Centromochlus perugiae
The Centromochlus perugiae naturally inhabits bodies of water in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Although the species name suggests that they were named after Peru, where they occur, the fish were actually named after ichthyologist Albert Perugia. These are beautiful fish that, unfortunately, are not often found in aquarists' collections. Due to their low prevalence in the aquarium hobby their price on the market is quite high.
Centromochlus perugiae is a small fish, with a maximum size of 5 cm. The body of the fish is covered with a pattern consisting of large black spots separated by a white grid, hence the name "leopardfish". The eyes are large and bulging. The head is covered with bony plates. Males are smaller than females. Males have a gonopod-shaped anal fin. Females have a rounded abdomen.
It is advisable to keep the leopard tatia in a small group of 4 to 6 individuals. The aquarium should be a large number of shelters, such as snags and piles of stones with lots of crevices. It is also advisable to densely plant the aquarium with various plants, but also provide plenty of free space for the fish to swim in. Preferably use fine bottom grains.
The fish have a nocturnal lifestyle. They swim around in almost all layers of the aquarium when the light goes out. They are peaceful fish, which can be kept in a common aquarium with other commensurate peace-loving fish.
Water parameters: temperature 25-28° C, hardness dH 8-12°, pH 6,0-8,0. Nitrate levels in the water should be kept low. Requires good filtration, strong aeration, as well as a weekly replacement of 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh. It is advisable to create a small water current in the aquarium.
These little catfish swim out to eat only when the aquarium lighting is switched off. Because of this, many aquarists do not know how they feed. In the wild, the Leopard Tatia hunt small insects from the water surface at night. They don't look for food on the bottom and don't feed during the day.
High quality, floating food on the water surface is a must. Feed only after lights out. The fish will eat dried daphnia, crustaceans and flake food. You can also feed live bloodworms, but in this case it should be placed in a floating feeder on the surface of the water, so the fish can gradually take it. Feed the fish once a day.
Reproduction
The Centromochlus perugiae breeds successfully in aquarium conditions. The male's gonopodium serves to internally fertilize the female. Spawning is stimulated by a sharp decrease in water temperature by 3-4° C and then gradually increasing it, as well as increased feeding a variety of food.
The female hatches eggs that have already been fertilized. Usually the female lays eggs on the walls of a shelter. The eggs incubate for 4-5 days. All this time the female is close to the eggs by swatting them with her fins. After hatching the fry, the female for the first 3-4 days of their life does not let out of the shelter, closing its body to the entrance to it. During this time, the fry feed on the substances in their yolk sacs. As soon as the fry begin to swim freely they should be moved to another aquarium with similar water parameters and begin feeding nauplii Artemia.
The leopard tatia has a life span of about 5 years in an aquarium.
