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Akvarijske ribe - živorodke, kirwood, Potamotrygon leopoldi
Akvarijske ribe - živorodke, kirwood, Potamotrygon leopoldi
Akvarijske ribe - živorodke, kirwood, Potamotrygon leopoldi

 

   Basic data:

 

  • Scientific name:  Potamotrygon leopoldi   (Castex in Castello, 1970)

  • Explanation of words: Potamotrygon  (potamos = river, trygon = ray)

  • Slovenian name: Leopoldi, Black diamond whip / skate, Xingu river whip ..

  • Group: Livebirds

  • Origin: Xingu and Fresco rivers in central Brazil.

  • Size: males 40 cm, females up to 60 cm

  • Biotope / Habitat : Shallows of rivers and streams on muddy bottoms / silt

  • Social behavior: Predator, if not hungry, other inhabitants are safe, can be territorial, otherwise peaceful inhabitants

  • Diet: Fish, worms, crustaceans, tubifex, shrimp, shellfish, squid, ...

  • Cultivation: Difficult

  • Aquarium: Minimum 1000 liters 

  • Population: Adult couple per 1500 liters of water

  • Decoration: fine sand (river sand / sand), lying flat stones,  cut wood

  • Temperature: 24-30 ° C

  • pH: 6-7.5

  • Hardness: up to 15 ° dGh

  • Lifespan: up to 20 years

Potamotrygon leopoldi       Xingu River  whip

Kingdom: Animalia / animals

Trunk: Chordata / string players

Class: Chondrichthyes

Order:  Myliobatiformes / sea whips

Family:  Potamotrygonidae / freshwater whips

Gender:  Potamotrygon

Type:  Potamotrygon leopoldi
(Castex  in  Castle  , 1970)

Cultivation

  It needs a really big aquarium with as little decoration as possible, that is, a fine substrate along the bottom, some flat stone or root. Mandatory strong (5 times volume exchange per hour) and quality filtration. Recommended combination of several different filters. They need strong flow and water rich in oxygen. Protect the radiators or better yet, place them outside the aquarium to whip them  does not burn. We change 20-50% of the water weekly and remove it regularly  leftover food, fish  they are very greedy  and are major water pollutants.

Warning when handling freshwater whips  -  let's not browse the aquarium without gloves!

Fish  they have at the end of the tail  toxic  sting used in self-defense.

Everybody  3-6 months discard old  sting  (replace it with a new one), which must be carefully removed from the aquarium.

In case of a puncture, seek medical attention immediately.

 

Food

   They are large animals and need a lot of food, we feed young fish with accessible earthworms, mussels and crustaceans for adults and of course fish meat / frozen fillets.

Reproduction

  Reproduction is typical of the family, they are picky while looking for a partner and we must first have a couple formed to succeed. Courtship is somewhat violent and the male must be smaller than the female so as not to harm her. Childbirth occurs after nine to twelve weeks, while the female's appetite is greatly increased. They do not usually eat offspring, but it is still better to remove the pups as they are only predators. Newborn puppies have nutritional sacs which they consume within a week, during which time we take care of sufficient amounts of small live food. They grow fast and eat a lot, not forgetting to change the water.

Interesting

  The fish is from the order of sharks (Myliobatiformes) and is related to the shark. They are the only family that inhabits freshwater.

The fish has a mixture of chemicals in the jelly at the end of the tail, which cause severe pain and tissue breakdown (necrosis) when bitten.

Signs for healthy fish: 

1. she is always hungry

2. at the beginning of the tail has adipose tissue.

If the edges of the disc are squeaky, something is seriously wrong (fungal or bacterial infection).

 

 

 

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