades, while the fins of the eel will be light. Acne will remain mainly night inhabitants, they will not need a large amount of bright light.

Fish can be either small or large, in addition, the colors of this variety stand out for their diversity. The body of the macrognaus is rather dense, the spots should be located on the sides, their color will be marble. With other fish, eel can coexist quietly, but provided that they have the same size, otherwise small neighbors will be regarded by the inhabitant as prey.

The smallest type of macrognatus, as a rule, the body length of an adult fish will be 17 centimeters. The color of the eel should be brown with silver spots. The species adapts perfectly to the closed conditions of the aquarium, and the fish also tolerates proximity to other marine, river or lake inhabitants.

A miniature representative of the family, which stands out for its activity, as well as bulging eyes, which led to the name of the species. The fish feels good in large aquariums with a large displacement; a prerequisite is soil in the form of large-sized purified sand.

It will be possible to keep other fish together with the macrognatus if they are not regarded by them as potential prey. Otherwise, eel can coexist peacefully with other attractive aquarium inhabitants.

To avoid such situations, you should adhere to some recommendations regarding compatibility.

• The selection of the inhabitants of the aquarium should be approached with particular care. It is banned to purchase too active small representatives as neighbors in order to avoid cases that they will be eaten by eel.
• A good option would be to keep eel together with bottom fish species. This is due to the peculiarities of their life - as a rule, they will not be too active and large. Also, an alternative can be marine inhabitants of large dimensions.
• It is worthwhile to refrain from co-dilution with cichlids with the marsnognatus, since the latter are distinguished by their hyperactivity.
• You can not keep a lot of eels in one tank. Such a neighborhood will lead to conflicts between males, and fishes may have quarrels regarding the territory.

In order for the fish to please its owner, as well as deliver a minimum of trouble, it is important to ensure that it has the proper conditions. There are a number of requirements, compliance with which will provide the aquarist with a healthy and attractive fish that can reproduce.

• The eel tank must be spacious, and a lid is also a prerequisite. As a rule, an aquarium per 100 liters will be enough for one representative of this family.
• The presence of soil in the tank is a mandatory requirement regarding the content of blackheads. As a suitable option, purified sand will act, which should not contain any sharp components. This is due to the peculiarities of blackheads burrowing into the bottom or exploring it with a proboscis.
• As for the vegetation in the aquarium, it should not be too much, in addition, it is better to select specimens that do not have a too developed root system. It is allowed to root it in small pots.
• In addition to vegetation, the presence of several stones will be a prerequisite for eels. They are necessary for fish to remove the natural mucus that accumulates on the body. However, before being placed in a fish tank, they must be carefully sanded to avoid the possibility of injury by sharp edges.
• In the wild, macrognaths live in the coastal line, where various roots or snags are present. Such components can also be placed in the aquarium.
• It is worth monitoring the condition of the water in the aquarium, its cleaning and replacement should be carried out at least once a week, depending on the situation, care may be more frequent. Contaminated liquid can cause fish ailments to develop when ulcers begin to form on the body. Only timely treatment will help avoid the death of eel. It is necessary to control the salt content in the water, if necessary, add salt to it.
• Filtration and aeration are no less important factors on which the life expectancy of blackheads depends. The water temperature should be constant, the optimal indicators for fish will be values ​​in the range from +21 to +26 degrees. Acidity indicators should be at the level of 7, while the rigidity of the liquid is not more than 15.
• In the daytime, it is best to provide dim light to the macrognatus, to reduce it or turn it off altogether with the advent of night.

When containing macrognatus, special attention should be paid to its nutrition. Some breeders recommend adjusting the diet to the individual preferences of specific fish. As practice shows, blackheads can show different tastes changing every day. That is why it is recommended to have several food options in the house.

However, the main nutritional base of macrognatus will consist of:

• invertebrates;
• earthworms;
• small fish;
• mosquito larvae;
• crustaceans;
• fillet of cod or squid meat.

As a rule, acne will be ready for procreation no sooner than after 3 years. To obtain offspring, the aquarist should provide ideal conditions for keeping fish, because in captivity this does not work out so often.

In this matter, you can seek help from specialists who will conduct the first vaccination, as well as indicate possible “pitfalls”.

To obtain offspring at home, you will need to perform the following steps:

• Before the procedure, selected individuals should be transplanted into an aquarium with a volume of at least 200-250 liters;
• Further, the breeder needs to provide macrognatuses with plentiful food;
• planting one or two males is allowed to one sexually mature female;
• a special injection is injected into the fish directly into the spinal muscle;
• after which the aquarium must be completely isolated from sources of natural or artificial lighting.

They themselves sink to the bottom, where the process of their development will take place. For the most part, it will take about 3 days for these purposes. After this time, fry should hatch into the light.

When they appear, the aquarist will need to increase the water temperature to + 27-28 degrees, in addition, the younger generation of eels will need microscopic food. For these purposes, it is recommended to use plankton or microworms.

When the fish are old enough, they can be settled in a common tank with the rest of the eels and representatives of the marine fauna.

In the next video, you can observe the courtship of the ocular macrognatus during the breeding season.