Painted Callus Catfish "albino" - Hoplosternum thoracatum

The Albino Callus Catfish (Hoplosternum thoracatum "Albino" or Megalechis thoracata "Albino") is the albino form of the Painted Callus Catfish from South America. Callus catfish belong to the armored catfish family. This beautiful albino callus catfish has the typical shape - flat belly, triangular body cross section, overlapping bony shields. They can be seen especially well on the flanks, where they almost form a herringbone pattern. The basic color of the albino callus catfish is light pink to whitish, the eyes are red. Remnants of the dark dot pattern of the wild form may still be visible on the body and fins. The conspicuously long barbels on the underslung mouth are white, and the fins remain more or less whitish transparent. Males of the Albino Callus Catfish have a large spine on the pectoral fin that females do not.

Hoplosternum thoracatum "Albino" is a bottom dweller. The wild form prefers calm, rather muddy waters: pools and shallow areas of streams with very slow currents. Callus Catfish are found in nature in clear water as well as black water and even in fairly low oxygen environments.

The predominantly peaceful albino Callus Catfish reaches a length of up to 20 cm and can live to be about 12 years old in the aquarium if kept well. Hoplosternum thoracatum "Albino" is a very social schooling fish, kept in groups of 5 or more. The aquarium should be at least 150 cm long for these pretty aquarium fish. The males carry out intensive brood care in foam nests, which they defend jealously and quite aggressively against conspecifics and other fish, therefore the aquarium must be well structured, so that the animals can get out of each other's sight during the spawning season.

The male Albino Callus Catfish builds the floating foam nest in the leaves of floating plants or other aquatic plants during the breeding season. During mating, the female deposits her eggs, which may number up to 800, directly into the floating nest where they are fertilized by the male. After a few days, the fry, already somewhat larger at hatching, hatch and immediately become independent. A good rearing food is daphnia, grindal and Artemia nauplii. Young callus catfish grow quickly.

Albino Callus Catfish do wellsocializing with livebearers such as Guppies, Swordtails, Platies or Mollies . Other more surface-oriented aquarium fish such as tetras are also suitable. Large callus catfish eat crustaceans, shrimp are more of a live food for them. Conflicts and attacks can occur with crayfish, for this reason we do not recommend the socialization of Albino Callus Catfish with dwarf crayfish and crayfish.

Albino Callus Catfish can cope with a wide range of water values, we recommend soft to medium hard water, a temperature of 18-28 °C and a pH value of 5.5 to 7.5.

A substrate of rounded gravel or round-grained sand ensures that the sensitive barbels at the mouth remain healthy. Callus catfish need from the size suitable Catfish burrows and a selection of Hiding places. Good structure provided by roots and rocks is important, especially during spawning season. Albino Callus Catfish are gut breathers and need free access to the surface of the aquarium at all times. They can jump and therefore also need a good closing cover.

The large callus catfish are good eaters and therefore have a high basal metabolic rate. The filter must be large and powerful, we recommend a good external filter for an aquarium with a group of Albino Callus Catfish.

Hoplosternum thoracatum "Albino" is an omnivore, but it also likes to nibble on plants with soft leaves . Besides detritus, Hoplosternum thoracatum "Albino" likes to eat soft vegetables and larger live and frozenfoods.

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic main feed is a professional staple feed for all aquarium fish. Main feed we supply in the form of soft granules, which thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free from algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.