Almost every house has its own small living area, and in most cases, such is the aquarium. The beauty and tranquility of its inhabitants can not but fascinate the person looking at him. It also perfectly distracts from everyday affairs and small stresses.
In modern pet stores a huge selection of aquarium fish, their amazing shapes and sizes are very diverse. In this article we will talk about one unusual representative of these underwater inhabitants - a fish-knife.
What does an aquarium fish look like?
This representative of the family of apteronotovs received such an original name due to the bright form of the body resembling a knife. Individuals grow to 30-40 cm, do not have scales, they have a long body and an acute line of the belly. On the tail of a knife fish there is a special organ that emits a weak electrical impulse, this helps them to defend themselves from enemies and navigate in polluted water. They do not have a dorsal fin, but the anal fin is very well developed and extends from head to tail, so the aquarium fish knife moves in all directions and at the same speed.
These fish have a velvet-black color, a white line stretches along the back, and there are yellow bands near the tail - "ribbons". Samochki differ from males with a smaller size and bulging belly, some males can wear a fatty knob on the nape.
Compatibility of aquarium fish-knife
It should be borne in mind that by its nature, this peaceful and calm fish is a carnivore predator. Therefore, before settling in your aquarium fish-knife, you need to make sure that there are not small representatives such as neons and guppies, otherwise they can become food. Discomfort knives can create too aggressive and mobile residents, especially barbs , they are able to snap fins apteronotusam. With all other types of fish, peace-loving knives will perfectly coexist.
Contents of the fish-knife
These representatives of the underwater kingdom prefer to dwell in muddy water, and show great activity at night. Moving, the fish-knife creates an electromagnetic field, due to which it is able to perfectly feel its prey. For a comfortable content of both black and eye fish, the knife is well suited for an aquarium of 200 liters, or even more, with good aeration and a peat filter, and a water temperature of 24-28 ° C. These fish are very fond of seclusion in an environment approximating the natural, and the best shelter for them are various snags, zadekorirovannye pipes or pots. In addition, it is not uncommon for skirmishes to arise between males, so shelter for them should be enough.
What does an aquarium fish-knife feed on?
If this predator hunts, its prey is made up of smaller fishes, tadpoles, crustaceans and worms, but they give their preference to live forages. Therefore, the owners of these fish should buy insects, tubers, fry and other fish, squid, larvae or shrimp.
Reproduction of aquarium fish-knife
From 1-1,5 years for apteronotusovnapitalata period of puberty. Reproduction occurs in the form of schooling spawning, in which 2 males and 1 female participate. This process usually occurs under a stream of water, in the morning. The female swallows up to 500 large, yellowish and weakly tender eggs, after which all the producers are planted. After 2-3 days, larvae appear, and after 5-6 days the fry can swim and feed on plankton independently.