If you are looking for an active and useful helper for your aquarium, then the giraffe cichlid has probably caught your eye. These fish are often recommended as excellent cleaners that tirelessly eat algae from glass, stones, and decorations. But behind this simple description lies a rather interesting and ambiguous fish that is worth knowing more about.
Outwardly, giraffe cichlids resemble small sharks or miniature catfish, but in fact they belong to the carp family. Their main feature is a special sucker mouth, which they use to literally scrape off growths. However, their character and behavior can change significantly with age, which sometimes comes as a surprise to inexperienced aquarists.
In this article, we will explain in simple terms what types of these fish there are, how to create comfortable conditions for them, and what to expect from them as they grow up. This will help you understand whether a giraffe cichlid will be a peaceful neighbor and a hard-working cleaner in your aquarium.
Habitat and lifestyle
Its natural habitat is in Southeast Asia (Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand). The fish is found in the Mekong, Dong Nai, and Chao Phraya river basins. It prefers small fast-flowing rivers and streams, as well as flowing lakes with clear water rich in underwater vegetation. The fish stays in schools in well-lit areas of the reservoir, where it searches for plant food, sucking on stones and other underwater objects like a vacuum cleaner.
This is an active species that leads a diurnal lifestyle. Girinoheilus can be found in any layer of water where there is food. Despite being gregarious, they can be aggressive towards each other or other fish species. This is due to territoriality and hierarchy within the shoal.
The level of aggression increases with age. Young individuals are quite calm and rarely provoke conflicts.
Appearance
The fish has an elongated, streamlined body up to 20-25 cm long (no more than 15 cm in captivity), adapted for movement in the turbulent currents of mountain rivers. The mouth is very wide, with suction cups and bony growths in the form of plates. This allows the fish to attach itself to underwater objects and scrape vegetation off them.
A distinctive feature is two pairs of gill openings on each side. This allows them to breathe without opening their mouths. As a result, the fish can feed and breathe at the same time.
All fins are wide and powerful to withstand the current. The tail is also relatively wide and crescent-shaped. The caudal fin consists of two parts. The scales are small and barely noticeable. The body color is yellow, golden, or orange. Less commonly, individuals with gray-green or gray-brown coloring are found. The abdomen is noticeably lighter than the back.
Sexual dimorphism is not very pronounced. During the spawning season, males develop a small growth on their heads. Males have more spines in their mouths than females.
Care
The fish are not too picky about their living conditions, so even a beginner can handle their care.
Aquarium
The fish need a lot of space due to their gregariousness, mobility, and territoriality. Each individual should have at least 40-50 liters. For a school of 5-6 individuals, an aquarium of at least 100 liters is required. Otherwise, they will become stressed and their level of aggression towards each other will increase.
A lid on the aquarium is essential, as girinoheilus like to jump out of the water. A filter and aerator should also be used. It is recommended to create a strong current in the aquarium so that the fish feel comfortable. Water purity is very important, so it should be changed by 20-30% every week.
Water parameters
Recommended temperature: 22-28 °C, dH: 6-19°, pH: 6-8. When the temperature drops below 20°C, the fish presses itself to the bottom and hardly moves. In the event of a sharp drop in temperature, it may die.
The water must have a high oxygen level and be completely free of nitrates and chlorine, to which the giraffe cichlid is highly sensitive.
Lighting
The fish is diurnal and stays in well-lit areas of the pond. For this reason, there must be plenty of light. It is advisable to install bright lamps with diffused light. This is important not only for the giraffe cichlid, but also for underwater plants.
Decor
This species loves vegetation and stays only near it. Therefore, the aquarium should be decorated with as many plants as possible. Despite being herbivorous, the fish does not harm large plants. It is important to create a shelter for the fish where they can rest at night or hide in case of danger. The shelter can be made of stones, ceramic items, or driftwood.
Substrate
It is best to use large pebbles mixed with coarse sand. The fish will suck on the pebbles, which they really enjoy. Additionally, you can add large flat stones or ceramic items.
Feeding
In their natural habitat, fish feed on plant food, which they obtain by scraping small algae from stones and other underwater objects. As they grow older, gyrinocheilus switch to protein-rich food, feeding on bioplankton, larvae, roe, and crustaceans. They may even eat the fins and scales of other fish species.
In aquarium conditions, they are fed the following foods:
The fish loves to suck on cucumbers and zucchini, which are cut into slices and simply thrown into the aquarium. Another way to feed it is with food for herbivorous fish. It contains all the nutrients necessary for health.
The food is poured onto the bottom, where the gyrinocheilus will pick it up with their wide mouths. Large specimens will need to be fed animal food in the form of bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp. But not often and in small amounts, so as not to overfeed them. Once a week, arrange a fasting day.
— Alexandra Shabanova, St. Petersburg, more than 7 years of experience in aquarium keeping
Girinocheilus is a beautiful aquarium fish from the catfish family, which attracts attention with its calm disposition and unusual body shape with large fins. In nature, it is found in the rivers of South America, and in an aquarium it feels good under the right conditions: soft water, dark substrate, and shelters such as driftwood or stones. The most common species — striped, marbled, and golden — differ in color, but are similar in care. The main thing is to feed them a varied diet (live and plant food), not to keep them with aggressive fish, and to change the water regularly. With this approach, the guppy will feel comfortable and delight you with its behavior and appearance.
Reproduction
This species is highly fertile, but only in its natural habitat. It is quite difficult to breed them in an aquarium. This requires a large tank with a volume of at least 200 liters and good water flow.
The lighting level is reduced to a dim state. Large plants with broad leaves are placed in the corners of the aquarium. Then the females need to be given hormone injections. This requires special skills. The water temperature is raised to 24-25°C.
The female is given only two hormone injections. The first is before spawning, and the second is during spawning. One female and two males are placed in the spawning tank. After the female has spawned and the males have fertilized the eggs, all fish are removed from the aquarium. The first fry will appear in 30-40 hours. At first, they are fed infusoria. After 7-10 days, they begin to be fed with artemia and rotifers. All this time, it is necessary to ensure a high level of oxygen and water purity. Fry are too vulnerable to bacteria and fungi.
The young grow quickly and gain weight. After 5-6 weeks, the young begin to feed like adults. Sexual maturity is reached in the second year of life.
Varieties
There are several varieties:
Siamese algae eater (Crossocheilus siamensis)
It lives in the Mekong basin.
It is distinguished by a darker color and longitudinal black stripes on the sides. The structure of the mouth is also different.
Marble Gyrinocheilus
A subspecies with a characteristic marbled body color. It has a gray back with dark stripes on the sides and black spots along the body.
It lives in Indochina and on the islands of Indonesia in mountain rivers. It prefers to feed in the upper layers of water, unlike the common Gyrinocheilus.
- Golden
A subspecies of the common giraffe cichlid, bred artificially. It is distinguished by its bright golden color.
- Albino
There is also an artificial subspecies with a white body color.
Compatibility
Young giraffe cichlids are peaceful and calm. They stay in schools and feed together. As they grow, they increasingly try to isolate themselves and chase away other fish, that is, they begin to guard their territory. Therefore, large specimens are kept alone or in a large aquarium. At the same time, there is a hierarchy within the school itself. There is always a leader and several alpha males. Periodically, they fight for leadership, but without harming each other.
Fast fish that stay in the upper layers of the water can be kept in the same aquarium as giraffe cichlids.
These can be:
It is not recommended to place them in the same aquarium with other herbivorous species, with which they will compete.
It is also undesirable and even dangerous to keep slow-moving large fish with girinoheilus, for example, together with:
Such cohabitation will result in the giraffe cichlids cutting off their fins and literally polishing or even eating their scales.
More care tips:
Useful tips
Here are some useful tips to help you care for your giraffe cichlids:
- If there is a protein deficiency, giraffe cichlids begin to eat the scales and fins of other fish. This means that their diet needs to be enriched with protein.
- It is essential to create a current in the aquarium. Otherwise, the fish will be stressed as they will look for a rapid.
- Cucumbers and other vegetables should only be fed from your own garden. Store-bought products contain nitrates that are dangerous to fish.
- Fish should be regularly checked for damage and the most aggressive individuals should be removed.
- Fish food can be grown independently at home. Place large stones in a separate container with water and put them in the sun for several days. They will become covered with algae.
- If fish are eating plants, it means they are starving or something is missing from their diet.
Video review of the plecostomus
Gyrinocheilus is not just a fish for an aquarium, but a real cleaning specialist. Its main feature is a powerful suction cup mouth, which it uses to tirelessly scrape algae growths from the walls, decorations, and leaves of plants. For this, it has earned the love of aquarists, who often keep it as a natural cleaner.
However, it is important to remember that this cleaner fish often has a difficult temperament. As it matures, it can become aggressive and territorial, especially towards its relatives and other bottom-dwelling fish that are similar in shape. To avoid conflicts, it needs enough space, hiding places, and neighbors that swim in the middle and upper layers of the water.
Duckweed thrives at temperatures between 12 and 30 degrees Celsius. Water acidity is not particularly important, but sudden changes in pH should be avoided. This algae can adapt to pH values ranging from 5 to 8, but values that are too low or too high can cause the plant to stop growing and die. Water hardness is also not particularly important, but it is recommended not to exceed a value of 10 to 12° dH.
