Catfish

Today we are going to talk about a very popular species for aquariums, since there are a great variety of species and their unique characteristics make them very attractive as ornamental animals. It's about the catfish.

Apart from being colorful and curious animals, they play a fundamental role in the ecosystem that is recreated inside aquariums. And is that some catfish clean the bottom of the aquariums (they eat the leftover food). In this way, the food is prevented from rotting and damaging the quality of the water. Do you want to know more about catfish?

Generalities

There is a great variety of catfish species, some groups even have suckers in the oral cavity (belonging to the loricarid family). This oral cavity allows them to adhere to the walls of the aquarium and clean them, So the catfish can fulfill two cleaning functions, one for the bottom and the other for the walls.

There are a large number of siluriforms that consume algae. This is of great help if in our aquarium we have natural algae that proliferate too quickly. With these fish we will help to control algae populations and have the aquarium a little better conditioned.

Although the catfish helps a lot in the maintenance of the aquarium, it does not mean that we do not have to carry out maintenance tasks ourselves.

Catfish characteristics

The vast majority of catfish specimens that exist belong to to the order of the Siluriformes. They are called catfish because they have tentacle-like whiskers in their mouths that resemble the whiskers of cats. These whiskers are called filamentous barbels. There are some fish that have them under the mouth or even in the snout itself. As in cats, these filaments are used as a sensory organ, easily detecting the food they are going to consume.

On their body they have sharp, retractable spines on the front of their dorsal and pectoral fin. These spines are very useful in natural ecosystems when they are attacked by some type of predator. In addition, in lagoons of these spines they have poisonous glands that they can inject into their prey. Depending on the species of catfish that we see, they may or may not have these spines. Throughout the evolution of this species, the spines have been lost.

A special characteristic of catfish is that it has a very hard skin and does not have scales. There are some groups that have dermal plates that serve as armor to protect against attack by predators. This armor has evolved and replaced the scales.

Distribution and habitat

Most catfish live in fresh waters, although there are also some groups that live on coral reefs in marine ecosystems. They have also been seen in some brackish water estuaries.

Catfish are distributed throughout the world except for Antarctica. At present it is estimated that the number of species far exceeds more than two thousand species.

Behavior and feeding

Catfish usually spend most of their time in the bottom of the aquarium foraging for food. Almost all are nocturnal, although there are some groups, such as the locarids that are diurnal and are related to other fish such as corydoras.

Catfish feeding is very varied, although they are very different depending on the group we have. Some groups of these fish are fully herbivorous, others prefer some aquatic invertebrates, some feed on other fish, and there are even catfish that feed on zooplankton.

In what comes to be the behavior of these fish with respect to others that you may have in the tank, you must bear in mind that catfish parasitize other fish (family Trichomycteridae).

Care

When buying a catfish for your aquarium it is essential know the customs of the same to prepare the aquarium in one way or another. Keep in mind that habits vary greatly between each species. Therefore, both the interior morphology and the fish tank must be compatible with the catfish species that we are going to introduce.

Most of them need logs and other accessories to be able to hide. Some species require less light. As for food, you also have to know what species it is and how it feeds previously, some are carnivores, others herbivores and even many consume all kinds of food (omnivores). In this situation we can find in many aquarium stores food for catfish that are balanced and are very useful for the maintenance of the fish.

For the bottom of the aquarium it is recommended that you have a fine structure so that they can adapt well to the background. We must remember that these fish spend most of their time at the bottom of the aquarium and, if we put fine structure such as gravel, they will adapt better and it will prevent tentacles from being injured.

The water must remain clean and with good oxygenation. For this, the filtering system has to be good if we want to ensure its survival.

Reproduction

It is difficult to define its type of reproduction in captivity, since there are not very precise data. In the wild, it is known that their reproduction is oviparous and that some groups have been specializing in the care of the offspring through their transport and oxygenation. Catfish generally build nests and their parents take care of the eggs.

The best catfish for your aquarium and price

Since there are so many species of catfish, it is difficult to see which ones are the best for your aquarium. You must take into account the size of your fish tank when choosing one variety or another. If your fish tank is small, the most suitable are the callctids, since they do not tend to grow too large, they are quite active and remain at the bottom most of the time.

If, on the other hand, you have a large aquarium, the best ones are the plecostomus, because they are larger and of spectacular beauty, although they are nocturnal. Their maintenance is easy and they are compatible with other fish in the aquarium.

For those who want to have «miniature sharks» there is recommends the Pangasiidae family. Their characteristic phenotype makes them resemble small sharks, so you will gain in ornamentation. Of course, a voluminous fish tank is required given the large size they can reach.

To increase the color of your fish tank you can choose those of the Pseudopimelodidae family. They stand out for their orange and black stripes. They are popularly called bee catfish.

Catfish prices range from the 5 and 15 euros the unit.

With this information you can properly take care of your catfish and have a fish tank full of curious species.