Antenna Catfish: Care and Feeding
The Blue Catfish is a freshwater fish from the Loricariidae family. In this article we will tell you everything you need to know about keeping and feeding the blue antenna catfish.
Appearance of the Blue Antenna Catfish
Male blue antenna-catfish reach a length of 13-15 cm. Females turn out somewhat smaller with an average length of 9-13 cm. The blue catfish has a very wide front and its body becomes narrower towards the caudal fin.
The basic colour of the fish is at first almost black, whereas the underside is always a little bit lighter. As the fish gets older the blue catfish becomes paler. The complete body is also covered with light spots and the fin rays show a dark line pattern.
Apart from their size, males differ mainly in their much more pronounced fleshy extensions, which form antlers near the mouth.
What is the life expectancy of the blue catfish?
Provided that the blue catfish is spared from diseases and the keeping conditions are good, aquarists can look forward to a life expectancy of 10-15 years. If the fish is not looked after properly, the life expectancy of the fish can be significantly lower.
Origin of the blue antenna catfish
The blue catfish comes originally from the black-water of the Rio Negro and other rivers of the middle and upper Amazon-basin in Brazil.
Antenna catfish attitude
Blue antenna catfish are regarded as uncomplicated aquarium inhabitants. Adult males show a distinct territorial behaviour and fight with each other with sometimes fatal results. Ideally, a single male should therefore be kept with one or more females.
The suitable aquarium for blue catfish
To provide the animals with sufficient space, the aquarium should have a length of at least 10cm. This size is sufficient for a single pair. For several animals a correspondingly larger tank is recommended.
Blue antenna catfish prefer water temperatures of 26 to 30 degrees. It’s important to ensure good water quality and a sufficient supply of oxygen when keeping them.
Aquatic plants and equipment for antenna catfish
The bottom of the pool should consist of either fine gravel or sand. Sharp edges are to be avoided, because the blue antenna catfish can injure itself. To offer the animals a hiding place, planting robust and dense aquatic plants is advisable.
Additional floating plants ensure that the tank is darkened a little and the fish are not exposed to bright light.
It is also important to provide the aquarium with coconut shells or roots on which the blue antenna catfish can gnaw, as it needs the cellulose contained in them for its digestion.
Breeding Antennae Catfish
Blue antenna catfish are so-called substrate spawners, which lay their eggs for example under roots or in burrows. Under optimal husbandry conditions, a female can spawn about every 21 days and lay about 90 eggs each time.
The male takes care of the brood. It takes about five days until hatching. The yolk sac of the small catfish has receded after another two weeks.
Antennae catfish diseases
Blue catfish are generally regarded as very healthy fish. If the blue catfish are looked after well, they rarely fall ill.
They react very sensitively to copper and can die from copper-containing algae remedies and medication given to other ornamental fish living in the aquarium.
Inadequate husbandry conditions and transport stress can weaken their immune system, making them susceptible to a number of health problems.
Weakened catfish can suffer from the following health problems:
- Fungal infections (mycoses)
- Parasite infestation
- Bacterial infections
- Various viruses
Blue catfish nutrition
As a typical up-growth-feeder, the blue catfish lives in free nature above all from algae, that it gnaws off from stones and wood in the water. In addition, however, it also takes in animal food.
As already mentioned, it is dependent on the additional intake of cellulose, which it gets by gnawing on wood, for digestion.
When keeping it in an aquarium it is advisable to provide the blue catfish with suitable vegetable food in tablet form. In addition, the fish's diet can be supplemented with vegetables such as cucumber or lettuce.
High quality fish food for blue catfish
A species-appropriate feeding contributes significantly to a strong immune system and a high life expectancy of the blue antenna catfish. In order to ensure an optimal supply of all important nutrients, we therefore recommend feeding catfish food and bottom tablets from Aquaris.
This high quality food provides your blue catfish with an ideal nutrient composition and is also very easily digestible, thus avoiding unnecessary pollution of the water.
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