Hemiodopsis graceful

Hemiodopsis graceful, scientific name Hemiodus gracilis, belongs to the Hemiodontidae family. An elegant beautiful fish with an original body pattern. Very mobile, able to give dynamics to any freshwater aquarium. Relatively easy to maintain, if you provide all the necessary conditions.

Habitat

It comes from South America from the territory of modern Brazil and Venezuela. It is found in the floodplains of large rivers and numerous lakes in the Amazon rainforest.

Brief information:

• The volume of the aquarium – from 250 liters.
• Temperature – 23-27°C
• Value pH — 5.8–7.2
• Water hardness – soft to medium hard (4-15 dGH)
• Substrate type – any sandy
• Lighting – moderate
• Brackish water – no
• Water movement is weak
• The size of the fish is up to 15 cm.
• Nutrition – any with herbal supplements
• Temperament – peaceful and very mobile fish
• Keeping in a group of 4-5 individuals

Description

Adults reach a length of 15 cm, have a slender elongated silvery body with a black horizontal stripe in the middle, which starts behind the dorsal fin and stretches along the tail, curving along its lower part. There is also a bright red stroke on the lower edge of the caudal fin. The dorsal, ventral and anal fins are short and triangular in shape. Such a structure gives Hemiodopsis a fast swimmer, capable of making swift jerks.

Food

Accepts all types of dry, frozen and live foods of suitable size. Herbal supplements should be included in the diet, and the diet should be varied, combining several types of foods, for example, dry flakes and bloodworms with spirulina plates.

Maintenance and care, arrangement of the aquarium

The fish need a lot of swimming space, so aquarium sizes start from 250 liters, no less. The design uses any sandy substrate, a few snags, twisted intertwined roots or tree branches, as well as root and floating plants. From all this, design a couple of shelters where Hemiodopsis could hide if he senses danger. Despite his not so small size, he is quite shy.

Special requirements are imposed on the quality of water – it is necessary to reduce the concentration of organic waste to an imaginary level and ensure a high oxygen content in the water. Other important conditions include a temperature regime in the range of 23–27 ° C, slightly acidic pH values ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbwith low or medium water hardness.

When choosing equipment, be sure to take into account all the above requirements to achieve optimal conditions. In the design of the aquarium, provide a lid to avoid accidental jumping of the fish.

Behavior and Compatibility

Peaceful friendly fish, are highly active, which may not be to the liking of some calm species. It goes well with representatives of the Amazonian cichlids, catfishes, other characins of similar size and temperament.

Breeding / breeding

There is no reliable information about the successful breeding of Hemiodopsis graceful at home. Most of the fish for sale are imported from the wild or from special hatcheries at a young age.

Fish diseases

The main danger to the health of fish is unsuitable conditions of keeping, this can be either a mismatch of pH, dGH, water temperature, etc., as well as a high level of pollution. When the first symptoms appear (lethargy, lack of appetite, strange neoplasms on the body), all parameters should be immediately rechecked and corrected if deviations are found. Often this is enough for recovery. Read more about the symptoms and methods of treating diseases in the section “Diseases of aquarium fish”.