Procatopus Blue-green (Procatopus Aberrans)

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

The blue-green prokatopus, or rainbow-tailed proctopus, is a wonderful schooling fish native to West Africa. Inhabits small freshwater reservoirs of coastal tropical forests. This fish is not suitable for beginners, as it is quite demanding on water quality. Eats live food and their substitutes. Prone to overeating.

Photo © Frank Schäfer

Habitat: West Africa (southern Nigeria, Cameroon).

Habitat: Small, small freshwater rivers and streams of coastal tropical forests.

Description: 8-10 rays in the dorsal fin, 15-17 in the anal. The fins are rounded in females, and more square in males.

Color: males - metallic greenish-blue, red-brown specks on unpaired fins. Females are gray-blue with transparent fins.

Size: 5-6 cm.

Life expectancy: up to 4 years.

Aquarium:

Dimensions: 1 prokatopus needs at least 10 liters of water.

Water: pH 6.5-7.2, dH 4-6 °, aeration, regular water changes. Fish are sensitive to organic buildup and demanding water quality. Salt is added to the water (1 tbsp. L. Per 10 l).

Temperature: 24-26 ° C.

Substrate: dark.

Lighting: dim, diffused.

Decoration: thickets of living plants, a place for swimming is required.

Feeding: live food (daphnia, brine shrimp, tubifex, mosquito larvae) and substitutes.

It is necessary to give complete food so that the color of the fish does not fade.

Behavior: prokatopuses are quite active schooling fish, it is necessary to acquire several females for one male. Some males show dominance over others.

Personality: peaceful.

Can be kept with: the same peaceful fish.

Breeding fish: prokatopuses do not spawn on plants, but in cracks of a hard substrate, for example, in holes between stones (with a rough surface), on a piece of cork or pumice, etc.

Puberty: about a year.

Spawning aquarium: dH 0.5-5 °, pH 6.5-7.2, T 23-25 ° C.

The ratio of males to females: 1: 2-4.

Number of eggs: spawning daily. For a week, one female lays up to 10-20 light beige eggs with a diameter of about 1.5 mm. Producers do not touch caviar.

Incubation: at T 20 ° C - up to 20 days, at T 25 ° C - 12-15 days.

Related article Procatopus similis

Offspring: The eggs are transferred to a rearing aquarium with a water level of 5-7.5 cm. When the fry hatch from the eggs, constant aeration is required. Be careful not to suck the fry into the filter. Regular water changes stimulate growth.

At 9 months. males have a blue glow.

Growth rate: fry emerging from eggs are 4-5 mm in size. Growth is fast, with abundant feeding, by the month they grow up to 1.2 cm, by 3-4 months - up to 2 cm.

Feeding juveniles: the fry immediately takes the ciliates, later the nauplii of Artemia and Cyclops.

Comments: Prothopus are prone to overeating, so it is good to keep snails in the aquarium to eat up excess food.

Susceptible to mycobacteriosis.