Osteochilus hasseltii
Osteochilus hasseltii naturally inhabits a fairly large area extending eastward from Myanmar through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to Vietnam and southward through Malaysia to the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Fish can be found in a large number of large and small rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. With the onset of the rainy season, the fish migrate for a short time to spawn in flooded rainforests. In general, these fish are unpretentious, but their fairly large size deters many aquarists from keeping them in the aquarium.
Osteochilus hasseltii has a silvery body coloration with dark longitudinal lines in the form of fine mottling. Tail plumage, depending on the type of fish, reddish or translucent, colorless. Sexual differences are weakly expressed, mature females have a rounded belly. The largest recorded specimen of the fish reached a length of 32 cm.
To keep Osteochilus hasseltii, given their considerable size, an aquarium of 650 liters or more is required. In this aquarium can contain a group of at least 5 individuals. When buying 2-3 fish, sub-dominant individual may become the object of continuous harassment of the dominant fish. Also, when kept singly Osteochilus hasseltii become overly aggressive toward other fish of the family.
Despite its large size, these fish are quite shy and very often when feeding displaced by more nimble fish.
Osteochilus hasseltii prefer a dimly lit environment. Coarse-grained river sand is recommended as a substrate so that the fish can exhibit their natural feeding behavior. It is desirable to place a large snags in the aquarium in the shade of which the fish will spend their time at rest. On the surface of the water to place bushes of floating plants. Planted in the ground plants should not be, because they are likely to be uprooted. You can plant a few broadleaf shrubs, such as Cryptocoryne, in pots, additionally on top of protecting their roots with large stones.
Water parameters: temperature 22-25° C, hardness dH 5-12°, pH 6,0-8,0. Requires quality filtration, aeration and weekly replacement of 1/4 of the aquarium water with fresh.
Stomach analysis of wild specimens showed that Osteochilus hasseltii fish are omnivorous, feeding exclusively on small food, including zooplankton, phytoplankton, aquatic invertebrates and detritus. In the aquarium, the fish are constantly digging in the ground in search of food. Osteochilus hasseltii give a variety of sinking small pelleted food, moths, artemia and daphnia. It should be borne in mind that the food is almost never taken from the surface of the water, all food fish collect from the bottom. Feed small portions of fish several times a day.
Reproduction
In aquarium conditions Osteochilus hasseltii does not breed. Known to commercially, these fish are reproduced on special fish farms, from which they are exported to various countries.
