Myxocyprinus asiaticus - Chinese Sailfin Sucker | Tropical Fish

Myxocyprinus asiaticus - Chinese Sailfin Sucker

Magyarul / Hungarian

Myxocyprinus asiaticus - Chinese Sailfin Sucker

Scientific name: Myxocyprinus asiaticus
Synonyms: Carpiodes asiaticus (Bleeker, 1864), Myxocyprinus asiaticus asiaticus (Bleeker, 1864)
Common name: Chinese Sailfin Sucker
Group: Cyprinids
Distribution: Asia; North China
Size: 60 cm
Biotope: Endemic to upper and middle sections of the Yangtze River system in China including its major tributary the Min River. Juveniles usually found in slow-flowing, shallow water with rocky substrates, while larger specimens rather found in deeper areas.
Social behavior: Not an aggressive fish and can be maintained alongside other large tankmates in a very large aquarium. They live in shoals in the nature.
Diet: They feed on insects, crustaceans, small molluscs, and algae in nature. In the aquarium, they will eat all kinds of live and frozen foods along with good quality dried foods, but they also require some vegetable matter.
Breeding: Not possibble in aquarium
Tank: Minimum 2000 litres
Population: 1 fish for 2000 litres
Decoration: They require a very large aquarium with a lot of swimming space, and robust filtration. Choose hardy plants to decorate their aquarium, which can be planted in flower pots. The substrate should be small gravel, with some larger rocks.
Temperature: 15-28 °C
pH: 6.0-8.0
Hardness: 2.0-20.0 dGH
Lifespan: 20-25 years

Description: Usually young specimens can be found in the ornamental fish trade, which can be characterized by high and triangular dorsal finnage that extends up to the rear of the anal fin, and their body have pinkish-white base colour with thick vertical black banding. The shape of this fish changes and the patternation becomes more dull as the fish matures, an adult fish will be long and rounded with a short dorsal fin and be black-brown in color. Only the attractive juvenile form traded, and almost always without any information regarding adult size or potential lifespan. In China this fish is often kept in fenced areas under the stilted river houses as a food fish. It is known to be threatened across its natural range due to construction of dams impeding its migratory paths, pollution and overfishing. It features in the China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals in which it's currently included as a 'second class state protected' animal, and the population from the Min may already have disappeared. In the naure Myxocyprinus asiaticus can attain a maximum length of 90-130 cm and a weight of about 40 kg. They also grow fast, it typically reaches a length of about 20 cm in its first year and 50 cm by an age of three. Try to maintain their water temperature values between 15.5 and 21 °C for long-term care since there exist numerous reports of this fish developing fungal problems in aquaria which may be related to excessively high temperatures. It is currently illegal to import or own privately in several countries.

Juvenile fish are almost impossible to sex by external characteristics, but adult males develop intense red coloration on the flanks when in breeding condition, while females are plainer.

Breeding is not possible in the home aquarium, although the young fish available in the aquarium trade are produced and reared artificially via the use of hormones. In the nature they reach sexual maturity at around 6 years of age and undertake annual migrations into faster-flowing, shallow tributary streams to spawn between the months of February-April, moving back into the main river channels in the autumn. They are very prolific, the female can lay up to 50000 eggs, which are guarded by the male.

Sources:
https://www.fishbase.se/summary/12304
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/myxocyprinus-asiaticus
http://theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/Myxocyprinus_asiaticus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_high-fin_banded_shark