Albino cory catfish, Dolichopterus var albino – a ray-finned fish belonging to the family of serial catfish and the genus Ancistrus. It is also called albino gold or asshole gold.
Information on Albino cory catfish
The general contain 69 species, but albinism has gained high popularity due to the unusual color of catfish. The closest relative is Ancistrus hoplogenys, or ancistrus, living in South and Central America in the Amazon River.
is found in fresh and sweet water in coastal banks in Guyana, Brazil, and Venezuela, as well as in Río de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina.
They prefer fast streams and rivers with a scree substrate. This species is considered highly adaptable and has been identified in the Gulf of Mexico, and they are considered invasive in Texas.
They occupy a wide range of habitats, although a number of species have very limited ranges and are only found in certain parts of specific rivers.
Many weeds live in fast, shallow streams and rivers, others live in acidic black water, while others still prefer calm, smooth outlets.
In high-flow areas, they use their suction cups to attach themselves to flooded stones and trees, thus avoiding drifting downstream.
The appearance
Albino Somik has a flat body with a big head. Large lips, like suckers and a mustache, protrude on the head, on which the fish finds food at the bottom. There are hard growths at the ends of the lips, which helps blacks eat the hard algae from the stones.
In males, there are solid needles made of skin on the body and on the head. Through this “crown,” the females identify the strongest and most capable males. Females have no needles at all or are small in size.
The environment of Albino cory catfish
In the natural environment, the Antsistrus gold catfish is a rather large fish, reaching a size of 15-17 cm. With the breeding of the aquarium, its size has decreased significantly – it is now difficult to meet fish over 6 cm.
The fish’s color ranges from bright yellow and pink to saturated lemon. Although the catfish appears harmless and has a weak appearance, it is protected by tough scales. Fins and tails are transparent with body-colored cartilage.
Albino cory catfish behavior
Cory Catfish has a calm character, a neutral attitude towards other inhabitants. But between a large herd of breeds, there are fights between males.
They differ in size and protect the occupied territories. With the content of a male Antsistrus and a herd of several females, there is no conflict.
Lifespan Albino cory catfish
The life expectancy in the aquarium is up to 5 years for males and up to 4 years for females.
Sedimenting cory catfish in an aquarium does not mean that less care is needed for them and their inhabitants. Catfish do not clean the entire aquarium, but only some types of algae.
Dirt, food particles, and fish scraps are still in the tank and start to rot, so the neighborhood watcher should continue to monitor the purity of the water and replace change of the tank volume weekly. The golden offspring and black beard algae do not eat.
Plants: Albino cory catfish
Albino cory Catfish clean the bottom, stones, walls of the tank, and plant leaves from moss. Therefore, aquarists are not always sure whether the plants will be damaged during this cleaning.
But the catfish is neat at work and the leaves often remain unharmed. But nevertheless, do not plant fragile plants with fluffy foliage next to them, which are easy to damage: Cabomba, cinema, peristolitum.
The roots of catfish do not tend to burrow, but if the roots are poorly covered and close to the surface, only the catfish is accidentally able to dig them.
Types of plants are suitable for albino catfish
Almost all types of ornamental plants are suitable for albino catfish, but plants with hard leaves with a strong root system will absolutely feel comfortable:
- Anubias.
- Crinum.
- Marseille.
- Bolbitis Gedeloti.
- Fern Vendelov.
- Aponogeton is hard-leaved.
- Echinodorus slutter.
- Lindernia rotundifolia.
Albino cory Tank size
Cory Catfish have very sensitive antennae in which they find food. Therefore, it is easily damaged on the sharp edges of stones and obstacles.
A good choice for a substrate would be small pebbles or pebbles, in which the particles are rounded and fixed. River sand is also suitable. Do not use large stones as soil, as food will build up and rot in the cracks.
Equipment needed by Albino cory catfish
If there are few or no plants in the aquarium, then for the comfortable living of an albino aquarium, you will need to install a filtration system, as they are sensitive to nitrates in the water, which are formed during the decomposition of waste and food residues.
The compressor will also not be superfluous, because, with a lack of oxygen in the water, the fish that float to the surface can still replace it on their own, but the bottom fish feel oxygen-starved.
Therefore, to ensure that catfish always has sufficient oxygen in the water, and aeration device is required.
Feeding Albino cory catfish
In the natural environment, the albino corydoras catfish feed on algae, protein food remains below, less often – plant foods.
Because of their ability to clean the aquarium from algae, aquarists mostly produce catfish, believing that this allows them to observe the aquarium less.
Sums need extra food. When moving to a new aquarium, the ancestors feed only on algae, but they quickly clean the tank and start to starve without additional food.
cory catfish are picky and feed on frozen, lively, and dry foods. But do not overdo it with protein foods, as this negatively affects your health.
They especially like the tube maker and bloodworm. But it is still advisable to use frozen food since harmful microorganisms die in this way.
