Anabas, or anabas testudineus, is the name of the slider fish. It refers to labyrinth fish, which differ from all others by the presence of this labyrinth or additional respiratory organ above the gills.
More than 6 hours (some sources claim that from 6 hours to several days, it all depends on temperature and humidity) there can be labyrinths without water. This feature helps them leave drying ponds. On land and even on trees, these fish move with the help of fins.
Habitat
A slider is a fish that, like every creature on earth, has a scientific classification. They are chordates (type), ray-finned (class), perciform (detachment). The habitat of these small, rarely reaching a length of 18 (according to some sources - 25) centimeters of bone fish is fresh water bodies of South Asia, more specifically - India, Indonesia, Burma.
They are found in the Philippine Islands. In some articles, the whole of
Southeast Asia is called the habitat and it is even specified that these fish are found in
rice fields in China
. They are shallow, and shallow reservoirs often dry up, and pineapples crawl whole shoals into new lakes and rivers with weakly flowing water. These fish love slightly salted water. Muddy ponds and ditches suit them.
Appearance
The slider is a fish, like all perched ones, outwardly unremarkable. The color is gray or brownish-green, and on the stomach - yellowish. Well-developed fins, especially pectoral and anal, are equipped with sharp spikes (they are also along the gill cover) - all this helps the pineapples to move on land and climb trees. The upper fin is long and short. The average land speed is 10 meters in 6 minutes. But such amazing abilities do not save absolutely all the pineapples, which, in their misfortune, have very tasty meat. In the areas of their habitat, a lot of residents are engaged in their artificial breeding, as the creeper is a fish that is in great demand in the market.
Living and breeding conditions
In wildlife, especially at times of crawling, pineapples are caught very actively, the expression "bare hands" is appropriate here. But to catch them in this way is not recommended - wounds from sharp fins do not heal for a long time. In hot weather, many crawlers do not get to the pond and dry out in the sun. But among them there are either lazy people or seers: they do not hit the road in search of a new reservoir, but burrow into the mud.
There they are waiting for new rains, which should arrive in time no later than 48 hours - this is how much fish can live in the silt, into which it burrows, swaying with its whole body.
The life of pineapples is 5 years. They become sexually mature at the age of 1.5 years. The female lays eggs from 2.5 to 5 thousand pieces, and the couple all the time guards future fry, which hatch on the second day, since there are many hunters on them. Spawn in the middle layers of water or near the ground.
Aquarium Pineapples
By nature, the slider is a predator fish. It feeds on its own kind and all small animals: worms and other invertebrates. Therefore, an aquarium pineapple that preserves all the properties and habits of a slider living in nature is kept in a separate container. If you want to get this fish in your home aquarium, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the creeper fish is very voracious (feeds only on live food) and is very pugnacious. The aquarium also requires special training: you need to create islands on which the pineapple will breathe air. It should have a free, illuminated place for swimming and spawning, as well as a lot of algae, snags and all kinds of shelters - the fish is quite shy. The species aquarium should be closed with well-fixed glass, located above the surface of the water at a distance of at least 10 centimeters - the fish jumps out. Aquarium individuals are much smaller than the sliders living in natural conditions. But still, these are large Climbing perch (another name) - they grow up to 15 cm. The male is painted brighter, and the female is thicker. For aquarists, the most detailed, specific information is widely available. In the aquariums of the Soviet Union, slider fish appeared in 1960. Everywhere it is noted that outwardly the pineapple resembles a cyclide: the same elongated body, the lines of the back and abdomen are straight, the head is large.
If such a fish has a black spot above the gills - this is a slider fish (photo attached).