Epiplatys lamottei
Epiplatys lamottei is distributed in the upper reaches of the Niger, Upper Lofa, St. Paul and St. John Rivers, flowing in southeastern Guinea and northern Liberia.
Epiplatys lamottei has an elongated body. The head and back of the fish are slightly flattened at the top. The mouth is rather large. The coloration of the body is bluish-lilac. Along the entire body are rows of red spots. The fins have maroon edging. Males have a bright coloration, elongated fins and a larger size than females. The maximum size of the fish is 5-6 cm.
Keep Epiplatys lamottei in an aquarium of 50 liters or more. The aquarium should be densely planted with plants, in the shade of which fish spend almost all their time.
Water parameters: temperature 18-23° C, hardness dH 2-10°, acidity pH 5,0-7,0. Need filtration, aeration and weekly replacement of 1/4 of the aquarium water fresh.
The soil should be sandy. At the bottom you need to place snags. Addition of dried oak leaves brings the conditions of fish to the natural and in addition, decomposing in the water, they develop colonies of microbes that serve as additional food not only for adult fish, but also for fry.
Lighting is preferably weak, diffused. In such conditions will not be able to grow most of the aquarium plants, so initially you need to pick up undemanding to light types of plants. In extreme cases, you can do with floating plants.
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Epiplatys lamottei is predatory in nature. The fish feeds on a variety of aquatic and terrestrial insects and zooplankton. In aquarium conditions, the fish can be fed artemia, daphnia, moths, and a variety of suitably sized dry foods.
Reproduction
Epiplatys lamottei reaches its sexual maturity at the age of about 6 months.
For spawning fish prepare a spawning aquarium with a volume of 10-15 liters. At the bottom should be placed pieces of peat. Lighting is weak. Be sure to plant several bushes of plants, on the leaves of which the female will throw eggs.
Water parameters in the spawning tank should be as follows: temperature 25-26° C, hardness dH about 6°, acidity pH 6,9-7,2. The female spawns eggs in small portions for several days, and sometimes weeks. In total, the female lays about 500 eggs during spawning. After spawning is over, plants with eggs carefully transferred to another aquarium with similar water parameters. eggs incubated for 1.5-2 weeks, after which the fry pecked out. Fry are fed 4 times a day live dust and infusoria, and after 12-15 days begin to give artemia.
The lifespan of Epiplatys lamottei in aquarium conditions is about 4-5 years.
