Ctenopoma leopard - care and maintenance in an aquarium

Ctenopoma leopard looks rather strange when a person sees her for the first time. But after some observations, interesting habits in the behavior of water pets are noted. Naturally, the fish got its name because of the specific color with spots. Family members are met in Africa. As a rule, small fish prefer slow-flowing rivers, but they may well exist in fast-flowing water sources. Leopard Ctenopomes appeared quite a long time ago, they began to be maintained in aquarium conditions since 1955.

Description

Habitat - Africa, the Congo River basin. In these expanses of fish can be found everywhere, starting with ponds with stagnant water, ending with fast flowing rivers.

Members of the family have an oval-shaped body, they are flat, high. Plavnichki located around the perimeter of the body.Fishes are dark green with shapeless spots and huge eyes. Since ktenopoma are predators by nature, they require masking, this provides the full color.

Due to their leopard pattern, fish are masked in dark or light water between vegetation. They love to swim among the foliage and other types of thickets. Fish swim at the bottom, rarely selected to the surface. They are awake at night, and are asleep during the day, or are in a sluggish state.

In their natural conditions, the fish grow up to 20 cm, but in the aquarium the representatives of the family hardly reach 12-15 cm. This is caused by the compactness of the space and other diets.

There are no special difficulties in the content. The main thing is to choose the right neighbors for the fish, provide them with quality food and adhere to the required parameters of the aquatic environment.

Representatives of this family are quite difficult to distinguish in terms of sex. In males, one can observe a greater number of spines on the gills. They also have a coarser structure at the base of the tail. In females, such signs are usually absent.

Content

1. The peculiarity of this subspecies is that representatives of the family do not recognize petty comrades. They act as a pleasant snack. Ctenopomes are irresponsible, they neglect themselves and future offspring. In the neighbors you need to choose only large fish that will be able to tame the leopards.
2. The fish will feel fine in a spacious aquarium, that is, about 100 l should be per individual. water. On a mandatory basis, the house is covered with a lid so that the fish do not jump out of it. The aquarium does not fill with water to the brim, you need to leave 3-5 cm.
3. Lamps with diffusing light are installed. From the soil preference is given to small pebbles or coarse sand. Since fish like to be in shelters, it is imperative to install grottoes, snags, clay pots, castles, pipes, etc.
4. From plants, it is necessary to give preference to species floating on the surface of the water. Subsequently, the fish will spawn to the top. It is also worth planting a low aquarium so that the ctenopomes can hide. With all this fullness in the aquarium should be spacious enough for active swimming.
5. Strictly adhere to the temperature regime located at the level of 23-28 degrees. Stiffness is as important (7 units) as acidity (6.5 units). All this will allow fish to exist in comfort.
6. A fluid replacement is carried out weekly in the amount of a quarter of the total volume. That is, they poured water, added a new one. Naturally, we can not forget about the installation of filters for cleaning. These fish have low immunity, therefore, peat extract is added.

Nutrition

1. Ctenopomes are omnivorous representatives of aquatic life. They are active predators. Such individuals feed on small fish, fry, amphibians and insects. Therefore, in the aquarium conditions individuals without problems can eat live food. In addition, they will have no problems eating artificial food.
2. It is recommended to feed the individuals in question specifically with small fish, a pipe maker, earthworms and moths. Fresh-frozen food is also allowed. At the same time, look at whether the fish like this product.

Compatibility

1. It is impossible to call fish aggressive, they are rather harmful, not accepting outsiders.Because of the predator's innate instinct, leopards eat small fish. Therefore, as the neighborhood choose large individuals who can fight back.
2. As optimal cohabitants should choose schooling fish, such as glossy tetra or catfish. Golden congos, barbs, African butterfly fish, and polypteruses will also work.
3. Ctenopoma behaves boldly only with the smallest individuals. She is afraid of huge individuals, they should not be planted. Well, if you fill the aquarium at once with all kinds of inhabitants.

Breeding

1. To get a pair that will reproduce offspring, it is recommended to keep several young individuals in the aquarium. As soon as the fish begin to grow up, they will pick up a pair for themselves. Consider that in a separate aquarium for spawning there must be a large number of plants that will float on the surface.
2. In this case, the aquarium should be covered with a dense net or a special lid. Fry should have access to warm, humid air that will be located above the surface of the water. Caviar throwing occurs in a rather usual way for representatives of labyrinth specimens.
3. Eggs have positive buoyancy, which is why they accumulate on the surface. It is worth noting that after spawning, parents do not particularly take care of the offspring. Therefore, a couple after all you can safely transplant into a common aquarium. After only two days, the fry begin to swim freely in the aquarium.
4. In the first days after birth, it is recommended to feed the fry with infusoria. After that, it is gradually allowed to give naupliya artemia. It should be noted separately that the considered fish often spawn. The number of eggs can reach up to several thousand. Unfortunately, few fry fish survive in aquarium conditions.
5. The problem is that among these fish cannibalism is developed. Stronger fry eat the weak. It is also worth knowing that such fish breed seasonally. In the wild, ctenopomes can spawn for several months. They stop as soon as the rainy season begins.
6. Such representatives of fishes reach sexual maturity rather late. It is believed that this occurs between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Such fish are considered ideal for beginners. Ctenopomes can live up to 15 years.In addition, these fish are very persistent with a rather interesting behavior.

Ctenopomes are quite interesting representatives of fish. They are real predators. Therefore, it is not necessary to share with them the small aquarium inhabitants. Provide good conditions for the fish. Feed a variety of feed.

Video: Ctenopoma leopard (Ctenopoma acutirostre)