Currently, many breeds and varieties of fish are bred in the aquariums, which are constantly updated with new features. Among this list it is worth highlighting a beautiful and interesting fish - a striped platidia, which is popular thanks to not only its external attractiveness, but also the abilities for "singing".
Description
Platydoras Armatulus is the most popular view of Somov, which can be breeding at home. This type is allocated among other external attractiveness due to the presence of wide contrasting bands along the body. Maximum clearly, the drawing is visible in young fish. In the wild, adult catfish can reach a 20-centimeter size, in a closed medium, the striped platide grows up to a maximum of 15 centimeters.
Fishes of this family are quite inquisitive, so it is interesting to observe them. Despite the fact that Som is a night predator, in the presence of comfortable conditions in the aquarium, its inhabitants will be happy to actively explore their territory. It is this type of soms most often used to remove several varieties of marine and river individuals in one tank.
The striped platide comes from the armor of the armored personnel, this individual is also called bockey sms. It is due to this name features of the skin of fish, which is distinguished by its strength, in addition, representatives of the family are very developed by the occipital shield and bone growths on the side lines of the body. There are spikes that provide food with good protection. Also called "sowing", due to the sounds of the sounds that publish chest fins in contact with grooves in the shoulder part. And the drum sounds are formed from the vibrations of the swimming bubble.
Platidors are pretty hardy, individuals have a cylindrical body shape, a flat abdomen. Females, as in some other species of fish, usually more male representatives. The body can be painted in black and white, dark brown with a gold or other shade. The muzzle of individuals and the bottom of the chest fins has a lighter color. You can learn about the age of the catfish on the basis of the color of the color: the more contrasting the line on the body, the more years fish. He has a big head, also expressive eyes and mouth, in plaids are characteristic of the Mustache family, located on both sides of the mouth. Somov's life expectancy is about 20 years in a natural environment, a life cycle in captivity may be less.
Such decorative fish is ideal for a novice aquarist, since individuals do not require special conditions for home content.
How to distinguish a female from male?
Experienced decorative aquarium fish breeders are recommended for determining sexuality to be guided by visual differences between male and female representatives of the family. As for platiderades, the individual you like to look from above. Female females will be more, in addition, they will be thicker "boys." This is exactly the main differences between females from males of striped soms, which should be guided first.Containing rules
For the content of Somov in the aquarium, it is worth using a capacity calculated by at least 100-120 liters. A buggy night predator prefers to be in tanks with a minimum amount of light. The surface of the water is recommended to be applied to different plants. Somams need shelters, so at the bottom of the aquarium should be placed roots or snags with emptiness, clay pots can be used. At the bottom of the flora is optional, but if there is other fish, its presence is allowed. In addition, plants can provide more shaded areas in the container. The bottom must be eliminated by the sand or gravel of the shallow fraction.
To observe the platidation, you can use the lamps of the red spectrum or use the nightlifting options , Fish's eyes do not react to red light threads that can be used in the dark. Water in the aquarium should be with a suitable level of acidity, the optimal pH indicators are in the range from 5.8 to 7.5. For soms, it is important to maintain a constant temperature from +23 to +30 degrees.
At the same time, the rigidity of the fluid should be between 2 to 20n.
Aquarium care
In order for the fish to be healthy, and also developed correctly, once a week it is necessary to change about a third of the total volume of water in the aquarium. Care for the "house" catfish should also be reduced to ensuring good water filtration. It is necessary to maintain good aeration so that the liquid in the tank is maximally saturated with oxygen. Plants contained in the aquarium together with fish also require care. So that swimming was comfortable for fish, all vegetation can be shortened, remove or collapsed, which can increase on large sheets or shoots. Platids do not eat aquarium plants, so they are subject to regular shift, only small algae are suitable for use.
Sand or gravel should be small on the fraction, it is worth using only the purified material without sharp constituents.
What to feed?
The striped "singing" catfish is an omnivorous, so even a novice aquarist will be able to ensure the right diet for fish. For the content of platidas, it is recommended to use granular dry food industrial production. It can be in the form of tablets or crockets. In addition to it, it is worth buying live or frozen products that are suitable for feeding predators. It may be a moth, various worms, etc. Feeding is carried out in the dark. To grow healthy fish, it is worth remembering that som is inclined to obesity, so it is not recommended to overflow it even before reproduction. To determine that the fish does not yet need food, it is possible in a rounded abdomen. As soon as the stomach in the platidation becomes flat, you can safely feed it.
Breeding
In closed aquarium breeding of this fish, it is extremely rare. Natural caviar laying occurs in decorative tanks only in isolated cases, but for this, the tank of the aquarium should be large. In nature, the individuals of the female lay the caviar in the streams and small rivers. In the Aquarium, Som can build peculiar nests using the leaves for this, the pieces of the bark, etc. One individual is covered in such a nest, and the second swims for fertilization and subsequent removal of offspring.
The prickly predator reaches puberty closer to two years. Experienced aquarists in order to grow fry, transplanse several individuals in a separate container where there will be minimal light access, but good aeration. There is also a spawning, in which there will be no sharp corners. The water temperature is maintained in the range of +27 - -27c, while it should not be more than 20 centimeters. Before the spawning of fish is translated on live food. First, the tank is transplanted by the male, which will deal with the construction of the nest. If this did not happen, the female will be able to postpone the caviar and in the bottom pits in the sand or gravel. The diameter of the masonry sockets is usually varied within 3-10 centimeters. For spawning, a pituitary suspension of bream or sterlid is most often used. For the cat's female, you can use up to two males for fertilization.
Usually the females of the platideoras are postponed about 300 eggs, as soon as it happens, the parents of the future offspring are recommended to remove from the aquarium. The incubation period in the firings is 48-72 hours. Already on 5-6 days, the fry will be able to swim on their own and eat. At first, they are recommended to offer live moles, micro-repurchas. Small predators are developing slow pace, so aquarist will need to bring care for offspring for some time. As soon as the fish reached a third of the dimensions of adult fish, they can be seized in a joint aquarium.
Compatibility with other fish
Som refers to the bottom rocks of fish, which are not inclined to aggressive behavior towards other inhabitants of the aquarium. It is these individuals that can without concern to breed in multi-shaped tanks, where the fish of medium or large sizes will be present. However, from the neighborhood with small rocks still it is necessary to refuse, because there is a possibility that they will be perceived as food. The striped platids on the housing there are excellent armor, so they are not terrible even large aggressive decorative types of sea or river fish. Soma can be hosted to the scalar, to maintain together with the guers, tetro, with other varieties of soms, cichlids or carp.
"Singing" fish can be found in the aquarium groups or separately But in the first case, some conflicts relating to the territorial dominance of male individuals are possible. There may be a section of shelters in savings tanks.
However, in the wild, such predators, on the contrary, prefer to live with groups, thus protecting against the attack of larger, aggressive and dangerous water inhabitants.
In the next video you will find additional information about the content, reproduction, feeding and compatibility of striped platids.