Neptun
Aphiosemion striatus was first described in 1949. It lives only in the Congo in Lecoumou province inhabiting the streams of its humid rainforest.
Aphiosemion striped-tailed has a rather modest size reaching a length of about 4 centimeters. The predominant coloration is brown. The back is darker, the abdomen is lighter. In reflected light, the sides have a blue cast. Closer to the caudal fin there are several narrow vertical stripes of red color, as well as the caudal fin crosses a vertical red stripe. Due to this original coloration, this species owes its name.
An aquarium of about twenty liters is sufficient for keeping a pair of A. striatotaxis. The water should have a temperature of 18 -20ºC. pH 6-6.5º.
The bottom of the aquarium should be lined with peat. the landscape of the bottom can be decorated with a few large stones.
You can choose the vegetation according to your taste. Only if they are suitable for the conditions of maintenance. It is better to use Javanese moss, floating bushes of ceratopteris, microzorium. Of the most common you can try elodea, vallisneria, peristolistnik. Dense thickets of plants are not necessary, but fish sometimes need somewhere to hide or at least pretend to hide.
The fish is a river fish and likes the water to have a current. However, a tropical river as a rule has a relatively low current. Therefore, to create the necessary water current will be enough to install in the aquarium atomizer from the aquarium compressor. Approximately once every two months should be changed half of the water to fresh tempered water of the same temperature and acidity. Additional filtration is usually not necessary.
Feeding of the striped-tailed Aphiosemion striatus
You can feed the striped-tailed aphiosemion with any kind of live food. It is only necessary to observe which of the food they are more to their liking. You can try to treat them with small moths, cut tubeworm, cyclops, daphnia. If absolutely necessary, you can try to accustom them to dry or frozen food.
Reproduction of the striped-tailed Aphiosemion striatus
For spawning, individuals at least 8 months old should be selected. Well-matched pair caught in suitable conditions usually willingly begin spawning. Suitable conditions, it is likely to consider the water at 1 -2 degrees warmer than usual in an aquarium of about 10 liters, which is slightly shaded and stands where it will not disturb anyone. The bottom of the spawning ground should be lined with peat.
Once in conditions close to ideal conditions, producers begin to lay eggs on vertical surfaces a few centimeters from the bottom. This may be the glass of the aquarium or vertical relatively smooth surface of the stone lying on the bottom.
Some features
The female lays only about a dozen eggs per day. However, half of them die in the first day. To reduce the waste of eggs it should be collected every evening and placed in a separate container with disinfected water of the same composition as in the spawning ground. Active spawning lasts about three days then comes a period of calm for a few days during which the female can lay only a few eggs. After this spawning again becomes more intense for a few days. And so on. During the entire spawning period, the female can lay about 200 eggs. In the literature there is an indication that the intensity of spawning is influenced by atmospheric pressure, but I have not been able to find more accurate information (so far). 🙂
As in other species of Aphyosemion species living in non-desiccated water bodies, a diapause period is not necessary for the development of eggs.
After the appearance of fry, they should be fed the first few days of infusoria, then they should be transferred to nauplii cyclops or Artemia.
As with other species of aphiosemion, obtaining and raising offspring of the striped-tailed aphiosemion is almost an art. If you have achieved some positive results in this case we invite you to share your successes with the readers of our site.
