Trichopsis schalleri
Trichopsis schalleri naturally inhabits the lower Mekong River basin in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, as well as tributaries of the Chao Praya in central Thailand and drains between the Chao Praya and Mekong in eastern Thailand. The fish stay in areas densely overgrown with aquatic vegetation, in slow currents, mostly in shoals, marshes, irrigation ditches, and rice paddies. The fish gets its name from Dietrich Schaller, who was the first to import it into Europe.
Trichopsis schalleri males are larger than females and have widened rays in the pectoral, anal and caudal fins. The maximum size of fish is 5 cm.
Keep trichopsis schalleri can be a pair or a small group in an aquarium volume of 80 liters. These fish are best suited aquarium with lots of floating plants, such as lilies. Along the side walls of the aquarium to plant tall bushes of plants, the tops of which reach the surface of the water. At the bottom to place ceramic pots, putting them on their sides, so that the fish can swim in them freely, and they would serve as a refuge. It is desirable to place at the bottom of a leaf litter consisting of dried oak leaves, in which, over time, as a result of their decomposition, will be observed microbial growth. These microbes and other chemicals released by the decomposing leaves will serve as a valuable secondary food source for the fry.
Trichopsis schalleri are generally peaceful fish, signs of aggression appear among them only during spawning.
Water parameters: temperature 22-28° C, hardness 2-15°, pH 5,0-7,5. Necessary filtration and aeration of water, as well as its weekly replacement of fresh water. Since these fish in nature keep quiet places, you should avoid strong water movement in the aquarium. The aquarium should be sure to have a cover or cover glass, with a gap between them and the surface of the water at least 4 cm, which is necessary to ensure that the air in this space was moist and warm, because fish breathe atmospheric air.
In the wild, Trichopsis schaller feed on insects and other small invertebrates. In aquariums, fish are fed live, frozen and dry food: daphnia, artemia, moths. Feed the fish at least 2 times a day.
Reproduction
Trichopsis schalleri reaches sexual maturity at about 8-10 months of age.
Fish spawn in the same aquarium where they live permanently. Spawning stimulated by raising the water temperature by 1-2° C and lowering its hardness to 2-6°. The male builds a nest among the leaves of plants. Once the construction of the nest is completed, the female swims up to the nest and actually begins the process of spawning, which is quite an interesting spectacle. The male sort of embraces the female, who is in an upright position at this time, and at this moment she hatches a few eggs, which the male immediately collects and carries into the nest. This process is repeated until the female has fully spawned. In total, the female hatches up to 200 eggs during the spawning process.
Immediately after spawning, producers can not withdraw - they take care of spawning, protecting the clutch from other fish.
The eggs are incubated for 48 hours. After the fry hatch, they stay in the nest for another 3-4 days and feed on their yolk sac. After the fry leave the nest, the parents completely lose interest in it, and at this time it is better to put the fry in another aquarium.
The first few days the fry are fed with infusoria, and after a week they can eat worms and artemia. Water in the aquarium with fry should be changed daily in small portions.
Life expectancy Trichopsis schalleri in an aquarium is about 4-5 years.
