Aquarium killer whale catfish. Siamese killer whale
If we talk about the name of this fish, then in fact there is nothing ambiguous or Siamese on its body. Why it was called that is not known for certain. Aquarists only know for sure that the Siamese killer whale does not grow more than 12 centimeters when kept in home aquarium. IN natural conditions she might be a little larger size. Visually, the Siamese Killer Whale is more similar to Catfish than to representatives of the Cetacean family.
In nature, this fish is distributed in numerous reservoirs of Kampuchea and Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. However, she lives there only fresh water. Salt water the fish can't stand it.
So, let's find out about optimal conditions keeping the Siamese killer whale in a home aquarium, about it proper nutrition and the choice of neighbors, how this fish should be propagated.
The body of the Siamese Killer Whale is elongated. Her caudal fin has highly developed blades. The adipose fin of this fish is also well developed. The dorsal and pectoral fins have small spines. The general body color of the Siamese Killer Whale is yellow-silver. It has wide stripes dark color. They have uneven shape. The brightness of the body color of this fish largely depends on its age and body length. As for the difference between the sexes of the Siamese Killer Whale, the female is always larger than the male. She is distinguished by her full belly. Males are much smaller, they are thin and it is visually very easy to distinguish a female from a male. In captivity, this aquarium fish lives no more than 5-6 years.
These fish have a peaceful nature. However, sometimes they are predatory. Lead night look life. If these fish are kept in too small aquariums, then the males may demonstrate their territoriality. Siamese killer whales usually live in the middle layers of water.
These fish need to be kept in species-specific aquariums with a volume of 100 liters or more. They should be covered with a lid, and the lighting should be kept low. You can, of course, keep these fish in community aquarium. But in this case, as neighbors for the Siamese Killer Whale, you need to select peace-loving and calm fish with a similar body size. It is not recommended to keep them in the same aquarium with very small fish, as well as those fish that have long fins.
You need to put driftwood and drainage tubes, stones and polyvinyl tubes in the aquarium, creating shelters and caves from them. These fish love natural plants. They are demanding about the purity of the water, so it is necessary to aerate it, replacing a third of the water weekly with settled water.
It is recommended to feed Siamese Killer Whales with live food in the form of frozen shrimp and daphnia, insects and bloodworms, and coretra. Suitable for feeding fish and dry food. It is better if these fish are eaten in the evening or at night in small portions. This is explained by the lifestyle of Siamese killer whales: they are active at night and hide from bright light during the day.
Breeding
To breed Siamese Killer Whale, you need a spawning aquarium with a volume of at least 100 liters. In females, before spawning, the abdomen becomes significantly fuller. Usually, in preparation for spawning, pituitary injections are used, then eggs are collected manually from the female and milt from the males. Fertilization of eggs occurs artificially in a separate container. There are no facts of successful breeding of Siamese Killer Whale in an amateur aquarium yet. With professional breeding, it is possible to achieve numerous laying of eggs with a diameter of 1 mm. In this case, an important condition for spawning is an increase in temperature in the spawning area. Siamese killer whale fry are fed rotifers.
IN natural conditions The Siamese killer whale lives in water bodies with fresh water in Kampuchea and Thailand.
Leiocassis siamensis has external resemblance with a small catfish. The body of the fish is elongated. Tail with wide blades. There is a fairly large adipose fin. The color of the fish varies from light gray to yellowish. Transverse wide dark stripes run across the body various shapes. These stripes may be lighter or darker, depending on emotional state fish. Unlike females, males are slimmer and smaller in size. In natural habitats, the size of fish reaches 20 cm, in aquarium conditions their size is about 12 cm.
Fish lead a crepuscular lifestyle, swimming out into open areas in the aquarium after dark. During the daytime, killer whales hide in various shelters made of stones, grottoes and snags. In general, the Siamese killer whale is a peaceful fish and can be kept in a common aquarium with other fish, even very small ones, without any problems. An aquarium for keeping Siamese killer whales must have a volume of 100 liters or more.
Generally this type The fish are very unpretentious and usually there are no problems in keeping them. The fish grow very quickly and at the age of 4-5 months they are already about 8-9 cm in size. It should be said that the fish is quite nimble and in order to catch it with a net in the aquarium you need to try very hard. These fish are a kind of orderlies in the aquarium, removing food from the aquarium that has not been eaten by other fish. The fish is also resistant to various diseases.
Water parameters for keeping killer whales should be as follows: temperature 21-25°C, hardness dH 4-15°, acidity pH 6.4-7.6. Requires filtration, aeration and weekly replacement of 1/3 of the aquarium water fresh.
The Siamese killer whale feeds on a variety of live, frozen and dry food. She is prone to overeating, so the food given must be strictly dosed.
The aquarium must have a large number of various shelters where fish could hide. Lighting should be low with a “lingering sunset” effect.
Reproduction
Siamese killer whales become sexually mature at the age of more than a year.
It should be said that it is not possible to achieve spawning without the introduction of hormonal drugs.
For fish breeding, water is prepared with the following characteristics: temperature 26-28°C, hardness dH 2-10°, acidity pH 6.7-7.2. The spawning aquarium must have a volume of at least 100 liters.
In nature, Mystus vittatus catfish live in the rivers of India and Burma.
The length of the fish is up to 18 cm. It has a long body. The head is large. The predominant color of the body is silver, the upper part of the body is bluish with a violet tint. Two thin stripes run along the sides purple. During times of stress, these stripes in fish become almost invisible. The coloration of males and females is the same, although in males it is more contrasting. The male is smaller, slimmer, and, like other killer whales, he has a special growth - the urogenital papilla.
Contents of Soma Mystus: Schooling fish, active even during the day. The aquarium must be from 100 liters. for a couple of individuals. It can be decorated with a variety of plants; shelters are required. Peaceful species, but should not be kept with small fish such as neon. Filtration, aeration, weekly change of up to 1/4 of the water volume. Water parameters for keeping mistuses: hardness up to 25°, pH about 7.0, temperature 22-26 °C.
Mystus catfish are unpretentious in feeding; they eat all types of food. Please note that feeding aquarium fish OK must be correct: balanced and varied. This fundamental rule is the key to successful keeping of any species of fish. Therefore, it will be useful for you to read the article “,” which describes this in detail, and also outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regime for fish.
IN given time Popular and popular food for fish, of course, is dry food. For example, food from Tetra, the leader, can be found on aquarium shelves all the time and everywhere. Russian market, which has a range of feeds “for every taste”. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes individual food for certain type fish: guppies, goldfish, cichlids, loricariids, labyrinths, arowanas, discus, etc. Tetra has also developed specialized foods, for example, to enhance color, fortified, or for feeding fry. Detailed information You can find out about all Tetra feeds on the company’s official website -.
It would not be superfluous to note that when purchasing any dry food, you should first of all pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy food in bulk, and also store the food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it .
Breeding mistuses: Reproduction at home is problematic and requires hormonal injections. The spawning aquarium should be about 100 liters. Substrate - loofah or small-leaved plants or mosses. Water parameters: hardness 4° (carbonate 0°), pH 6.0, temperature 26 °C. Producers are fed generously with a variety of foods. After the female has collected eggs, the fish are injected with a mixture of human chorionic gonadotropin and bream pituitary gland. Spawning is paired or nested (several males per female).
The eggs of mystuses develop in 29-30 hours. The larvae begin to feed on “live dust” or ciliates; on the second or third day they can be given Artemia nauplii. They grow quickly; already in the third month of life, the sex of the fry can be determined.
All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also with live emotions, allowing you to understand the world of aquariums more fully and subtly. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and first-hand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share with us your successes and joys, share and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every awareness of a mistake, which makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us there are, the more pure and transparent drops of goodness there are in the life and everyday life of our seven billion society.
Comes from the vast Mekong River basin - the largest in South-East Asia, from the territory of modern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Lives in waters with slow flow among the flooded trees and their roots. During the daytime it stays close to shelters, and at night it comes out in search of food.
Brief information:
- Aquarium volume - from 100 l.
- Temperature - 20–26°C
- pH value - 5.8–7.8
- Water hardness - from soft to hard (5–25 dGH)
- Substrate type - any soft
- Lighting - dim
- Brackish water - acceptable in a concentration of 1 teaspoon of salt per 10 liters
- Water movement is weak
- The size of the fish is up to 12 cm.
- Nutrition - protein (meat) diet
- Temperament - relatively peaceful
- Content alone or in small group if there are shelters
Description
Adults reach a length of about 15 cm. The main color is a dark chocolate shade with several vertical and diagonal stripes of a yellowish tint. A similar drawing was reflected in one of the folk names this species is a “bumblebee catfish”. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed, males have more contrasting colors, and females are somewhat stockier than their partners.
Nutrition
It belongs to the carnivorous species, and in part can be called miniature predators. Siamese catfish hunts small fish, aquatic insects and their larvae, worms, crustaceans, etc. In a home aquarium, it can adapt to receiving fresh meat and frozen products such as meat freshwater shrimp, mussels, pieces of white fish, earthworms.
You should not serve meat of animal origin; they are difficult to digest and can cause digestive problems.
Maintenance and care, arrangement of the aquarium
The optimal aquarium size for one catfish starts from 100 liters. Since this is a shy and nocturnal inhabitant, the design should include dim lighting and the presence of shelters (driftwood, ceramic pots, scraps of plastic tubes, etc.). When kept together with other catfish, provide several areas with shelters so that each of them can create their own territory. Any soft substrate, plants are not required, but if desired, you can use some shade-loving plants unpretentious plants and mosses.
When placing the equipment, place the heaters away from the hiding places and, especially, do not combine them so that the catfish do not accidentally overheat. Otherwise, the Asian bumblebee catfish is completely unpretentious and is able to successfully adapt to various water conditions, occurs naturally even in brackish systems.
Behavior and Compatibility
If you don't keep it with small fish, then there will be no problems with compatibility with other types. Catfish goes well with large and medium-sized cyprinids, peaceful cichlids and many others. Concerning intraspecific relationships, then there is competition for territory and if there is not enough space, skirmishes are possible
Breeding/reproduction
In nature mating season occurs with the arrival of the rainy season, when significant changes in the composition of the water occur, which in turn is a stimulus for spawning. In a home aquarium, it is almost impossible to reproduce natural cycles without the use of hormonal injections used on fish farms.
Fish diseases
The main cause of health problems is unsuitable living environment. If the first symptoms are detected, you should check the water parameters and the presence of high concentrations hazardous substances(ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc.), if necessary, bring the indicators back to normal and only then begin treatment. Read more about symptoms and treatment methods in the section "
The natural habitat of this fish is the fresh waters of Thailand and Kampucci.
Appearance
Video. Appearance of the Siamese killer whale:
The elongated body, caudal fin, as well as the adipose fin are highly developed relative to the size of the fish itself. Wide dark stripes run across the body. The dorsal and pectoral fins have spines. Size: up to 20 cm, in an aquarium up to 12 cm.
The difference between a male and a female is males somewhat smaller and slender.
Video. Siamese killer whale in an aquarium:
The active time of the Siamese killer whale is twilight. The fish often hides in various holes, spaces between stones, snags, stones and other shelters - it is especially difficult to see the killer whale in fairly bright aquarium lighting, since it hides precisely from strong light. Can be kept with small fish species.
Conditions of detention:
Water for maintenance: GH up to 15°;
Acid-base composition of water: pH 6.5-7.5;
Temperature: t 2 1-25 °C.
Feed
You can feed the killer whale with live ice cream and dry food in small portions in the evening and at night.
Reproduction
Breeding conditions:
Water for dilution: GH up to 10°;
Acid-base composition of water: pH 7.0;
Temperature: t 26-28 °C
Carbonate hardness is minimal.
The spawning tank is equipped with a capacity of 100 liters or more. The recommended method of breeding is only by pituitary injection. The initial food for the fry is rotifer. The female lays up to 500 eggs.