The aquarium fish with the exotic name of Panamanian sturisoma with its appearance resembles an elegant dragonfly. This species belongs to loricaria or chain catfish, and is found in nature in the warm rivers of South America. In Russia, unusual fish with an exotic appearance appeared about 20 years ago and quickly gained popularity among aquarists. Today, most of the individuals coming from abroad are bred artificially on special farms in Southeast Asia. But this does not detract from the merits of a Panamanian sturisoma, like a pet for a home aquarium.
Characteristic
Description of the breed of aquarium fish Sturisoma Panamense allows you to fully appreciate the uniqueness of its appearance. Sturisoma Panama has a long, flattened in the upper and lower parts of the body, turning into a long tail. Ahead you can observe a small characteristic outgrowth. The caudal fin has a forked shape with thin filiform ends, the dorsal fin similar to a sickle.
Panamanian sturisoma is characterized by a dull color, mixing red and yellow tones. The dark brown color has a border extending from the eyes to the back fin, partially this shade goes to the dorsal region. The filamentous ends of the caudal fin are also colored, but not entirely, with spots. On the light abdomen of a silver-white hue, areas with more saturated brown and yellow shades are clearly visible.
The color scheme of the body of females is more dull. There are differences in the shape of the head - here it is more narrow, wedge-shaped. Panurian sturisoma is characterized by an arrangement of eyes in the frontal region.This miniature catfish has bristles on the cheeks of males - rather thick, 1-6 mm long. Females lack such decoration.
In an artificially created aquarium environment, adult Sturisoma Panamense individuals grow up to 18 cm. In nature, they are almost a third larger, can reach a body length of 26 cm. Sexual maturity occurs in fish upon reaching 18 months. In poor conditions, with a lack of space or food, male catfish may experience a reverse development of secondary sexual characteristics, antennae appear only with good care. The lifespan of a Panamanian sturisoma in captivity is up to 10 years.
In the natural environment, fish feel good in warm, transient rivers, found mainly in Panama and other South American states.
The main population is located in the riverbed with the name Magdalena. It is here that an optimal environment is provided for them - good aeration, a sufficient amount of food.
Content Rules
In order to ensure optimal conditions for this type of catfish, you must first purchase a spacious aquarium with a volume of 160-200 liters. It is better to start a Panamanian sturisoma for keeping in a species tank without any company. It will be very easy for an experienced aquarist to provide fish with comfortable conditions. It shows the main activity at night, during the day preferring to rest on decorative ornaments - driftwood, stones or on bottom soil.
One sexually mature male in the aquarium should account for 2-4 females. To design a habitat for a group of fish, you can use hard-leaved water plants, mosses, stone castles, treated with special driftwood compositions. It is necessary to filter the water, saturate it with oxygen, using a mechanical-biological filter, it is possible to ensure the formation of an undercurrent in which the sturisomas feel as comfortable as possible.
Sturisoma is able to clean vegetation from biological deposits. She is quite active, effectively copes with these tasks.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that the fish are quite large, and it is better to plant hard-leaved plant varieties in the aquarium. Intensive lighting is not required for them; moderate lighting is sufficient.
Aquarium Care
Sturisoma Panamense aquarium fish water must meet certain parameters:
- optimal temperature of the medium is from +24 to +28 degrees Celsius;
- acidity in the range of 6.5-7.0 pH;
- hardness level up to 25 dGH.
To maintain an optimal microclimate in the aquarium, it is necessary to regularly clean the bottom surface. Water is replaced in parts, not more than 25% at a time, with a frequency of at least 1-2 times a week. With abundant reproduction of unicellular ciliates in a liquid medium, fish can feel bad. To maintain the good condition of the ecosystem, it is periodically cleaned completely.
Creating an environment for the maintenance of fry, it is important to ensure high-quality soil cleaning, maintaining optimal water purity with the necessary parameters - it is achieved by frequent substitution in small portions.
What to feed?
It is possible to arrange nutrition of Panamanian sturisoma without unnecessary difficulties. A significant part of its diet, more than 50%, is plant foods. Cucumbers, peas, lettuce, spinach, nettle, zucchini are suitable. Heat treatment may be required first. So, lettuce leaves before serving for 20 seconds should be kept in the microwave, and subject the zucchini to a cycle of freezing and thawing. Food can be enriched with special flakes and industrial tablets.
Abundant nutrition is not required - if the recommended amount of food is exceeded, its remnants will pollute the environment. To feed the fry, they mainly use live food - bloodworms, brine shrimp, or special ready-made rations; scalded cabbage and salad leaves can be given. It contributes to the good development of minced veal, shredded shrimp fillet. Young growth is characterized by slow growth, reach a body length of 8-10 cm in only 2.5 years. An indicator of good nutrition will be a dense, well-stuffed belly.
The amount of animal food in the case of feeding Panamanian sturisoma in the diet reaches 30%. You can give daphnia, coronetra, tubule. When kept in an aquarium with other catfish, it is necessary to pay attention to a sufficient amount of incoming food - more active fish can leave neighbors without food.
Of the dry foods, spirulina is preferred. It is very important for the proper growth and development of the variety of food received by the inhabitants of the aquarium.
In winter, the necessary nutrition is provided with the help of ready-made cereals and tablets - this saves the owner from any difficulties with the selection of high-quality plant foods.
Breeding
To increase the chances of successful spawning, mature, 18 months old sturisomes should receive the maximum amount of vegetable feed. Favorably affects their reproduction and proper softening, maintaining optimal acidity of the water. Fish spawn at night, at the peak of their physiological activity. First, sturistomas clear and prepare a place for laying eggs.
Usually, an aquarium wall or a smooth stone surface located on a flowing section is selected as a nest for spawning. Before masonry, the male and the female perform a mating dance. At one time, laying in 50-150 eggs, they have white and slightly yellow color, the correct shape. Duration of throwing is 30-240 minutes.
Then the male fertilizes the eggs, and carries a watch near them. Females show exclusively gastronomic interest in future offspring, so he drives them away. Even if there are several clutches and one male, he performs his functions to protect the eggs properly.
5-10 days pass before the hatching of the fry; after birth, they consume food from the gastric sac for 48 hours. Then they are transferred to other types of feed, captured and transferred to a separate aquarium equipped with snags as a refuge.
Having studied the nuances of keeping and breeding catfish of the Panamanian sturisome species, you can provide them with the best conditions for living in an artificially created environment.
Compatible with other fish
Panamanian sturisomes have pretty good compatibility with aquarium fish of other breeds. Catfish themselves are non-aggressive, quite peaceful in relation to representatives of other species. Conflicts and even fights can arise with your relatives. It is not recommended to plant them with larger and stronger fish - the sturis are unable to resist them, therefore they will regularly remain without the food they need.
With aquarium content, this species is insensitive to the presence of neighbors. Fish can be kept alone, by heterogeneous groups, families. In the presence of smaller and nimble neighbors, it is necessary to select species that prefer to live near the surface. In this case, the proximity to the sturisoma, who prefers bottom dwelling, will not be difficult for all inhabitants of the artificial reservoir.
Possible problems
What if the Panamanian sturisoma behaves atypically, becomes too sluggish or rushes about in the aquarium? First of all, one should study the possible influence of external factors. For example, a fish may be unusual for its lethargy after contact with bubbles of methane or its derivatives. Fatal for sturisoma is an increased concentration of nitrites, nitrates, ammonia in water - that is why in new aquariums they feel better than when planted in a container with a settled environment.
If the activity decreases, the purity of the filter should be checked. If it does not provide sufficient water flow, it is worth urgent cleaning.
When kept with sturis, they need to be protected from diseases. The most dangerous is ichthyophthyroidism, in which the body seems to be covered with semolina. White spots are manifestations of parasitic infusoria on the body of fish. Prevention of this phenomenon is the maintenance of high acidity of water.
If the catfish shows increased anxiety, rushes about in the aquarium, there can be several reasons for such strange behavior - from oxygen deficiency to excessive softness of the environment. Replacing about 20% of water, reducing their concentration in one container will help improve the well-being of pets. But the manifestation of anxiety may also be associated with preparation for spawning. It is worth carefully observing the behavior of the inhabitants of the aquarium, taking measurements of the indicators of their environment.
See more about the features of Panamanian sturisoma in the next video.
