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Belongs
to the Family Cobitidae
(which includes loaches). The best
scavenger for a cichlid aquarium. The fish has two needles located
below its eyes and can defend itself against the aggression of
African cichlids if it has to. It will escape any threat by
burrowing in the sand, seconds before the cichlid arrives. A
nocturnal species, you can see it just after the lights go off if
there is a weak light coming from the side of the aquarium. The fish
will eat any remaining food and will clean the bottom every night.
The disadvantage is that if they die, it will be very difficult for
you to know. Needs sand or very fine gravel to show its interesting
behavior. If such a decoration is provided it will spend all day
completely borrowed in the gravel and come out only at night. Note:
this fish is very seldom seen after it enters the tank. You may see
it after a year or so again (about when you think it has probably
died).
Minimum
tank size : 120 cm (volume not important). The gravel size
should be as small as possible, plain sand is highly recommended.
Thickness of the gravel is very important. Allow at least 3 inches
(7.5 cm) of fine sand in one part of your tank for this species to
thrive. A very slow grower. The fish is very territorial
and aggressive against conspecifics. A very large tank is required
if you want to keep two of them. See
next page for more pictures |
