What is an Upside-Down Catfish?
The upside-down catfish is known for its preference of swimming upside down. It is also known as the blotchy upside-down catfish because of the spots in its pattern. These fish have become extremely popular for aquarists across the globe due to their awesome characteristics. Although its home in Central Africa, it can be found in aquariums throughout the world.
Characteristics
The upside-down catfish will stay on the smaller side for its entire life, which will last approximately five years if it is kept in a healthy environment. Adults will only grow to be approximately five inches, at the most.
In both captivity and the wild, these fish are known for their gentle temperament. They will feed on fish smaller than themselves, but will not attack other fish or become aggressive, even when housed with tank mates.
The primary reason that aquarists are attracted to this particular fish is that it prefers to swim upside down most times. This swimming position makes it easier for the fish to eat things it finds on the top of the water or on the bottom of the submerged tree trunks and is beautiful to watch. Upside-down catfish can swim in a right side up position, but they usually prefer not to due to their eating habits. When housed in an aquarium, they tend to swim right side up at times.
Diet
Upside-down catfish are not picky eaters. When they are in the wild, they eat plant matter, algae and enjoy smaller fish as a snack. In captivity, these fish are fed a variety of foods. Most owners feed them shelled peas as well as sinking fish pellets to provide them with a nutritious diet. They are known to eat live, frozen and thawed food I captivity.
Temperament
The temperament of these fish is another reason why they are popular in aquariums. For the most part, they are nice, peaceful fish. They will eat smaller fish for food but will not be aggressive towards other fish. Instead, this fish makes an exceptional tank mate.
In the Wild
In the wild, upside-down catfish can be found in the warm waters of the southern hemisphere. They are plentiful in central African riverbeds where they can find both shelter and food in the abundance of plants along the edges of the river.
In Captivity
Many of these fish call an aquarium home due to its popularity. Their small size, beautiful appearance, unique swimming posture and the fact that they are not picky eaters all make them a favorite for aquarium owners. Owners also do not have to concern themselves with aggressive behavior towards fish when they add one of these to their collection.
The upside-down catfish is mesmerizing in its own unique way. Every detail about this fish, from its swimming posture to the different colors of its underbelly, is slightly different from that of other fish to make the upside-down catfish one of the most sought after fish for aquariums across the world.
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