Not every experienced aquarist, not to mention newcomers, heard about the Indian knife, also known as hitala, about the fish. Despite the unusualness and beauty, it is not widespread. But still, many fans of aquarium fish will be interested to know more about it.
Appearance
As you can see in the photo, the Indian knife is a pretty interesting fish. In body form, it resembles a massive knife, which is reflected in its name. The back is noticeably hunched, and at the highest point is a tiny dorsal fin. The caudal fin is practically absent. But on the lower body - from the middle of the abdomen to the tail - a narrow, long fin extends, the wave-like movements of which allow the fish to develop considerable speed.
The color is gray, along the sides are strings of large black dots that make the fish particularly recognizable. Black dots are surrounded by bright spots.
But the most interesting feature of the fish is its size. In aquariums, the average height of an Indian knife is 35-40 centimeters. But in the wild there are often specimens up to 1 meter long! The weight of such individuals can reach 5 kilograms. So seriously consider whether the Indian knife is really suitable for your aquarium before starting it.
Area
Despite the name, the fish is distributed not only in India, but also in a number of countries in Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand. It was first caught and studied by the biologist Gray in the mid-nineteenth century.
In the natural habitat is very common, is in great demand as a source of tender, tasty meat. It prefers stagnant water, therefore it lives in the backwaters of large rivers, lakes, even marshes. Juveniles are kept in groups, hiding from predators in algae, flooded shrubs, trees. Adults prefer to stand alone, hunt mainly from an ambush. Easily withstand low oxygen in the air.
More recently, an Indian knife was caught in the southern United States, in Florida. Most likely, this was due to the fact that some aquarist accidentally or intentionally released several individuals into the wild. The fish not only survived and adapted, but also began to pose a serious threat to smaller counterparts.
Suitable aquarium
When starting an Indian knife, care should be taken to ensure that it is spacious enough. To do this, you need a really big aquarium. It is desirable that at least 500 liters per individual.
The individual lives mainly in the lower part of the aquarium, hiding in algae, among snags and other decorative ornaments. So for those who like to supplement the aquarium with massive underwater castles, sunken ships, this fish is definitely suitable - the more such shelters, the better. If the hitala does not find suitable refuge, this will lead to stress. The fish will try to hide in a corner, dig into the ground, and will do so so actively that it can inflict serious damage on itself.
The Indian knife is very sensitive to medicines. Therefore, it is desirable to exclude the possibility of the appearance of infectious diseases in the aquarium. The best way to do this is to irradiate water with an ultraviolet lamp from time to time, destroying dangerous bacteria. This is really important - large hitals, consuming protein food, leave behind a lot of waste, which begin to rot, create excellent conditions for the development of infection.
The compressor can be set to the weakest mode - as mentioned above, the Indian knife tolerates a small amount of oxygen quite well. If necessary, the fish itself rises to the surface to swallow atmospheric air. The exception is the aquariums, in which representatives of other breeds live. By the way, we should talk about them in more detail.
We select neighbors
To begin with, it is worth noting that hitals do not get along well with each other, especially adults. Therefore, it is undesirable to keep in one aquarium, even large enough, more than 1-2 pairs. Otherwise, the fish begin to sort things out, fight for the territory, which is likely to cause serious injuries.
Neighbors should be chosen rather large - the Indian knife is a predator and perceives all fairly small fish exclusively as food. A good choice can be kissing gourami, shark balu, pangasius, pterigoplicht, arovana. They are large enough so that the hitala does not consider them as feed.
Overly aggressive neighbors should be avoided. Despite its large size and predatory habits, the Indian knife is a peaceful fish, almost modest. Too fast and aggressive neighbors will surely lead to the fact that the life of the hitals will turn into a real hell. It is highly likely that the fish will refuse food and soon die of hunger.
The main difficulties in maintaining
The main problem with keeping an aquarium fish is the Indian knife already mentioned - its size. Not every aquarist is ready to install an aquarium at half a ton at home - both the financial side of the issue and the limited area of the apartment do not allow it.
But even if there is a sufficiently large aquarium, it is better for beginners to not mess with them. Such fish are quite expensive, and the most minor mistakes can lead to their death. In addition, young animals may well die even during normal transport or change of water - they are very sensitive to every little thing. Adult fish are much stronger, able to survive serious shocks, including a sharp temperature drop, a change in water hardness and acidity.
It is very important for young individuals to maintain a certain temperature - in the range of +24 ... + 28 ° . Going beyond can cause illness.
After transportation and settlement in a new place, hitals often refuse food. But after starving for a day or two and getting used to the new environment, the fish are happy to take for food. The main thing is to choose the appropriate diet.
Choosing the right food
Alas, food is another reason why the Indian knife is not widely used. To make a good diet, you have to seriously fork out. These fish are predatory, but far from any meat is suitable for them.
Adults need protein nutrition. Live fish, fish fillet, squid, mussels, shrimp are suitable. Shrimps and small fish are best suited. Chicken meat, as well as pork, beef, horsemeat and lamb cannot be fed - they contain lipids, practically not absorbed by the stomach hitals.
True, they need to be fed not every day, but a day later - after a hearty meal, the fish can do without food for a long time. Residues of food should be removed 20-30 minutes after the meal.
It is best to give food in the evening - after all, an Indian knife leads a nocturnal lifestyle in nature and eats best in the dark. Late evening will do.
Sometimes the fish for some reason ignore the food, which they ate with pleasure a couple of days ago. In such a situation, a suitable replacement should be sought, offering other options.
Breeding
As you can see, the Indian knife fish in the maintenance and care is quite complicated. But it’s even more difficult to breed them - very few experienced aquarists can boast of such an achievement.
First of all, due to the fact that for breeding a pair of hitals needs an aquarium with a volume of at least 2 tons. The female lays eggs (from 2 to 10 thousand - depending on age) on the leaves of algae, and the male pours them with milk. Then the female loses interest in the cubs - it can be deposited, the main thing is to carefully, without scaring the male. The latter fiercely defends caviar, attacking everyone who approaches. It lasts about 5-7 days. Then the fry hatch, and the male can be jailed. The best food in the early stages is Artemia nauplii. Then you can go to bloodworm and tubule. Over time - for adult food.
Conclusion
Now you know enough about such an amazing fish as an Indian knife. Learned about the features of the content, the choice of diet, reproduction. So, you can decide whether such an acquisition will be successful, or whether it makes sense to give preference to other, easier to maintain the inhabitants of the aquarium.