Category: Other tropical oviparous fish.
Nicknames: steel loach, knife loach, stone cone
Origin: India, Far East
Note: it is a typical snake-like fish with a narrow head and a long nose; The fish body is brown, and four or five brown eye-shaped markings are evenly distributed on the dorsal fin; Echinococcus is a nocturnal fish.
basic feature
Length: 350 mm
Gender difference: no significant difference.
Feeding difficulty: relatively easy
Feeding habits: all kinds of worms
Breeding method: scattered eggs
Reproductive capacity: artificial reproduction failed.
Feeding conditions
Water quality: no demanding; Add 1 spoon salt for every 5 liters of water.
Water temperature: 24~26℃
Stocking form: monoculture
Activity area: middle and lower waters
life habit
It is a benthic fish. Living in shallow water with many aquatic plants. Feeding on aquatic insects and other small fish.
Appearance characteristics
The body is slender, the front end is slightly flat, and the anus is flat and thin. The head is long and pointed. The kiss is a little longer, but not as long as the back of the eye. The kiss tip protrudes forward into a kiss process, and its length is about equal to the eye diameter. The front nostril is tubular and located on both sides of the kiss; The posterior nostril is round, near the anterior margin. The eye is located above the side of the head, the surface is covered with thin skin, and there is an inverted thorn in front of the eye, which is buried in the skin. The mouth is lower, the mouth is cracked into a triangle, and the mouth angle reaches the front edge of the eye or slightly exceeds it. The upper and lower jaws have villous teeth, which are arranged in bands. The pectoral fin is small and round, without ventral fin, and the dorsal fin and anal fin are connected with the caudal fin respectively. There are 1 row of independent hard spines in front of dorsal fin, about 3 1-33; There are 3 spines on the gluteal fin; The caudal fin is slightly pointed. The body scales are small and the lateral lines are not significant. The back is yellowish brown and the abdomen is yellowish. There are two light-colored lines on the head from the eye back, which extend longitudinally along the back of the body to the base of the caudal fin. There are many reticular patterns on the back and ventral side of the body, especially at the base of dorsal fin, gluteal fin and caudal fin, with more than 30 brown vertical stripes on the body side. In some individuals, the upper end of stripes is dark and black, and in some individuals, short stripes are mixed between stripes near the abdomen. The dorsal spinous base is dark brown, the pectoral fin is light yellow or grayish yellow, the other fins are gray, and the lower edge of the gluteal fin is often decorated with white edges.
Reproductive characteristics
The reproductive period is about July.
Echinococcus, native to the vast area of Southeast Asia east of India, is also produced in Taiwan Province and distributed in Taoyuan area. This fish is very long and looks like an eel. Because there are mucro under the eyes and many separated mucro in front of the dorsal fin, it is called "Echinoptera" in English. There are 3-10 irregular round black spots on the brown body, and the mouth is long and can be twisted freely. Use this tone to dig food in the sand. The optimum water temperature is 24-28℃, and I like weak acidic soft water, which is nocturnal. Therefore, I lurk in the sand during the day, leaving my nose and mouth out or hiding in the dark, waiting for the night to come, and then I come out to feed. Although gentleness will not harm other fish, it is best not to mix with small fish because of their large size and sometimes chasing small fish. Because of the frequent shuttle in the sand, aquatic plants are often dug up by roots, so the planting of aquatic plants needs to be protected by stones. The water tank must be tightly covered to prevent it from climbing out of the tank.
[Last modified: Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 10:22]