Striped platidoras ( lat.Platydoras costatus ) - a species of catfish family armored . It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 . Lives in the basins of the Amazon , Tokantins , Parnaiba , Orinoco and Essexibo rivers in French Guiana and Suriname .
| Striped platidoras |
|---|
 |
|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
|
|
Platydoras costatus Linnaeus , 1758 |
|
In nature, the size of these catfish can reach 24 cm, and age, according to some reports, up to 20 years [1] . In an aquarium, it grows up to 15-18 cm and reaches the age of 12-15 years [2] .
The abdomen is round. Males, as a rule, are smaller, but slimmer than females. The pectoral fins of the fish are very developed. The front beam of the catfish is covered with small spikes and ends with a sharp hook. There are three pairs of antennae. Two pairs are located on the lower jaw: two central ones with a length of 2-3 cm and two extreme ones with a length of 4-5 cm. On the upper jaw there is one pair of antennae up to 7-8 cm long.
The body is covered with longitudinal yellow and brown lines. Young individuals tend to be brighter than older ones.
The first year of life of catfish can be observed throughout the day. There are cases when the platidor floats to the surface, flips to the top with the abdomen and thus collects food from the water surface [2] . But with age, fish begin to lead a more secretive nocturnal lifestyle, activating only late in the evening. They eat, respectively, at night; in case of lack of food, smaller fish are eaten [2] .
- Water hardness from 8 to 12 ° dH;
- The acidity of the water is 6.0-7.0;
- Temperature 22-29 ° C.
- Salt content - no
- Water movement is weak
To keep the fish you need an aquarium of 150 liters, with enough snags and rocks. The soil should be soft (sand and gravel), the lighting is dim. For joint maintenance, any species can be selected, with the exception of very small ones [3] .
It is better to catch catfishes with the help of a jar or vessel, since it can very easily get entangled in the net due to fairly sharp rays of the fins. When fishing, care should be taken, since the injection from their spikes is painful [3] .
Feeding
They are omnivorous, therefore unpretentious to feed. In nature, they feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and various aquatic insects.
Aquarium catfish feed should contain a lot of protein. About 20-30% of the diet should be vegetable feed. As food suitable bloodworms, earthworms, tubule. Since these fish take food from the bottom, sinking granules or tablets should be given to them.
Reproduction
Maturity and the ability to reproduce occurs at the age of one year. Spawning should be a volume of 100 liters or more . Mandatory aeration, filtering and creating a flow of water. Water for dilution: GH up to 6 °; pH 6.5-7.0; t 27-29 ° C. Minimum carbonate hardness [3] . Typically, spawning is activated by the injection of gonadotropins. Catfish can build a small nest (with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm) from pieces of plants. After that, they spawn and attach it to the substrate . You can use synthetic threads, small-leaved aquatic plants, etc. [2] .
The female tosses up to 300 eggs. After spawning, catfish are precipitated. Caviar develops within 2.5-3 days. Juveniles begin to swim on the 5-6th day. Fry should be fed live dust, artemia nauplii, microworms.
