Who do astronotuses get along with in an aquarium?

Astronotus is a bright and predatory member of the cichlov family, whose appetite and food preferences often confuse novice aquarists. Considering that these spectacular creatures eat raw meat and fish with great pleasure, doubts naturally arise about the possibility of keeping them with other representatives of the aquarium fauna. With what fish can and cannot be kept astronotuses in the same aquarium?

It is believed that these beautiful and graceful predators have a rather peaceful and calm disposition. They are not afraid of people, they know how to recognize their owner and even allow themselves to be stroked. However, in relation to other inhabitants of the home reservoir, astronotuses can behave unpredictably and very aggressively.

For many species of aquarium fish, these predators can pose a deadly threat. Taking into account the excellent appetite and carnivorousness of Astronotus, some aquarists even specially raise potential prey for them to eat. Usually, small aquarium fish become live food for Astronotus.

According to experienced aquarists, these creatures have an impressive appetite. The gluttony of astronotuses often becomes the cause of their health problems and even death. So, this beautiful predator can easily suffocate and die, choking on other medium-sized aquarium fish.

However, practice shows that the neighbors of the astronotuses in the aquarium can still be... In particular, aquarium fish of the same size as the predators themselves are capable of living with them in the same tank, without the risk of being eaten. In addition, representatives of the aquarium fauna of medium size (from 10 centimeters or more), having protective thorns and thorns on the body, can get along with astronotuses.

Astronotus compatibility table with other fish species

When planning to keep the Astronotus in a company with aquarium fish of other species, it is important to consider the correspondence of their sizes to each other. It is preferable that the size of the body in astronotuses and in other fish was approximately the same.

According to experienced aquarists, at the very beginning of life, these graceful predators are able to get along with almost all types of aquarium fish. Small astronotuses rarely show aggression and do not conflict with other inhabitants of the home reservoir. but as soon as the body size of fish reaches 10-12 centimeters, they begin to pose a serious threat to their smaller neighbors... There are frequent cases when grown-up predators ate other inhabitants of the aquarium, with whom they had peacefully coexisted for a long time before.

In keeping astronotuses, the size of the aquarium is of great importance. In a cramped reservoir, these predators become aggressive, begin to enter into conflicts and fierce battles both with each other and with relatives of other species. For this reason, it is desirable that the volume of the aquarium with fish of this species is at least 500 liters. In addition, it has been noted that aggression in astronotuses can manifest itself as a result of stress. Under the influence of stressful conditions, these predators are able to enter into conflicts and attack more peaceful neighbors.

Before the mating season, astronotuses begin to "divide" the territory, conflicting with other inhabitants of the aquarium. This behavior is due to the instinctive desire of predators to protect their future offspring from sources of possible danger.

For even more information on the features of astronotuses, see the next video.