In this article we will find out what is a shellfish (placoderm). Where does she naturally occur, can she live in a home aquarium, moreover, can she be with other fish in a common pond?
Carapace of Dunkleost Fish
Duncleostea is an extinct armored fish that is known for its skulls, whose age is 360 million years. Their remains were found in Cleveland, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, California. Other duncleosteids were found in Russia, Poland, Morocco, and Belgium.
Duncleostea was covered with thick outer plates. Although, unlike the rest of the placoderm, its smooth armor did not cover the whole body, but only a small front part with the head together. To be more precise, during the evolution, the lateral and dorsal plates were somewhat shortened, while the rest of the body remained free of them, thereby making it possible to freely maneuver, and to develop decent speed when pursuing prey.
The pectoral fins protruded far to the sides, like a shark. Probably, the protrusion of the fin in the side exceeded half the width of the body of the fish. In the pectoral fins of the arthrodir, the contours were similar to those of the Paleozoic cartilaginous fins. Probably, the structure of the ventral fins was also similar.
Description
Carapace pike fish (garfish) lives in the water bodies of Central and North America, as well as in the Caribbean. She prefers a little brackish or fresh water. Rarely enough, but it also falls into the sea.
Some researchers claim that shellfish on our planet lived in the Cretaceous era - 200 million years ago. In America and Europe, the remains of this fish were found. Today in the world there are 7 varieties of such pikes.
Carapace fish, photos of which are presented in this article, grow to impressive sizes. Although very large samples are quite rare. The largest armored pike reaches 130 kg in weight and more than three meters long. Her appearance is fully consistent with her character - she is very aggressive and, as the locals say, dangerous. The predator in the fight against other fish with sharp teeth digs into the victim’s head, and then bites it. Then she returns to the body of her prey in order to continue the meal. Cases of attacks of these fish even on humans are known.
Application
Carapace fish is rarely used for food, but its meat is quite edible. In some markets in Central America, it can be found on sale. Of great interest are the garfish for sport fishers, specialized in catching various exotic individuals. I must admit, not everyone can catch such a giant. And it is very difficult to find it in small overgrown ponds. Only an experienced angler can do it.
Carapace Spotted Pike
Shellfish is also called spotted shellfish. She is a predatory fish. It grows to 1.2 m. The largest known weight is 4.4 kg. Her life span is about 18 years. The body can be painted in several colors - from brown to light olive shades. It shows a pattern of spots of darker shades. The sides are slightly lighter than the back, with the belly almost white. The tail fin is slightly rounded. The dorsal and anal fins consist of nine or seven rays.
This fish lives in the Mississippi, as well as other rivers that flow from Noeses to the west of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. She picks brackish water.
Aquarium Shell Pike
At the moment, this representative of predators is very common. Shell fish in large aquariums reaches 30 centimeters in length. In small containers, such a pike quickly ceases to grow in volume and grow.
Its scales are as hard as stone. It is located in oblique rows and resembles decorative tiles in its shape. This fish has a muzzle beak-shaped, with long and narrow jaws, studded with a huge number of teeth.
Structural features
This fish has an unusual anatomical structure. Her vertebrae have no depressions on both sides, which are present in the rest of the fish. They are deepened on one side and convex on the other. This structure is more characteristic of amphibians. In armored pikes, the swim bladder is also involved in respiration.
This is a single large individual, suitable for a spacious and roomy demonstration aquarium. Fish arouses the interest of specialists due to the outward resemblance to the usual Central European pike. At home, they usually do not contain old fish, although even they are quite aggressive to all other inhabitants of the tank.
Content
At the moment, there is a tendency for predatory fish to be kept at home. Many believe that watching the miniature and calm inhabitants of the underwater world is quite boring. While predatory large fish, their morals are actually interesting. Connoisseurs of exotic appreciate the daring disposition and the manifestation of aggression.
A striking representative of the community and an incredibly popular inhabitant of aquariums is shell pike. In order for her to reach 30 centimeters at home, she needs an aquarium with a volume of at least 150 liters. The size of this predator depends directly on the parameters of its dwelling. Among aquarists, the most popular is the spotted armored pike.
This fish prefers to live in the upper parts of the water. Her neighbors are mostly larger. They inhabit the lower layers - this allows them to peacefully coexist with the predator we are considering.
Water and Aquarium Requirements
We told that to keep these fish you need a large aquarium. If you want to grow an individual of large sizes, then you will need a "reservoir", the volume of which will be at least 500 liters. In this case, water should be of the following parameters: hardness - dH 17, temperature - 20 ° , acidity - pH 8.
To keep such pikes, water filtration and aeration are mandatory. There should be few plants - for the fish, the free space for swimming is much more important.
Nutrition
Experienced aquarists say that these predators do not suffer from a lack of appetite. They eat an incredible amount of small fish. In other words, the shell pike is incredibly gluttonous. Consequently, in caring owners, it is most often possible to find well-fed individuals in aquariums that sometimes resemble a floating log. Due to the greed of these fish, you do not need to keep them together with small individuals.
Finally ...
Not so long ago, in one of the television programs, Candidate of Medical Sciences Mark Sandomierz said that the deposits of the Devonian period contain huge reserves of psychic destructive energy that left the twilight consciousness of armored fish, which is a huge danger to humanity. This program caused a lot of rumors, talk and mostly ridicule. We will refrain from commenting ...