The sticky catfish is often called the sucker catfish. Its real name is "ancistrus". The main distinguishing feature of this fish is the way of movement. Catfish sticks to the walls of the aquarium in the literal sense of the word and crawls to change its location. While moving, the fish not only cleans off plaque from the walls of the aquarium with its belly, but also finds food for itself. The maintenance of such assistants does not bring absolutely any worries, however, the fish found sometimes do not have enough food, so they must be fed separately.
Ancistrus are small fish with a bright spotted color. Such a catfish can stick to any surface - to stones, glass, algae or decorative ornaments in the aquarium. Green plaque that forms on the sides and bottom of the aquarium is the main food for ancistrus. It is noteworthy that by eating algae plaque, the fish not only satisfies hunger, but also greatly helps to carry out real cleaning. In aquariums where catfish live, cleaning is carried out much less often.
It is better to keep a couple of catfish or one male and several females in the aquarium. During the breeding season, males are aggressive towards each other. During fights, not only serious injuries are not excluded, but also the death of weaker individuals.
Catfish feeding mode - sticking
Feeding of sticky catfish is carried out, as a rule, in the evening. It is recommended that you turn off the light and wait for the rest of the aquarium inhabitants to fall asleep. Otherwise, the food intended for the catfish can be eaten by its neighbors. Please note that ancistrus, like all catfish, are very shy. During the day, they spend most of their time in shelters - they hide behind stones or shells, in snags or in special decorative houses.
Despite the calm and peaceful nature, sticky catfish are very jealous of their shelters. Often they even drive other fish away from their houses.
If you are going to start ancistrus, then pay attention to the fact that a place intended for catfish must be prepared in the aquarium. This type of fish does not like bright sunlight and daylight. Sticky catfish get along with almost any kind of aquarium inhabitants.
How to feed the sticky catfish
The main diet of adherent catfish is, as a rule, special bottom feed in rather large granules. However, in addition, these fish can be fed with cucumbers, cabbage leaves, previously scalded with boiling water or lettuce leaves, dandelion, or even pieces of pumpkin. These types of food are placed on the bottom of the aquarium and lightly pressed with a stone.
Live food catfish suckers are also eaten with pleasure. The main problem is that such food does not always remain, it is primarily eaten by other inhabitants of the aquarium. If the bloodworm or tubifex is at the bottom, then the catfish will very quickly find its favorite delicacy while exploring the territory.
