Corridoras Venezuela: catfish breeding and keeping

The corridor aquarium catfish belongs to the armored species. In total, more than 150 species of this fish are known. One of the most popular species in the world of aquarium hobby is the corridor from Venezuela - a small cute fish with a friendly character and does not require difficult conditions of keeping.

In the nature of the corridor, Venezuela lives in the waters of South America. Usually the size of an adult is limited to 6.5-7.5 cm. Fish can be of different colors. If this type of color is orange, then the body of the fish is painted in a rusty-orange bronze color with a dark spot, shimmering with a turquoise hue, which covers the "shoulders" area. A reddish-brown spot is observed on the back of the head.

Another common color is black. This fish is presented in dark brown color, it has a light gray belly, dark and reddish brown fins.

There are some gender differences in appearance. So, at puberty, females are usually more massive, larger, more plump, they have a rounded abdomen, while males look smaller and graceful. The fin on the back of the male catfish sharpens towards the end, and rounds out in the female. An interesting feature of the catfish is the ability to breathe in the intestines. When there is an oxygen deficiency in the reservoir, the fish rises to the surface, where it breathes atmospheric air.

In maintaining the corridor, it is important to pay attention to the ground, since it is still a bottom animal. Dark sand or fine gravel can be used. Make sure the ground does not contain sharp particlesthat can injure your pet.

Select as vegetation mosses, ferns, shrubby aquarium plants. Living at the bottom, Venezuelans love to dig in the ground, so they can easily uproot a fragile plant. In this regard, choose for planting aquarium cultures with a strong rhizome.

It is recommended to plant 5-8 catfish in one aquarium at once. For such a group, an aquarium of 50-60 liters is enough. It is not a large volume of water that is important for fish, but the space for studying the bottom. Therefore, you need to select a tank that is elongated in length, not in height, so that all fish have enough room at the bottom. Discard powerful lighting fixtures.

You can create shade using floating plants. Use snags and caves as decorations, but do not overdo it with their number - each catfish should have enough room to swarm at the bottom. Don't forget to equip your aquarium with an aerator and filter. Clean the filter regularly and choose a unit that the catfish cannot get into. For some species of aquarium catfish, this tendency has been noticed, leading to the death of the pet.

Favorable temperature for keeping the corridor of Venezuela - 22-26 degrees, acidity - 5.5-8.0 pH, hardness - 5-18 dH... Produce weekly change of 30% water, pour fresh water that has settled during the day... Use a siphon regularly to clean the soil, but be careful not to injure the catfish that gape at the bottom. Make sure that the ground is free of sharp rocks or broken pieces of scenery - corners can damage the mouth or antennae of pets.

In general, the corridors rarely get sick, and with proper care, their immunity is strengthened even more, therefore they are not prone to disease. However, it is important to include preventive measures in the form of adding kitchen sea salt to the aquarium. This method is often used in the treatment of some aquarium inhabitants, and if there are corridors next to sick individuals, then they should be deposited during the treatment.

Venezuelas are omnivorous catfish. At home, it is recommended to feed them with sinking dry granules and tablets. Pets will pick up the fallen food debris from the bottom, thereby cleaning the aquarium.

You can feed these fish live, whole or chopped up worms. You can offer live or frozen food - bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, tubifex, cyclops will do. Experienced breeders recommend feeding the corridors several times a day in dosage - it is preferable to offer a large portion once a day.

Usually, it is customary to lodge a corridor with fish of the same size as itself. Catfish get along well with small peace-loving fish, for example, guppies, discus, pecilia, mollies, scalars, swordtails, zebrafish, cockerels. Neighborhood with barbs, shrimps, eels is not always possible. Prohibited neighbors are Koi carps, goldfish, astronotuses, African and South American cichlids, large predatory fish.

For breeding, they choose producers from the age of 1.5 years. Usually 2-3 males are recommended for one female. You can breed catfish in groups, for example, take 2-3 females and 4-6 males. At first, males and females are kept separately for a week - this is necessary in order to warm up sexual interest in each other. During this period, future parents are fed abundantly and variedly.

At this time, you can prepare spawning grounds. To do this, equip a separate aquarium with a filter, an aerator, plant deciduous plants, set up decorations.After planting the individuals in the container, the water in the spawning grounds is changed as often as possible - this process stimulates the spawning of fish.

First, the males pursue their beloved, then one of the "suitors" turns sideways and releases a ring of sperm. The female at this moment lays a few eggs, after which it passes into this ring and goes to spawn on plants and hard surfaces.

For 1 time, about 300 eggs are obtained, however, the procedure is repeated again and sometimes continues for 3 days. During this period, it is important to feed the fish well so that they do not feed on their own offspring. On average, 800 eggs may appear per spawning. To preserve the young, adults are removed. The fry appear in about 10 days, they begin to swim on the 5-7th day.

See below for the features of this aquarium fish.