Blackstoms fish is the common name for members of the armored fish family of catfish, and it includes 92 genera and more than 680 species, only a few of which are common in the pet hobby.
With their mouths that they use to suck themselves up between rocks, wood, or the sides of your aquarium, adult Blackstoms are 3 inches to 2 feet in size, and the average life expectancy of the fish is 10 to 15 years.
Colors and Markings of Blackstoms Fish
Blackstoms are known for their shield-like bony scales or plates.
These dense scales may have additional ridges that give the fish a spiky appearance. Blackstoms are mainly brown with dark spots or stripes.
This is excellent camouflage. Making them difficult to see in densely populated aquaria, blackstoms fish are so
named because of their specialized mouth cavity, jagged mouthparts specifically for grinding plant matter and evolved to allow the fish to breathe while remaining sucking on a flat surface.
The armored fish family has a unique feature in their eyes that allows them to see well in many different aquatic environments.
Instead of the traditional iris, they have an omega iris, which is a dorsal fold of the iris that extends into the anterior chamber of the eye. By moving this up and down, they control the amount of light they see in.
It enters their eyes giving them excellent vision in both brighter and darker waters.
Blackstoms fish tankmates:
Being mainly herbivorous and peaceful fish, Blackstoms get along well with many other fish in the community, and even when they reach a maximum size of about a
foot or two they will leave the other fish in the tank on their own, and some good tank companions include smaller fish such as platy fish Or neon tetras, or large
tropical fish like rainbow fish or Congo tetras, you can add several species of loricaris to one tank, but keep in mind how many gallons each fish will need.
Blackstoms and their many cousins are not well suited to outdoor tanks.
These fish require a smaller range of water temperatures than most tanks can provide.
If the tank is heated year-round as long as you keep the temperature in check, you may consider moving the larger Blackstoms to a Your pond.
Blackstoms fish and diet
Although Blackstoms are herbivores like all other fish, they need a good diet and cannot survive on the algae in your tank alone.
Many herbivorous fish pellets are available in a flat disc shape that is ideal for Blackstoms.
Good on a mixture of herbivorous and carnivorous foods such as a variety of commercially available tropical fish diets.
Supplementing with vegetables is a fun task when keeping Blackstoms, and there are a variety of fresh vegetables you can
add to your tank to benefit all your fish, not just Blackstoms. Again, this should not be the bulk of their diet, it should be an occasional supplement.
Difference between the sexes of blackstoms fish
Unlike other species of blackstoms, they do not have any distinct external features to identify males versus females.
As with many other species of fish, females of blackstoms tend to have larger, rounder bellies, while males tend to be slender.
However, it can be difficult to identify without two fish of similar age and care, and the undernourished or diseased female easily resembles the male.
Blackstoms fish breeding
Once you have a male and female in the same system, Blackstoms fish like to breed on smooth rocks and holes in your substrate.
This often happens in a quiet corner of the aquarium that is not easily accessible.
The females lay eggs and the males fertilize the eggs externally inside the new nest.
The male will remain to guard the nest until the fry hatch.