Line thorn catfish
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Line horned catfish ( Platydoras armatulus ) |
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| Platydoras armatulus | ||||||||||||
| ( Valenciennes , 1840) |
The Striped Raphael Catfish ( Platydoras armatulus ) belongs to the family of catfishes (Doradidae) from the order of catfish-like (Siluriformes). Like all spiny catfish, the line catfish is native to South America, its range includes the Orinoco basin , parts of the Amazon basin , especially the upper and middle Amazon (Rio Solimões) and the Rio Madeira , as well as the river basin of the Río Paraguay . There the line catfish lives on the bottom of weakly flowing tributaries of the rivers and hides in the sand or mud during the day.
description
The fish are up to 30 cm long and over 30 years old (a 34-year-old specimen is currently known). They are distinguished by their beautiful coloring and by their thorns and spines. The spines easily get caught in nets and the fish are able to produce a poison that can also be dangerous for humans. Therefore it should never be caught with your hand or a landing net, but with a glass. The line catfish is even able to secrete a secretion that can be fatal for co-fish. It is difficult to distinguish the sexes from the outside and so the offspring has only seldom been successful up to now. The only success was when a group of fish was placed in hormone- treated water.
- Fin formula : dorsal I / 6, anal 11, pectoral I / 8, ventral 7.
Way of life
The line thorn catfish like to dig into the soft subsoil and spend most of their lives hidden. They are nocturnal and quite shy, which makes them a rarely seen fish in the aquarium. When socializing, it should be noted that small fish (guppies, neons, ...) are often mistaken for food at night. Stress sometimes leads to the secretion of a secretion which can be fatal to other fish. In the wild there are often groups of 5 to 15 animals together, which is also useful when keeping an aquarium.
Aquaristics
The first introduction to Germany was in 1964. Many hiding places were to be offered, mainly made of roots, stones and clay pipes. A denser planting in the rear area of the pool and a sand substrate encourage natural behavior. Due to its nocturnal activity, it should be fed even after the lighting has been switched off, as there is not enough left for the animals during the day. Actually, the line catfish omnivorous (is Omnivore ), feed tablets, algae , flake food, sticks, but also young fish or insect larvae not disdain.
literature
- Nivaldo M. Piorski, Julio C. Garavello, H. Arce, Mark H. Sabaj Pérez: Platydoras brachylecis, a new species of thorny catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from northeastern Brazil . Neotropical Ichthyology, 6, 3, pp. 481-494, 2008 doi : 10.1590 / S1679-62252008000300021
Web links
- Line catfish on Fishbase.org (English)