Today, the most common aquarium catfish is ordinary ancistrus (indicated in encyclopedias as Ancistrus multispinnis). In length, the male can reach 17 cm, the female - a little less. Somik Antsistrus is lovingly and deservedly called an aquarium cleaner.
The fact is that its main food is algal fouling on the walls and bottom of the aquarium, i.e. he eats the very greens that would have to be removed manually. In addition, catfish does not refuse live and dry food intended for other inhabitants of the aquarium world. It is recommended to periodically feed the cleaner with leaves of dandelion, lettuce, cabbage (they must be scalded with boiling water and immersed to the bottom, fixing with pebbles).
Somik Antsistrus is very peaceful, but can arrange short-term battles with other catfishes (exclusively males) only for the conquest of the territory, while not harming the opponent (the body of the fish is covered with dense plates that serve as excellent defense during an attack). Catfish can be kept with most species of fish, including aggressive ones, but not too large. However, in this case, additional shelters must be placed: stones, shells, driftwood, ceramic pipes, caves, etc.
The fish are unpretentious to the conditions of the aquarium. She is comfortable even in small volumes (80-100 liters). The water temperature should not be lowered below 21 ° C and raised above 26 ° C. Optimum pH-7 (± 0.5). Simulations of the flow, filtration, aeration and replacement of water (up to a quarter of the volume, weekly) are desirable. The lighting is dim.
Somik Antsistrus becomes sexually mature (after a year), but his life expectancy is decent - up to eight, and sometimes even up to ten years.
Spawning stimulates the presence of various cavities (shelters, which we spoke about above), regular water changes with minimal carbonate hardness. The male takes a fancy to one of the cavities, and the female, having trusted his choice, leaves a bunch of caviar, which is protected by the partner until the fry appear (5-6 days). Fry should be transferred to another container at this time, otherwise they may go to feed other fish living in the aquarium. Starting feed - chopped tubule, artemia, vegetable feed (all first rubbed into powder). It is advisable to leave a pair of snags in the growth aquarium, which the kids are happy to "clean." Catfish fry are large, in the first month they grow quickly, and after growth slows down.
Much less common is another type of catfish - golden ancistrus (appeared in Russia in the very late 90s). It is in many ways similar to ordinary catfish, but its color really draws attention to itself. For those who want to see what the golden Antsistrus looks like, the photo is in the article.
As you can see, the golden color of the catfish is clearly “face-to-face”, in the coloration there is no unhealthy pallor, which is so typical of most albinos. True, the females are colored paler nevertheless. The color version of the fish is quite stable - the color is inherited by the offspring completely, without deviations. The survival rate of eggs of this species of catfish is quite high - 98%. Antcistrus gold, like ordinary, is quite unpretentious and almost omnivorous, but it negatively refers to an increase in pH and salinity of water.