Macrognathus is a personal decorative eel in your home. Macrognathus ocelli, or aquarium eel Aquarium eel species

Detachment, family: proboscis.

Comfortable water temperature: 22-26 °С.

Ph: 6,5-7,0.

Aggressiveness: non-aggressive.

Compatibility: with all peaceful fish, not compatible with cichlids.

It is worth noting that we also call it macrognathus ocelli, although this is not entirely true.

Habitat macrognathus: Burma, Thailand and India. Lives in fresh and brackish waters in southeastern countries East Asia: Mekong River, Southeast Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Chao Phraya River.

The shape of the fish is elegant - the "worm" is different from ordinary fish. The stigma of this fish is elongated, the body, like sea ​​eel and strongly elongated. The dorsal and anal fins are behind, resembling a caudal fin. The fish has no pectoral fins. There are numerous spines on the back, which can be hurt when catching a fish. with bare hands. Macrognathus can be painted in brownish tones with an olive or beige tint. On the sides there is a blurry marble pattern scattered over the head and body yellow spots and cross lines. The body is, as it were, divided in half by a light strip passing from both sides. Fins light brown or reddish, dorsal long with spherical dark dots, bordered by a golden rim. The belly is much lighter than the body.

Macrognathus ocellar females are larger than males. The length of the fish can reach up to 40 cm.

Macrognathus is nocturnal and bottom-dwelling. During the daytime, the fish hides in thickets of plants or burrows into the ground, and at dusk it swims up in search of food. They may be less shy if they are kept together with other bottom neighbors. In nature, fish can get out of the water and stay out of it for about 1 hour.

They contain macrognathus in a large aquarium. The aquarium is equipped with many shelters and planted plants. It is worth noting that these fish burrow into the ground, leaving only the nose outside, so sand or other fine and non-sharp ground is used as the ground. An aquarium with a fish must be closed, macrognatus can easily get out of the aquarium along the wires of the equipment or the corners of the aquarium.

Comfortable water parameters for keeping macrognathus:Т 22-26°С, acidity 6.5-7, dGH - 5-10°. Aeration and filtration is required.

The fish become sexually mature at the age of two. Breeding in macrognatus is difficult, because. hormonal injection is used to stimulate spawning. Despite the fact that the fish do not reproduce naturally in an aquarium, their spawning can be stimulated with the help of special injections. In a few days, producers need to be seated, fully and efficiently fed, and optimal parameters of conditions provided. Spawning is taken from 250 liters not less than 1 meter in length. Water temperature 26-28 °, medium hardness, aeration and a filter are installed in the spawning ground. Shelters, substrate and mesh are needed. From plants, bolbitis and microzorium are suitable. You can land a pair of fish or two males per female. After injection into dorsal muscle, fish populate and shade the spawning grounds. The female can lay up to 1000 eggs, which fall through the net to avoid being eaten by the fish. After spawning, the fish are removed. After 3 days, the fry swim up, feed on plankton, small cyclops, microworms.

Feeding any aquarium fish OK must be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotus. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regimen for fish.

In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous, the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include food in its diet either with the greatest content protein or vice versa with herbal ingredients.

Popular and popular food for fish, of course, are dry food. For example, all the time and everywhere you can find on the aquarium counters the food of the Tetra company - the leader of the Russian market, in fact, the range of food of this company is amazing. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes both individual food for a certain kind fish: for goldfish, cichlids, loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowans, discus, etc. Also, Tetra developed, specialized feed, for example, to enhance the color, fortified or for feeding fry. Detailed information You can find out about all Tetra feeds on the official website of the company -

It should be noted that when buying any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy feed by weight, and also store food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.

All of the above is only the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting miscellaneous information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also lively emotions, allowing you to more fully and subtly feel the world of aquarism. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and firsthand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share your successes and joys with us, share experience and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every realization of a mistake that makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us, the more pure and transparent droplets of goodness in the life and life of our seven billionth society.

Photo with macrognathus

Macrognathus is an aquarium inhabitant of the Mastatsembelidae family. According to the shape of your body, behavior and appearance it looks like a common eel. Its content at home is not particularly difficult, but requires some knowledge. In addition, the breeder will need to spend a lot of time and money on an exotic pet.

Macrognathus is unpretentious in content

General information

Macrognathus aquarium eel is one of the most beautiful and unusual inhabitants home ponds. Experienced aquarists have learned how to keep it and create for it the maximum comfortable conditions. Thanks to this, he will live long and multiply quickly.

Description of the species

This representative aquatic fauna has a long and elongated, like a snake, body. At its end is a small and oblong head. In the wild, macrognatus eels can grow up to 40 cm long, while their aquarium relatives can only grow up to 25 centimeters. Top part the body is covered with many spikes, which are used to protect against natural enemies.

Macrognathus can reach 40cm in length

As a rule, females are slightly larger than males. Individuals of both sexes have anal and dorsal fins, which create a semblance of a tail. Depending on conditions environment their color can vary from light brown to red. Small dark spots are clearly visible on the dorsal fin, which are circled with a golden rim. This type of aquarium eel lacks a pectoral fin.

The body of pets is painted unevenly. On it you can find brown, olive or light red shades. The sides of the macrognathus are covered with a blurred pattern, and the head and body are strewn with yellowish spots. The abdomen has a more uniform color and is much lighter than all other parts of the body.

Habitat

This unusual fish quite demanding on environmental conditions. Because of this feature, it is rarely seen in wild nature and lives only in a few Asian countries. On other continents, macrognathus can only be found in an aquarium with special conditions a habitat. AT natural environment a representative of the fauna is found in the waters:

• India;
• Sri Lanka;
• Myanmar;
• Thailand
• Sumatra.

This fish prefers to settle in small rivers and lakes with fresh water. Sometimes it can be found in slightly salty waters.

Macrognathus is mainly found in fresh waters

Aquarium varieties

Among the large number of species of macrognathus, several main ones stand out, which are suitable for keeping at home. The rest are absolutely not adapted for life in captivity and may die when trying to domesticate. . The most popular aquarium macrognats:

1. Coffee. This aquatic inhabitant has a long dark brown body, on which lighter fins are located. These fish lead night image life and do not like a lot of light. They make themselves cozy shelters in snags, where they spend time until dark. This species is prone to various diseases and requires special conditions content.
2. Siamese. This home pet It comes in a variety of sizes and colors, which vary based on environmental conditions. The fish is quite large, with a thick body and marble-colored spots on the sides. Its neighbors can only be representatives of the fauna of the appropriate size, since it will consider smaller individuals as potential prey.
3. Pearl. This type of macrognathus is considered one of the smallest. The length of his body rarely reaches 17 centimeters. It is dyed in Brown color with silver accents. The fish quickly adapts to changing environmental conditions and tolerates neighborhood with other species well.

Not all types of macrognathus are suitable for home content

Home Care

equipment requirements

In order for the eel to feel comfortable at home, you need to try to recreate its natural habitat. Only in this case the fish will be healthy, strong and have an attractive appearance.

Proper care entails rapid reproduction. Given the value and high cost of this representative of the aquatic fauna, the owner is guaranteed a good profit from the sale of offspring. Necessary conditions for the care and maintenance of macrognathus:

Ocellated macrognathus requires a special approach and the study of the basic rules of keeping. The pet owner needs to consider a large number of factors that contribute to the formation of comfortable conditions. Among them it is worth highlighting the following:

1. Continuous monitoring of water purity and quality.
2. Periodic replacement of a third of the fluid with a new one. You need to do this at least once a week.
3. Salting water and maintaining the required level of salinity.
4. Ensuring good filtration and aeration of the aquarium.
5. Temperature aquatic environment should fluctuate between 21 and 26 degrees above zero.
6. The acidity index pH should be limited to 7, and hardness - 15.
7. Provide dim lighting, which is typical for natural conditions a habitat. At night, reduce the brightness or turn off the lights completely.

Daily diet

Aquarium macrognatus are very capricious in the choice of food, so their daily diet must be varied and adapted to the preferences of each individual. Often there are situations when this fish eats any food with pleasure, and the next day completely refuses it. The basis of the nutrition of this representative of the aquatic fauna is the following delicacies:

• invertebrates;
• earthworms;
• crustaceans;
• mosquito larvae;
• small fish.

Macrognathuses will not refuse cod fillets, as well as squid meat. As an additional top dressing, you can use fortified dry food or high quality frozen foods.

Macrognathus are capricious in the choice of food

Food preferences can also change depending on the mood of the pet. If he is dissatisfied with the conditions created, then there is a possibility of a complete refusal of food. In this case, you need to offer him your favorite treat.

Breeding rules

Sexual maturity of aquatic creatures occurs at the age three years However, they reproduce at home very poorly. To do this, you need to carry out special injections to stimulate the process. Procedure:

1. A few days before the start of the procedure, the fish are deposited in separate tanks of 250 liters or more.
2. They create the most comfortable conditions, which are accompanied by abundant feeding.
3. One or two males are planted by the female.
4. The injection is given into the back muscle.
5. The container with the fish is isolated from the light.
6. In complete darkness, the female lays up to 1 thousand eggs. They descend to the ground, where they develop over the next 3 days.
7. After this time, fry are born. They need to provide a temperature of 26-28 ° C and a large amount of microscopic food. You can feed them plankton or microworms.
8. As soon as they reach a third of the size of their parents, they can be moved to a community aquarium.

Combination with other fish

The compatibility of macrognathus with other fish does not cause problems for aquarists. Despite the capriciousness, he is very friendly and peaceful. However, due to its size, the eel can accidentally harm its neighbors and prick them with the spikes on its back. Such contact can end for any fish in the most deplorable way. To prevent this from happening, you must consider the compatibility rules:

1. It is not necessary to settle macrognathus together with small and fast fish, as he can take them for prey and swallow them.
2. It is recommended to combine aquarium eels with bottom-dwelling fish species that lead a measured and inactive lifestyle.
3. The ideal option would be a neighborhood with large and mobile fish.
4. Do not plant cichlids in an aquarium with macrognathus. They are aggressive, move very quickly and can cause serious injury.
5. It is forbidden to put a large number of eels in one tank. During breeding, conflicts can arise among males that develop into a fight with serious injuries to each other. In addition, the cause of the quarrel may be the struggle for territory.

Cichlids should not be planted with eels in the same tank.

Diseases and their prevention

During its life in captivity, macrognathus faces many problems that can cause one or another disease in it. Almost all of his illnesses are related to the conditions of detention and feeding. The main health problems in an aquarium pet:

1. Skin diseases. These are the most common ailments that appear due to the lack of a large amount of soil at the bottom of the aquarium. Without it, fish cannot fully burrow and suffer from exposure to natural light and elevated temperatures.
2. Ulcers on the body. During digging into the ground, a large amount of mucus is produced by home macrognathus. It wipes itself on small pebbles and does not harm the health of the aquatic inhabitant. However, if there is not enough bedding, then excess mucus causes inflammation and forms ulcers on the body.

Examination of macrognathus for diseases should be carried out regularly

Such problems can be cured only at the very beginning of their occurrence. On the late stages diseases, any measures will be useless. For this reason, it is necessary to inspect pets daily and identify even the smallest deviations from the norm.

During the treatment period, you need to gradually raise the temperature of the water in the aquarium to 32 degrees and increase the salinity to 10%. In addition, special preparations are added to the water, which can be bought at any pet store.

Macrognathus is a wonderful representative of the aquatic fauna that needs special care and maintenance. With the right approach to business and following all the recommendations of experienced aquarists, you can not only provide comfortable conditions for your pets, but also promote their reproduction.

Macrognathus ocellus - this name will not tell at least something to every novice aquarist, but everyone has seen this fish. In pet stores, you could not help but pay attention to creatures with an elongated body shape and a kind of proboscis on the head.

We will talk about aquarium eels, or rather about the nuances of keeping them in a common freshwater aquarium, the intricacies of care and reproduction.

Macrognathus is classified as a fish from the proboscis family. In the wild, these eels live in fresh and brackish waters in the Southeast countries.

You rarely meet such a friend, but he looks quite impressive and bright, thanks to his extraordinary appearance. The most popular species are Siamese macrognathus, coffee macrognathus and ocellated macrognathus.

In its shape, this fish resembles an eel, which gave this creature the second name "coffee eel". The body of these creatures is elongated like a snake, the head is rather small with a pointed proboscis. The females of these fish are slightly larger than the males. When females carry the eggs, the greenish color is visible through the female's pale abdomen.

In nature, macrognatus can reach 40 centimeters in length, in an aquarium their size will not exceed 25 centimeters. Pectoral fins this fish is absent, and on the back there are a lot of spines, which you can get hurt when trying to catch macrognathus with your hands.

The color of these fish can be brownish, with an olive or beige tint. There is a blurred marble ornament on the sides of the body. Cross lines and yellow spots may be scattered over the head and body.

The fins may be brown with a reddish tint, and the dorsal fin will be adorned with dark dots bordered with gold. The abdomen is usually light.

Macrognathus are nocturnal inhabitants of the aquarium. During daylight hours, they hide in thickets of vegetation or burrow into the ground. If these eels are kept in an aquarium with other bottom fish, they will be less shy. An interesting feature This fish in the wild is the fact that macrognatus can crawl out of the water and stay on land for up to an hour.

In nature, there are about 50 species of these amazing creatures. Popular aquarium fish Siamese macrognathus will differ from its fellow in the presence of a round spot at the base of the caudal fin. Otherwise, there are no big differences.

Macrognathus are very often confused with the genus Mastatzembel, among which the most prominent representatives are:

• zebra;
• tape;
• armored;
• pearl.

Representatives of both those and those outwardly are really very similar to each other, which is why such confusion occurs.

For macrognathus, a spacious container is needed, from 100 liters, with a tight-fitting lid. The lid is needed so that your pet does not jump out of the container, take a walk around the neighborhood. Care starts with water.

The water in the aquarium should be clean, aeration and filtration are essential. The water temperature for keeping macrognathus should vary between 22-26 degrees Celsius, hardness 8-16, and acidity 6.5-7.5. every week it is advisable to replace a third of the water with fresh water.

The presence of soil in the aquarium in macrognatus is mandatory. The thickness of its layer should be at least 3-4 centimeters. In the absence of soil, fish can be affected by skin diseases that will lead to their death.

The body of the fish is soft, and it is desirable to have the ground without sharp stones. The ideal option would be rounded sand. These fish like to burrow into the ground quite thoroughly, so you should think about plants with a root system, or plant plants in pots. As you can see, caring for these blackheads is not very troublesome.

6 interesting photos macrognatus.

Feeding

Most macrognatus prefer live food:

1. Earthworms.
2. Invertebrates.
3. Tubifik.
4. Crustaceans.
5. Small fish.
6. Mosquito larvae.

Additionally, you can feed frozen and high quality dry food.

Compatibility in community aquariums

Aggressive cichlids can cause quite serious injuries to macrognathus. Sometimes there are interspecific skirmishes. With such quarrels, macrognathuses push each other with their noses.

Diseases

The main ailment that is peculiar only to these fish is skin problems.

Mucus is secreted from the skin of these fish, which they are forced to wipe on the ground. If the fish does not have such an opportunity, then excess mucus will begin to cause skin lesions and related diseases.

Breeding

Macrognathus will reach sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 years. Aquarium eels in captivity do not reproduce naturally. In captivity, the spawning of this fish is stimulated with the help of special injections.

A few days before the procedure, producers need to be seated and intensively fed. A spawning aquarium will be a capacity of about 250 liters, no less. The aquarium needs to be equipped, shelters, substrate and mesh should be installed. Of the plants, bolbitis and microzorium will be optimal.

A couple of spawners are planted for spawning, or 2 males per 1 female are acceptable. After injection into the dorsal muscle, the spawners are populated, and the spawning ground and the light intensity is reduced.

The female can lay up to 100 eggs, which fall through the net to the bottom, in order to avoid being eaten by her parents. After 3 days, the fry swims into the water column and begins to feed on small cyclops, plankton and microworms.

This cute macrognathus

If today's article has lifted the veil of secrecy for you, and you decide to acquire such pets, remember a few basic points of working with these cuttings:

1. Macrognathus is predatory fish. He will simply eat small fish.
2. These comrades grow up to 25 centimeters in length. Make sure that their content is spacious.
3. Macrognathuses are big fans of digging in the ground. It is necessary to ensure the proper thickness of the soil so that they do not have skin problems.
4. It is better to strengthen the plants that you will have in the aquarium, or even plant them in pots so that the macrognathus do not dig them up.

And it would not be worth settling macrognatuses with predatory big cichlids. Such a neighborhood will definitely not end in anything good.

Someone likes fluffy, four-legged or feathered pets, and someone loves fish with all their hearts. Today, in apartments, restaurants and other premises, you can see aquariums of all shapes and sizes, inhabited by the most diverse and amazing views aquatic life. Macrognathus ocelli is one of them. This unusual representative of aquarium inhabitants attracts the views of many visitors to pet stores. For information on how to properly care for such a fish, you can learn from this article.

Habitat in nature

The perch-like fish order contains a very unusual subspecies called proboscis. It has only one family, divided into 2 genera and approximately 50 species. The main difference between the two branches is that the first consists of Asian species, and the second - from African. A lesser known difference between the two lies in the structure unpaired fins. In Macrognatus they are separated, while in Mastacembelus they are connected.

The place where eels live is the backwaters of rivers and lakes with calm water and a bottom covered with silt or sand with dense vegetation.

Pisces tend to be active at night. During the day, they hide in thickets, hide under stones or burrow into the ground. The safety of the fish is ensured by observing what is happening around. This is helped by a special proboscis that performs the function of an olfactory organ. At night, eels prey on fry, plankton, small crabs and eggs.

Appearance

In captivity, as a rule, they contain ocular macrognathus. Despite his unusual view, the fish are graceful. They have an elongated body, flat on the sides. Developing in an aquarium, the species reaches a length of 15-25 cm. The front part of the macrognathus body is somewhat reminiscent of a fox muzzle. The upper jaw is a small proboscis with tubular nostrils at the end. The color of the fish is pleasant, from pale beige to brown and olive. It is complemented by an unusual pattern of light transverse stripes and bright yellow dots. The entire body of the aquarium eel is divided by a stripe.

The dorsal and anal fins are moved to the tail, the pectorals are absent. They are reddish or light brown in color. The fin, located on the back, is decorated with black spots with a golden border. It is they who are very similar to the eyes, for which the fish got their name. There are also spines on the back. Females are always larger and thicker than males.

Behavior

The first time after moving to a new aquarium, the fish may hide and be frightened of the environment, but soon they begin to get used to and can swim out of their hiding places even during the day. Group content of macrognatus ocellata in young age permissible, but it is important to remember that, having matured, individuals may become more aggressive towards each other.

Compatibility

Put this species in one aquarium small fish undesirable as they are easily perceived as prey. Best of all, the compatibility of macrognathus ocellata is manifested with larger and more peaceful inhabitants.

The owner of the aquarium should also be careful: the pet may well bite the owner on the hand or injure him by hitting him with thorns.

Aquarium

Macrognathus ocelli is able to coexist with other fish, but it will be able to show itself in all its glory in a special species aquarium with tinted glass, the volume of which will be from 100 liters.

The top must not be left open. It must be closed with glass, since this type of fish can get out through a small gap if the quality of the water has deteriorated or it is not to your taste. Special attention it is worth paying attention to the corners of the aquarium, as well as areas where wires and air ducts are located.

The presence of soil is necessary, as eels love to burrow into it, leaving only their eyes and nose on the surface. It is important that there are no sharp stones in it, otherwise the fish will get hurt. If the soil is neglected, then various skin diseases can begin in macrognathus. It is better not to use silt, but to take soft sand. Vegetation should not be easily dug up. Great option- pots. Eels love to hide and hide, and therefore various caves and snags should be placed in the aquarium.

Since the species is active at night and leads an underground lifestyle, the fish produce a large amount of mucus so that they can safely burrow into the stones. If excess secretions are not removed, the skin becomes inflamed.

There are no special requirements for the quality of water when keeping macrognathus ocelli in an aquarium. You just need to make sure that it is clean. The most comfortable indicators: acidity - 7-8; temperature - +21-28 °С (decreasing to +20 °С is acceptable); hardness - 6-15. Continuous aeration is required, as well as a change of a third of the water every week. If desired, you can add 3-4 tablespoons of sea salt for every 100 liters of water.

Food

Most of all macrognathus ocelli likes live food. You can always try to introduce a dry or frozen species, but often the fish refuse it. A delicacy for them will be mosquito larvae, earthworms, small crustaceans and invertebrates. Sometimes they can prey on smaller species of fish. Examples of feeding such fish with finely chopped squid or cod meat are known.

Diseases

At wrong conditions the content of acne macrognathus ocellarus can get sick. The reasons for this are poor quality, dirty water, unsuitable soil. In such cases, the fish does not receive enough mucus, the skin becomes inflamed, ulcers appear.

Timely treatment in the early stages can return the acne to normal. The water temperature should be gradually increased to +32 ° C, and the salinity level should be increased to 10%. Then you should add erycycline and griseofulvin in the required dosage (agreed with a specialist), increase the number of water changes.

Watching life inside the aquarium will give you a feeling of calmness and peace, as well as diversify your leisure time. The glass structure itself, with interestingly selected residents and decorations, can become the highlight of the interior of the room.

Aquarium fish macrognathus, or aquarium eel, differs from others in its unusual elongated body structure and non-standard breeding. Among its existing species, macrognathus ocelli is the most common. The fish tends to be painted in beige, brown, golden hues. The decoration of this species are spectacular spots, yellowish dots and stripes. The cunning expression of the eyes gives reason to compare the head of a fish with a fox muzzle.

Keeping macrognathus fish in an aquarium

During the day, you are unlikely to see your pet, except perhaps his head sticking out of the ground. For this reason, sharp stones should not be placed in the aquarium, which can hurt the fish. Macrognathus needs quality to burrow to rid itself of the excess mucus that covers its body. This is a kind of prevention of skin diseases. For soil, it is better to purchase pebbles of medium and small fractions, since clean river sand, when fish are buried in it, creates turbidity in the pond, although this does not contradict its usual way of life.

Adding salt to the aquarium (3 tablespoons per 100 liters of water) brings the conditions of keeping the fish closer to natural, provided that their neighbors belonging to other species normally react to this procedure.

If you are faced with a choice of what to feed the fish, buy live food, as macrognathus prefers it. Among the variety of larvae, crustaceans and invertebrates, the tubifex is a favorite dish.

Peace-loving macrognathus ocellar has good compatibility with fish leading a similar lifestyle, such as catfish. Smaller individuals can sometimes be perceived as food.

Another important detail of keeping a macrognathus fish is a reliable shelter for the aquarium, since any gap can be a way to leave your home.