Pineapple or creeper fish: photo, description, keeping in the aquarium

In modern aquariums you can rarely find the Pineapple creeper. This representative of the suborder of labyrinth fish cannot boast of a bright, memorable color. It attracts attention with its curious habits, which ensure its relevance and popularity among many experienced aquarists.

• 1 Description and natural habitat
• 2 Mr. Tail Recommends: Basics of Aquarium Keeping
• 3 Compatibility
• 4 Feeding
• 5 Breeding
• 6 Diseases and prevention
• 7 Interesting facts

Description and natural habitat

Anabas has a large head, reddish eyes, and a large mouth. The body has well-developed cartilaginous external swimming organs with spines. The fish is protected by fairly large scales. There are transverse lines (8-10 pieces) on the sides of the body. The belly is yellowish, the back is dark, the fins are orange or red. The color of the Pineapple can be brown, gray-green or gray-brown. Quite rarely - orange.

Females are larger than males. The Crawler Fish has a special epibranchial organ (labyrinth), which serves for breathing (up to 6-8 hours) atmospheric air. Pineapple can live for two days in an unfavorable environment when drought occurs. Under normal conditions, the life span of fish is 5 years.

Photo gallery of Anabasov:

It is helped to climb trees and change habitat (crawl up to 500 m) by strong fins and gill covers covered with small scales. They have sharp spine-like processes. When moving, the crawler throws its body forward by pushing with its strong tail. During drought, a small fish can go deep into the mud, make a cocoon out of it to retain moisture, and wait for its habitat to improve.

Prefers to live in slightly brackish or fresh water with or without slow currents. The bottom should be muddy.

Suitable places for slider fish are:

• ditches;
• rice fields;
• small lakes;
• shallow ponds;
• drying up rivers.

There are two types of Anabass - giant (the body is elongated by 25-30 cm) and ordinary (the body length is 20-25 cm in nature and up to 16 cm in an artificial reservoir). The first species is often found in the hot territory of India, and the second - in Southeast Asia. The Creeper's habitat is China, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and a number of islands in Indonesia.

Shy Anabass become more active in the evening and at night. As predators, they can be aggressive, especially when the water temperature rises. Joint keeping is possible only with species of similar size.

Aquarium fish: how to make the right choice

People who decide to have aquarium fish are faced with a rather difficult question - what kind of pet to choose. If you search well, you will find that you will have to choose from almost 2,000 species of a wide variety of freshwater fish. On this page we have tried to collect all the necessary information about the aquarium fish - the Anabass. If you have never had an aquarium before, you don’t need to choose based on the principle of a beautiful fish and an ugly fish. It is necessary to take into account a lot of variables: what kind of food it prefers, the temperature and composition of the water, whether it is a predator or not, whether it is dangerous for humans, whether it gets along with other species, and many other interesting things. If we classify conditionally, we can distinguish two large groups of fish:

• Easy-to-care fish, not at all demanding of environmental conditions, can survive even in unfavorable situations. They have high endurance by nature, because they live in places where water constantly changes its characteristics or even disappears for a while. However, for health and beautiful appearance, such fish need to be provided with conditions as similar as possible to their natural habitat.
• Difficult to care for fish, most of them belong to tropical latitudes. For them, you need to create special conditions in the aquarium, again as similar as possible to the area where they live in nature. These species rarely breed in captivity, so they are brought from the wild.

For a novice fish breeder, it is better to choose one of the most unpretentious species. In addition to the prospect of not being able to cope with caring for a “capricious” fish, there is a danger of introducing an exotic disease that can harm the rest of the flora and fauna of the aquarium. If you like the aquarium fish Pineapple, carefully read the characteristics, character, feeding, care and breeding of these fish.

Mr. Tail Recommends: Aquarium Basics

In a large container (100-500 or more liters) there should be 10-15 cm between the water horizon and the lid. To recreate low-light conditions, driftwood, branches, stones, algae or roots are placed at the bottom, and a layer of floating vegetation is also made.

Description of water characteristics:

• pH - 6.8-8.0;
• temperature - +23...+26 °C;
• hardness - 20 °dH.

The filter is selected so that it does not create significant water movement. Weekly fluid replacement is 15–20%. Aeration is not necessary. The soil - dark sand or pebbles - is cleaned with a siphon every 7-10 days.

Compatibility

Anabassoid specimens can be kept in a species aquarium, that is, in pairs. These are active and extremely shy, uncooperative fish. Neighborhood with large cichlids is allowed. They eat slow and small inhabitants. During the day they prefer to hide in shelters. The pugnacious nature does not favor keeping in packs. Unlike adults, young individuals quickly get used to their new habitat.

You can try to accustom a group of Anabas to each other. To do this, more fry are placed in a large tank. Sometimes it is possible to raise individuals that are quite good with their fellows.

Just do not forget that the aquarium must be covered with thick glass. The slider jumps well, pushing off the bottom with its powerful tail.

Unusual Survival Abilities

The slider fish is perfectly adapted to the climatic conditions prevailing in its homeland. Individuals are always ready for the complete or partial drying out of a reservoir during the dry season. It is in this case that they use their rare survival skills, perfected over thousands of years of evolution.

If a lake or river dries out slowly, the climbing perch may burrow deep into the mud, expecting the water to return soon. Individuals create a durable cocoon for themselves that can retain moisture inside for a long time. But if the water level goes down at a tremendous speed, the fish’s inner instinct strongly recommends changing its habitat.

A specific epibranchial organ, called the labyrinth organ, serves the climbing perch for breathing clean air. Thanks to him, the creeper can remain without water for up to several days . Using their developed fins, individuals often crawl ashore and can even climb trees. In this they are helped by miniature spines on the gill plates, which promote enhanced adhesion to any surface. The only reason is to find a habitat suitable for relocation. It is in this way that mass resettlement is carried out to new reservoirs from drying up ones.

The slider fish is able to move on land thanks to its spiny fins.

Feeding

The main diet of these representatives of labyrinth fish is:

• fry;
• worms;
• tadpoles;
• insects, larvae, caterpillars (when moving on land).

Pineapple fish eat large live or frozen food, for example, shellfish, earthworms, and shredded raw beef. To avoid parasite infestation, a Methylene blue solution is used to treat food that is served once a day. The crawler accepts dry foods well. Plant nutrition is usually represented by greens and spirulina.

Professional help in caring for fish

To get comprehensive information or ask a question about breeding or caring for fish, contact. Our experienced consultants will provide you with the assistance you need and advise you on the best solution for your situation. We are also ready to offer individual production of premium aquariums and a full range of care services.

Come to our store at Moscow, st. Ibragimova, 5A, call (495) 506–05–48, 366-74-56 or write by email, We are always glad to see you!

Breeding

Water is poured into a separate aquarium (from 200 l) to a level of 30 cm. The liquid, which should be changed frequently, should have the following characteristics:

• hardness - up to 10 °F;
• acidity - 6.5–7.5.

During the entire spawning period, which takes place near the ground or in the middle layer of water, the female lays 3500-5000 eggs (about 200 in one approach). They float to the surface and after a day at a temperature of +24 °C fry appear. The next day they are able to swim and feed on live dust, rotifers, and a little later on artemia. At 1.5 years, Anabas becomes a sexually mature fish.

Diseases and prevention

The Crawler Fish gets sick extremely rarely, so for prevention it is enough to provide suitable living conditions. An individual affected by the disease is removed from the aquarium in a container (plastic or glass) and treated in a separate container. There are:

• Columnaria is an infection that occurs due to overcrowding of an aquarium. The body of the individual with its fins pressed is covered with a cotton-like coating. Behavior becomes lethargic, and movements are jerky or may be completely absent. Daily fluid changes, slowly reducing its hardness by adding melted or boiled water, as well as using Methylene blue or Phenoxyethanol are measures that can solve the problem.
• Papillomatosis is a virus that causes small tumors on the body. There is no treatment. Sometimes individuals recover on their own, but, as a rule, they are culled.
• Tuberculosis (mycobacteriosis) is accompanied by fading of color, lack of appetite, and lethargy in behavior. At an early stage, antibiotics mixed with food help.
• Ichthyophthiriasis reveals itself as white dots on the body of the fish. She stops eating and becomes restless. For treatment, malachite greens or quinine hydrochloride are used with increasing water temperature.

Is it worth getting a Pineapple? Recommendations when buying fish for the first time

• Dimensions and shape of the aquarium . You need to decide what size aquarium you can place at home. Also, when choosing a place, you need to take into account the needs of future pets: water temperature, lighting and other nuances. In the pet store, the fish are often still babies who will grow up, and perhaps they will be cramped.
• Fish sizes . The law of nature - the strong eats the weak - also applies to the inhabitants of the water kingdom. Even if the fish is not a predator, but larger in size, it can swallow babies. Smaller fish will always hide and get scared, sometimes refuse food when a much larger fish is nearby.
• Character and habits of fish . You need to find out in advance what your pet's temperament is. After all, fish have their own kingdom, where they can sometimes jealously defend their territory, show excessive activity or aggressiveness if they are predators. When choosing different species, you should make sure that they get along well with each other.
• Relationship within a species . Several males of the same species can get along well, without any conflicts, while others, on the contrary, will not be able to calm down until they survive their competitor. This applies to fighting fish, as well as some species of cichlids. Some breeds live exclusively in a pack, but alone they can simply die.
• How to feed properly . Find out what the fish you like prefers to eat. Some people like to eat dry food, while carnivores only serve meat or even live food. You need to decide whether you will have the opportunity to constantly buy worms, live bloodworms, larvae and other living creatures. And this “food” will need to be stored in the refrigerator, next to your food.
• Correct conditions for keeping . Each fish, including persimmon, requires an individual approach, so these nuances need to be clarified in advance. There are species that are really difficult to maintain, both in terms of time and finances. This species includes Discus. And many people know Guppies, they are not picky at all and do not require special care. Separate requirements for water, because different breeds of fish live in different water: temperature, hardness, salinity. Selected pets can eat the same food and get along well together, but one requires warm water, and the other cooler. As a result, it turns out that the species are not compatible after all.
• How and where to buy Pineapple . Carefully choose the place where you want to buy the climbing rope. If this is a pet store, pay attention to the conditions in the premises, how the staff cares for the fish, and evaluate the reputation of the establishment. This will allow you to create an overall impression of the seller and decide whether something is worth buying from this place.

Interesting Facts

Pineapple is one of the first tropical species to arrive in Europe. In Asia, this is a commercial fish - it has tasty meat. In nature, a 10-25 meter individual can cover a hundred meter distance in an hour. Buried in wet silt, the creeper can survive for 48 hours. Anabas in short translation from Greek means “ascent” - the word appears in the work of Xenophon and sounds like Anabasis.

The fish received the English name “Dart frog” due to the legend that individuals of this species climb trees to drink their sap. In fact, Anabas often ended up on tree trunks because it was brought there by birds, who really loved to feast on this fish.

Story

In 1792, the persimmon was described and systematized by the German naturalist and ichthyologist M.E. A flea called Anabas testudineus. The fish belongs to the creeping family, the genus Anabass, which includes 2 species (Anabas testudineus and Anabas cobojius). In Europe, the Anabass appeared in the exhibition of the London Zoological Park in 1870. The creeper fish arrived in the USSR only in 1960. In some countries, there are fish farms that breed Anabas not only for sale in aquariums, but also for tasty meat.