Albino Catfish (Gold Catfish) (Golden Ancistrus)

Ancistrus spec. "Gold"*

 (Source: garnelio.de if you wanna buy from them please ask them if they Ship International before you buy)

The golden catfish (Ancistrus sp. "Gold") is the albino version of the brown catfish Ancistrus sp. from South America. These beautiful catfish lack the dark brown body color, they are golden to orange-yellow with red eyes. This herbivore, affectionately known as a disk nutcracker or disk cleaner, belongs to the armor catfish and is also referred to as L144.

The golden catfish tirelessly rasps algae from hard surfaces with its typical suction mouth, thereby keeping the aquarium panes free from algae.

The golden catfish is rather nocturnal. It reaches a body length of approx. 14 cm and should therefore only be kept in aquariums from 80 cm edge length. The useful algae eater can live up to 19 years in the aquarium.

It is very easy to differentiate between the sexes of the golden catfish from a certain size, the males have antennae-like appendages on their heads that are branched like antlers. The catfish also got its name from these appendages. In the females they are much smaller and less pronounced, or they are absent entirely. The Goldancistrus is not a schooling fish, keeping in pairs is recommended, but keeping it individually is also possible without any problems. The males are territorial and form territories that are defended against conspecifics.

The golden catfish is quite easy to breed in the aquarium. The albino form is inherited recessively, so the golden form should be paired with another golden ancistrus for pure breeding. A brown partner leads to brown offspring. In the next generation, a small proportion of albinos will emerge.

Gold catfish lay their eggs in caves, they are cave breeders. There the male guards the clutch until the young hatch. The golden juveniles are a little more susceptible than the brown ones, so for rearing they should be put in their own aquarium. Here it is best to move the whole cave with the clutch including the male before hatching and to catch the male when the juvenile fish have left the cave. In addition to the vegetable food, the fry also like to take Artemia nauplii.

Ancistrians are very productive. Keeping two same-sex animals or keeping them individually would definitely be preferable if you don't have a reliable buyer for the offspring.

As ground dwellers, the nocturnal golden catfish do not swim much, but they need hiding places. For this purpose, roots can be laid out or special clay catfish caves made available. The window cleaners are very undemanding when it comes to the water values; they can cope with soft to very hard water. For the golden catfish the temperature should be slightly higher than for the brown ancistrus, between 22-28 ° C.

Source: garnelio

Ancistrus sp. "Gold" is practically pure herbivore. It rasps algae and biofilms from hard surfaces. In addition, the armored catfish must be supplied with fibers. You get this by rasping real wood (for example bog roots) or brown autumn leaves. An aquarium for aerial catfish needs real aquariums made of wood! Gold catfish also eat green fodder and vegetables (peeled and scalded or dried): zucchini, paprika, pumpkin, dandelion, tomato, peas, spinach, nettle, ...), tablet food for fish living on the bottom, which quickly sinks to the bottom and off and some protein in the form of frozen food. If golden ancistras do not find enough plant food, they may eat the plants. Echinodorus leaves in particular are eagerly eaten, the damage caused by eating looks typical: the leaf tissue is missing, the skeleton remains. With sufficient green forage and fresh food you can prevent something and protect the plants.

Since Ancistrus sp. "Gold" is a very peaceful herbivore, it goes well with shrimps and snails in the aquarium. The socialization with crabs is a little more difficult, since it occupies the same niche (caves on the ground).