Sturisoma festivum

Sturisoma festivum males with clutches at a aquarium glass

The longfin pleco ( Sturisoma festivum ) belongs to the order of the catfish -like, her family is that of the armored catfish ( Loricariidae ). Their natural habitat is the basin of the Lago de Maracaibo in Venezuela. Longfin plecos can reach a length of up to 30 centimeters. In pet stores, this fish is offered mostly as Goldbart catfish ( Sturisoma aureum ).

Mating behavior

The female joins a lying in the flow space, which has been selected to two days in advance of the males and cleaned. Once there, the male is placed slightly below the female, both then slip with jerky movements over said spawning ground. This already belongs to courtship, but continues to serve to clean the spawning place, because it is observed in both a powerful suction of the mouth. This ritual takes place over hours, then suddenly shoots the male side of the female over and placed obliquely about it. With pressure from above, he brings the female to squeeze out the eggs. This procedure is repeated over time, but at different time intervals. After storage, the male fertilizes the eggs, and takes over for 7 to 8 days the care and custody of the scrim without the support of the female.

Hunting and

The fish should be kept in aquariums of at least one meter in length. The water temperature must be between 22 ° and 26 ° C and the pH between 6.5 and 7.5. It is, as with other catfish also a root in the tank be present.

Swell

• Http://www.zierfischverzeichnis.de/klassen/pisces/siluriformes/loricarridae/sturisoma_festivum.html

• Loricariids
• Aquarium fish (fresh water)