Mistus two point
Mystus bimaculatus, scientific name Mystus bimaculatus, belongs to the Bagridae family. A peaceful little catfish that will make a great addition to the Southeast Asian fish community. Easy to maintain and unpretentious to the diet.
Contents
Habitat
It comes from Southeast Asia from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Found in peat bogs, the habitat is characterized by very soft acidic water, colored in deep brown due to the abundance of organic matter. It is currently under the threat of extinction under the influence of active human activities on the island.
Brief information:
- The volume of the aquarium – from 40 liters.
- Temperature – 23-30°C
- Value pH — 4.0–6.5
- Water hardness – very soft (0-5 dGH)
- Substrate type – any soft
- Lighting – subdued
- Brackish water – no
- Water movement is weak
- The size of the fish is up to 6.5 cm.
- Nutrition – any drowning
- Temperament – peaceful
- Content alone or in a group
Description
Adults reach a length of about 6 cm. The color of the body is pinkish with transparent fins. Distinctive features of the species are two dark marks. The first in the form of a spot located behind the head, the second in the form of a strip at the base of the tail. Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed, it is rather problematic to distinguish a male from a female.
Food
Catfish is completely unassuming in terms of food. In the home aquarium, it will accept all popular types of food: live, frozen, dry. The main thing is that they are sinking, for Mistus point-to-point it is inconvenient to eat from the surface.
Maintenance and care, arrangement of the aquarium
The optimal tank size for one catfish starts from 40 liters. In the design, it is recommended to use dense thickets of rooted plants and various snags. Lighting is subdued, a few clusters of floating vegetation will additionally shade the aquarium.
It is desirable to bring the water conditions closer to natural ones, i.e. not only bring the pH and dGH values to close values, but also use materials that will saturate the water with tannins, tannins and thereby give it a tea shade. Natural stained wood, dried oak leaves, leaves and bark of the Indian almond tree are suitable as such materials. Nevertheless, the catfish is able to adapt to other habitat conditions.
Behavior and Compatibility
Peaceful friendly appearance even towards smaller fish. It goes well with other fish from its habitat, such as Rasbora, Glass catfish, Gourami. It can be kept both singly and in a group with relatives; no intraspecific conflicts were noted.
Breeding / breeding
It was bred in captivity, but only with the help of hormonal injections by commercial breeders. For successful breeding, it is necessary to create conditions as close as possible to the natural habitat. Two-point mistus spawns in a species aquarium with acidic water (pH 4,0–5,0) and zero hardness, where peat-based soil is used as a substrate. When the females are filled with caviar, they begin the procedure for the daily replacement of part of the water with fresh water of identical hydrochemical composition, but at a lower temperature – this stimulates spawning.
All attempts to breed catfish should be encouraged, as they may disappear in nature.
Fish diseases
The main cause of health problems is an unsuitable living environment. If the first symptoms are detected, you should check the water parameters and the presence of high concentrations of hazardous substances (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc.), if necessary, bring the indicators back to normal and only then proceed with treatment. Read more about symptoms and treatments in the Aquarium Fish Diseases section.
