Overview:

The Striped Anostomus is not as common as it once was, but it is still a beautiful addition to your tank. They have been known to nip, so judge accordingly.

Quick stats:

Classification:

Common name:

Striped anostomus

Distribution

The Amazon and Orinoco river basins, as well as rivers in Guyana.

General Body Form:

Cigar shaped and very elongated. The head tapers to a pointed nose with a small up facing mouth.

Coloration:

The most noticeable feature of the fish are the dark longitudinal stripes that start at the front and extend all the way to the tail area. The top one starts at the head and goes through the dorsal fin area and can be seen from both sides. The middle one starts at the mouth, goes through the eye and runs all the way to the tail. The bottom starts at the throat area and runs to the base of the tail fin. All these stripes get wider as the fish ages. The Dorsal and Caudal fins are a bright Red edged in clear. The Pectoral and Anal fins have Red striping, interlaced with clear. The area between the stripes is a Gold or Mustard color. A very nice looking fish.

Maintenance:

The Anostomus should be kept alone as they will fight with members of its’ family. The are usually peaceful with other fish species, although they have been known to nip the fins of Angela and other long finned fish. I always see a sneaky look in their eye. It should have a fairly large tank (30 or 20 gallon long) with a dark substrate and plenty of hiding areas, like bogwood and rocks, a few plants will finish the decor. You will want good water circulation as well. Keep the tank in the 75 to 80 degree range (24 to 27c) and in neutral water. The anostomus is Omnivorous feeding on flake, Frozen and live foods. They are great at removing small worm pest in the tank. They are a shy fish and if kept with aggressive feeders can starve in a tank.

Biotope:

A South American Riverbank setup.

Breeding:

It has breed in captivity, but I was unable to find any details. If you know of them please send them to me and I will add them here. Thanks.