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Aspidoras poecilus, a little interesting catfish 
of Erik Schiller

(A profile of Erik Schiller)

Of the currently 17 scientifically described Aspidoras ways heard of Aspidoras poecilus manners drawn too beautifully. This smaller representative of the genre is one of the Aspidoras richest in contrast for me from the drawing I could care and also increase for this one. The young fish coloring is like the drawing of a leopard. The black, relatively big spots stand out strongly on the almost colorless body.

For some years I have cared for a group of aquarium holding 60 liters of 8 of these lively catfishes into one. The facilities only consist of some tufts of the African spear sheet, Anubia nana. I use fine gravel (2 mm) as a floor reason mixed with sand into most of my aquaria.

All pelvises in the aquarium cellar are lit by the ambient light indirectly and everyone are kept clean over sponge filters. Aspidoras poecilus is with me in the duration approach, the temperature which likes pH value between 6-6,5. fluctuates seasonally conditionally between 20-25 °C.

The female Aspidoras set spawn at varied feeding with acting usual dry feed tablets and live food fast. The spawning is then triggered by a bigger water change (50 % of the pelvis contents) or by using an additional flow pump. In the early morning hours a fully-grown female then puts, at unite extremely hectic spawning Process, up to 40 eggs. These are two clutches of eggs with 15 to 20 eggs each mostly.

With almost 2 mm Diameter these are quite big. The strongly adhesive eggs are almost always put down on the surface of the Anubia sheets. The clutches of eggs always were also at following spawn gifts in the flow richest places of the aquarium.

On the second day, these accepted a deep brown color after the eggs into a separate rearing bowl were convicted. The first larvae hatched out at 25°C after 3 days. Another two days later the yolk sac is exhausted and takes the little catfishes as a first food Artemia-Nauplien. The food is after and after the growth of the Aspidoras brought into line. The small can take a vast amount to food, the growth is very rapidly appropriate within the first months.

The further rearing doesn't cause any broader problems.

The main spawning season lay with my catfishes Octobers till January within the months.

Because of its low final size, almost 4 cm of total length, and its permanent swimming around Aspidoras poecilus can be put into many aquaria as an accompanying fish.

Remark: Mr Evers traveled to the federal state Goias (Brazil), near the city of Aruna and Aspidoras poecilus caught there in July 1999. I also got my animals from Mr Evers. He was it a clear water river tiling slowly, an influx the Rio Araguaia. Since the biotope in the dry season was visited the river hardly led land on water.