Characidium fasciatum
Characidium fasciatum live naturally in water bodies of South America. The largest concentrations of these fish are found in the upper Paraná River in eastern Brazil and the São Francisco River. The fish keep in quiet backwaters and in low currents, with substrate consisting of a mixture of sand and gravel. The fish are unpretentious and can be kept even by novice aquarists.
The Characidium fasciatum has an elongated grey body shape. Depending on the habitat of the fish, the body may have dark dots and streaks along a horizontal dark band that runs along the entire body. Depending on the specific region of origin, the body pattern may contain black dots along the dark horizontal stripe, or streaks starting at the back. Sexual differences are poorly expressed. Usually males are slimmer than females and have a darker colouration. In nature, fish reach a size of 8-10 cm, while in aquariums, their size is usually less than 7 cm.
In general, the ribbon characidium does not shine brightly, which has largely affected its popularity among aquarists. Despite this, the fish can occasionally be found in domestic pet shops.
Characidium fasciatum is very quiet peaceful fish, which should contain a small group of 6-8 individuals. For such a number of fish need an aquarium of 100 liters. Can contain characidiums ribbon in a common aquarium with other peace-loving fish, such as vuale-tails or goldfish.
Water parameters: temperature 18-22° C, hardness dH 1-25°, pH 5,0-6,0. Requires filtration, aeration and a weekly change of 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh. It is advisable to create a small water current in the aquarium, for example, by directing the withdrawal nozzle water filter along the back wall of the aquarium. Note that the water temperature in the tank should not exceed 22 ° C, because fish do not tolerate warmer water, which makes it possible not to use the aquarium heater.
Lighting intensity of about 0.3 W/l, diffused. Light duration of 9-10 hours per day.
Coarse river sand or a mixture of coarse sand and fine gravel can be used as a substrate. Place large snags and stones at the bottom, so that the fish can hide in them. Fish do not require the presence of living plants, so you can do without them.
Characidium fasciatum fish are omnivorous. In nature they eat small insects and crustaceans. In the aquarium, the fish are fed with artemia, bloodworms and a variety of dry food. In the aquarium, fish act as a kind of cleaners, eating algae from the decorations and glasses. The food should be given twice a day.
Reproduction
During spawning, the female lays eggs near the bottom. The eggs are dispersed over the entire surface of the substrate. Immediately after spawning, the producers should be removed, otherwise they will eat all their eggs.
The eggs are incubated for 48 hours. The hatched fry are sedentary for the first two days of life and feed on their yolk sacs. Later on, the fry begin to swim slowly near the bottom. In the first 4-7 days of fry life, they are fed live dust and then begin to give artemia. Feed the fry at least 4 times a day.
Life expectancy for Characidium fasciatum under aquarium conditions is about 4 years.
