Label: Red twill rats are bred and bred
Figure | Corydoras melini in a swarm
Corydoras is the largest genus of fish in the Neotropical (Referring to Central and South America) with more than 150 species. Certain variants that have not yet been described or are considered definitive species are given "C numbers". The classification system was originally set up in 1993 by Hans-Georg Evers, the editor-in-chief of the German magazine Amazonas magazine.
Love at first sight
At the annual auction held by my local club, I was attracted by a bag of rat fish as I walked around these different fish, equipment and aquatic plants. Personally, I'm not a rat fish fan, and whenever I hear a rat fish, I can't help but think of white rats (the white child of the chipmunk), but these rat fish are different. They have black diagonal stripes on their bodies and are very special in appearance. This breed is called the red twill rat (Corydoras melini) and is sometimes referred to as the Merlin rat. I estimated the dog (Googled) for a while and finally decided to bid.
Before the auction, I confirmed that there was enough filtering and empty tanks in the house to pay for my impulse consumption. I have a 10 gallon (volumetric, volumetric unit) fish tank that has been paved with fine sand, plus a hanging back filter. This is an ideal fish tank configuration for 5 ratfish. A lot of people at auction wanted to get them, but I did my best to get them.
Figure | A pair of red twill rats
They have long tentacles, so it's best not to have sharp things in the tank to avoid hurting them. ↓↓↓
In foreign countries they are often referred to as "false bow and arrow rats". Because they look very similar to the Corydoras metae. ↓↓↓
I spent countless hours observing them. They are the most irregular swimmers of any fish I have ever kept. ↓↓↓
Photographing them was a great experience. Every second of recording what they are doing is a surprise. ↓↓↓
They seem easy to keep, as long as good food, proper water flow, clean water quality, and safe shelter are guaranteed. ↓↓↓
Every once in a while, I take photos of them. It's great to have them. ↓↓↓
They are a rather friendly and peaceful fish. ↓↓↓
Obviously, they love to eat frozen red worms. In just a few minutes, 5 ratfish were able to eat 2 small pieces of red worms. I feed them black worms, red worms, worms, and spindle feed. ↓↓↓
Feeding conditions
I kept the ratfish in a soft water with a water temperature of 24°C, a pH of about 6.8, and a conductivity (TDS) of about 30-35 ppm, which was highly dissolved due to the action of the flush water flow under the external filter. I tried to meet the basic needs of this breed, but never saw them lay eggs. When I discussed this with local enthusiasts, he told me that there were thunderstorms in their native areas, so he would use water changes to simulate heavy rainfall. He will replace 20%-30% of the water in the tank to create a slightly colder and slightly acidic water quality environment, but this method is not suitable for all rat fish. Some ratfish spawn after the water temperature warms. Flipping through past magazines is the best way to find these breeding tips.
So, on a thunderstorm day (which is normal in Colothado), my fish tank was 21°C and the pH was about 6.5-6.6 after changing the water. At the same time, there are a lot of plants in the tank (I use aquatic weeds such as chili banyan). Suddenly, I sensed movement in the jar. I learned in an instant that they like to spawn where the water is strong.
On the left is the male fish, and on the right is the female fish ↓↓↓
No wonder, the next morning I saw a number of fish eggs on the leaves of the banyan pepper and on the walls of the tank where the water flow was strong. I didn't move them because they were scattered in different places, and I wanted to see what the broodstock would do. Do they really devour fish eggs as their friends say they do? I know that once they start laying eggs, they will lay eggs again.
Eggs laid by red twill rats ↓↓↓
From the photo, you can see the embryos stuck to the fish eggs of the cotton thread ↓↓↓
An adult fish, about 1 inch ↓↓↓
I kept observing the fish and wondered if it would swallow the eggs, but it didn't. ↓↓↓
After 2 days, the eggs were no longer visible. I couldn't see if there were any fry because the bottom of the tank was covered with chili banyans. I keep adding freshly hatched shrimp to the tank. I thought that if those little fish were still alive, they would eat them. However, after 15-20 days, I found some fry about 0.5 cm long, and they had already opened their mouths to eat red worms.
Red twill rat juvenile fish on the bottom sand. ↓↓↓
These little fish like to hide. I didn't move to disturb them, but when I moved some chili banyan to another aquatic weed tank, the fry hiding in the aquatic weed followed me to my 48-gallon aquatic weed tank. They eat red worms and worms. About 45-50 days after incubation, they have grown to about 1 cm.
After that, the broodstock layed eggs 2 times. I kept observing the fish eggs and didn't bother them with the banyan peppers underneath. They will definitely help me to be more confident in breeding ratfish.
Aquarist interaction session
It provides readers with beautiful pictures and valuable experiences that I hope you all enjoy. The following picture needs a picture to say, but the author has thought for a long time and has not thought of the appropriate, the majority of aquarists have a good proposal, if there is a message in our comment area Oh!
Can you add a picture to this picture?
Source: http://www.reef2rainforest.com
Text: Sumer Tiwari
Translation & Reviewer: Wang Zhongjing
Editing: ifish - Megabyte
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