Glass catfish: description and content secrets

Glass species of underwater pets are very interesting and unusual. Aquariums often contain such fish. In the article we will talk about one of them, namely: about glass Indian catfish.

An Indian glass catfish is also called a ghost catfish, a two-armed Indian catfish. The native land of this species is Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Java, Borneo, Sumatra). This catfish was brought to European countries in 1934, and it came to the USSR in 1964. The body of such a catfish is elongated, flat on the sides, very similar to a knife.

Immediately behind the head is a not very noticeable dorsal fin. These catfish have a long transparent anal fin. It starts from the head and ends at the tail itself, has 58 rays. Like all catfish, there is a pair of short antennae on the head. This fish is very loved for its full transparency - all internal organs and the spine are visible, as on an x-ray, but the most interesting is that through these individuals background objects are visible.

Thus, the name "ghost" is fully justified. This is due to the lack of pigments in their organisms. How and why it happened, no one can give a definite answer. But their transparency does not mean a complete lack of color. With properly selected and installed lighting, their bodies sparkle with a bright, metallic shade.

Catfish grow up to an average of 10 cm. They live in aquariums for up to 10 years. It is very difficult to distinguish a female from a male. It is believed that females are fuller than males.

In nature, small flocks of glass catfish freeze, “looking” upside down in bodies of water with a weak current - this is for them a way to get food. Habitual food of individuals:

• small worms;
• small larvae;
• zooplankton.

During the rainy seasons, glass catfish migrate into the waterlogged thickets. They spawn there, and then return. This fish gradually disappears from nature due to humans and their destructive effects on the natural habitat of the species. Severe pollution of water bodies do their job.

The temperature of the water for their maintenance in the aquarium should be from +23 to +26 degrees Celsius, but below +25 - undesirable. They do not tolerate a sharp change in water parameters. Settlement in a new, unbalanced tank may not survive at all. Due to such pickiness and difficulty in care It is not recommended to keep this fish for beginners in the aquarium.

The described fish is schooling and feels good in the composition of at least 7 individuals. In solitary confinement, catfish will be subject to constant stress, may stop eating and, as a result, will die. For a flock of 7 individuals, a reservoir of 150 liters will be enough, necessarily equipped with good aeration and filtration, which creates a weak current.

Must not be forgotten about regular weekly change of water to fresh in the amount of 20-25%, since such individuals are very sensitive to the presence of ammonia and nitrates in the liquid. Do not interfere and regular aquarium cleaning, and cleaning of the bottom of waste products.

These fish are very unusual in behavior. In calm conditions, the flock freezes in one place and awaits the appearance of food. If the aquarium contains more than 30 individuals, then they are divided into 2 identical flocks.

Compatible with all peaceful species of fish. The main thing is that there is a similarity in size with the neighbors. Glass catfish are not compatible with any predatory fish. Even a whole flock will not be able to fight off the attacking hunter. The glass catfish themselves do not touch the neighbors in the aquarium, they can occasionally hunt young fry passing by.

They prefer live food, but you can gradually accustom it to dry. Some aquarists are convinced that it is better to keep such fish in a “species” aquarium. There is no consensus on this matter, since An important role is played by the location of the tank in the house or apartment.

We must not forget that this fish is very shy, and stress for it is fatal. If the aquarium is located in a passage room or where someone constantly passes by a reservoir, catfish will constantly be scared of household members.

With such an arrangement of the home reservoir, leaving it “species” would not be the best idea. For the Indian catfish, another peaceful, but less shy fish in the neighborhood will be a good antistress. By focusing on neighbors in the aquarium, catfish will be less shy and stressed.

And in the case when your body of water is located in the far corner, and rarely anyone approaches it, then you can issue a "species" tank. In this case, all the attention of the fish will be directed to the search for food.

The main difficulty in feeding is that food should slowly sink right in front of the muzzle of catfish. Rushing around the aquarium and catching it, this fish will not, and fallen to the bottom of the food will not rush to pick up. It happens that neighbors do not allow these catfish to eat normally. In this case, you will have to give food right before turning off the lights, but again, you need to get food directly in front of their faces.

You can determine the health of the described fish by appearance. If the catfish has lost transparency, this may mean that something is broken in the aquarium. If you see a clouded individual in front of you, there is very little time left to take action before the fish dies.

Since all the fish on the market are caught in the wild, they can be carriers of various diseases and kill the rest of the fish in the aquarium. To avoid this, after purchase, it is necessary to keep pets in quarantine for at least 10 days.

These fish become capable of breeding at the age of two years, but in a home reservoir this activity will be very difficult. All fish sold in pet stores are brought from wildlife or farms in Southeast Asia. In the USSR, these fish were bred several times by Mikhail Timofeevich Likhachev from Moscow.

To stimulate spawning, it is necessary to observe several simple conditions that mimic the rainy season. This will require:

• lower the temperature by a couple of degrees;
• lower the water level;
• replace water up to 25% with fresh;
• low light
• to close glasses with paper for less irritability of fish.

These fish spawn in flocks. One female glues 100-200 not very sticky eggs onto a substrate for spawning. As a rule, they come off and fall to the bottom. After spawning, the parents are immediately removed from the spawning aquarium, and the temperature is raised to +27.28 degrees. After about 3 days, larvae appear, they will soon swim and begin to feed on their own.

There is an erroneous opinion that keeping fish is very simple, and there is no science here. In fact, this is a rather complicated, but mastered process. For the proper maintenance and development of your aquarium pets, you need to learn how to work with water. Required learn to regulate stiffness and acidity, and also properly run the aquarium.

When cleaning and cleaning an aquarium in which glass catfish (and other species) live, the same mistake often occurs when washing a filter sponge. The sponge itself is a biofilter necessary for the balanced operation of the entire reservoir. Colonies of beneficial bacteria that process nitrates into less harmful substances live in it.

When removing a sponge from the aquarium, it is logical to wash it under running water until it is clean. This is the mistake - along with the “dirt” these beneficial bacteria are washed off, and a little chlorine from the water remains in the sponge. Putting such a sponge back, you risk breaking the balance in the pond.

Do not use materials collected from the banks of rivers and seas as aquarium soil and scenery. On them you can bring various diseases to the aquarium. The best options for acquiring decorations, snags and stones will be specialized stores with proven and certified productsalready treated for pests and diseases. If you still decide to pick up soil from the river for an aquarium with catfish, you need to properly process it.

There are many different ways to sanitize the soil at home. For this, various methods and preparations are used. This process can drag on for a week or longer. Consider one of the simplest and most common types of soil disinfection for an aquarium:

• collected soil is thoroughly washed under running water to wash branches, garbage and light fractions;
• then it is poured into a metal container for subsequent boiling;
• 300 g of salt is poured per 1 liter of water, the soil should be completely submerged under water;
• the collected material is boiled for at least 5 hours, add water if necessary;
• after boiling, let the water cool, then drain the saline solution, and again thoroughly rinse the soil under running water;
• Now it is necessary to remove the remaining salt from the soil, for this we pour the full container in which the soil is located, with ordinary tap water and leave to settle for at least 5 days, daily changing 100% of the water to fresh;
• after the time, fill the soil into the aquarium, but do not populate the inhabitants - this material must be properly filtered for at least 24 hours.

About the features of glass catfish, see the video below.