Long-fin catfish
| Long-fin catfish | ||||||||||||
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Sturisomatichthys festivus male with clutch on an aquarium pane |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Sturisomatichthys festivus | ||||||||||||
| ( Myers , 1942) |
The long-finned catfish ( sturisomatichthys festivus ) belongs to the order of catfish-like , her family is that of the armored catfish (Loricariidae). Their natural habitat is the basin of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela . Long-fin armored catfish reach a length of up to 30 centimeters. In pet shops, this fish is usually sold as golden beard catfish ( Sturisomatichthys aureus ).
Mating behavior
The female joins a spot in the current that the male has chosen and cleaned a day or two beforehand. Once there, the male places himself a little below the female, then both slide with jerky movements over the said spawning place. This is already part of courtship, but continues to be used to clean the spawning area because both of them have a vigorous sucking of the mouth. This ritual goes on for hours, then the male suddenly shoots sideways past the female and sits diagonally over it. With pressure from above, he makes the female squeeze out the eggs. This procedure is repeated continuously, but at different time intervals. After laying, the male fertilizes the eggs and takes care of the clutch for 7 to 8 days without the support of the female.
Aquaristics
The fish should be kept in aquariums at least one meter long. The water temperature must be between 22 and 26 ° C and the pH value between 6.5 and 7.5. As with other catfish species, there should be a root in the basin.
Web links
- Long-fin catfish on Fishbase.org (English)