Keeping Sturisoma

Richie Hell · Post by **Richie Hell** » 11 Nov 2007, 06:26

I'm planning on getting some Sturisoma this week for my 450 litre tank, shop labels them as Sturisoma Aureum.

There's not a lot of information out there about them, and though I've read they are best kept in groups, I've not been able to find any information on what the best number to keep is, and how many would be considered the minimum?

Help much appreciated, cheers.

Bas Pels · Post by **Bas Pels** » 11 Nov 2007, 08:42

I have a group of 3, and they produce eggs very regularly, so they must be quite OK.

Now they are in a tank with, to me, a lot of watermovement, it contains gross 300 liters and I pump 2500 hourly. However, I used to have them in a 1200 l tank, pumping only 3500 l hourly

In then tank they grew from 12 cm to 20, but I hardly saw them and can not say anything about laying eggs

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 11 Nov 2007, 10:26

You don't have to keep them in groups, but I think you will get more out of them if you do, i.e. breeding.

I think they are pretty adaptable to pH/hardness, provided you avoid extremes.

As for food, they will do best on lots of veg (kale, broad beans, courgette etc) combined with algae wafers and spirulina or regular tropical flake.

Decorate the tank with sand and lots of long branches for them to rest upon.

As Bas Pels says, they enjoy current but I don't think you need to go extremes, just a decent circulation.

Richie Hell · Post by **Richie Hell** » 11 Nov 2007, 16:30

Thanks for the help!

I'd say my set up can meet their needs. I'll probably get two or three, depending on how many are in stock and what the price is.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 11 Nov 2007, 16:51

I agree with everything except an emphasis on vegetarian diet. I have only kept and bred wild caught Sturisoma and when given a choice between vegetable based or animal based foods they prefer the live and fresh frozen worms, invertebrates or animal based prepared foods.

They are more fun when kept in groups but lone specimens do fine.
How many to keep depends on whether you plan to breed them and whether they are tank raised or wild caught. Wild caught imported Sturisoma have skewed sex ratios favoring males. Their reluctance to leave a nest possibly explains why the wild caught groups are weighted toward more males than females.
If they are tank raised six specimens will likely produce at least one pair.
With wild caught fish, it may take twice as many unless you can sex them. When males aren't sporting beards and they are all still thin from undergoing the collection and distribution system, it is not so easy to sex them.