Panak blue-eyed

Blue-eyed Panak or Panak Suttoni, scientific name Panaque suttonorum, belongs to the family Loricariidae (Mail catfish). The word “panak” is a common name for this genus of fish, widely used in Venezuela and other South American countries. “Suttoni” is a Russian-language transcription of the name of Frederica Sutton, Doctor of Science, Venezuelan ichthyologist, who made a significant contribution to the study of the ichthyofauna of the region.

Habitat

The catfish is native to South America. The natural habitat is limited to the tributaries of the Maracaibo lagoon lake, located in northern Venezuela. Inhabits the bottom layers of water, hiding among numerous snags, fallen flooded trees.

Description

Adult individuals reach a length of about 28 cm. The catfish has a strong body, covered with strong armor made of bone plates. The main color is dark grey. A characteristic feature of the species are blue eyes.

On the large head on the sides are a semblance of a long mustache in the form of a bundle of stiff bristles. Similar bristles also cover the edge of the pectoral fins.

The mouth is located on its lower part of the head, resembles a sucker and is studded with rows of short teeth designed to eat wood fibers and algae.

Behavior and Compatibility

It is nocturnal, so it is most active at dusk. During the day he prefers to hide. Relatively peaceful if kept in spacious tanks with enough cover (meaning driftwood). Otherwise, competition for territory is possible, which sometimes results in skirmishes. Good compatibility is achieved with fish living in the water column or near the surface.

Brief information:

• The volume of the aquarium – from 250 liters.
• Temperature – 20-24°C
• Value pH — 6.2–7.5
• Water hardness – 2–18 dGH
• Substrate type – any
• Lighting – subdued
• Brackish water – no
• Water movement – light or moderate
• The size of the fish is about 28 cm.
• Nutrition – algae and dry food based on them, pieces of vegetables
• Temperament – conditionally peaceful, with a lack of space shows territorial behavior
• Keeping alone in small aquariums

Maintenance and care, arrangement of aquariums

The optimal size of the aquarium for one adult fish starts from 250 liters. An obligatory element of design is natural, unprocessed driftwood. The blue-eyed panak feeds on pieces of wood and algae growing on it. The remaining elements of the underwater decor are not significant.

In its natural habitat, water conditions are relatively stable, so the comfortable conditions for keeping this catfish are in rather narrow ranges of temperature, pH and dGH values. In addition, it does not respond well to water pollution by organic waste. In addition to the trouble-free operation of the filtration system, regular cleaning of the aquarium is a prerequisite.

Food

As noted above, algae are the basis of the diet. Panak Suttoni also accepts specialized dry sinking flakes, algae-based tablets, fresh vegetable pieces: cucumber, peas, green beans, potatoes, etc.