Tetras
Breeding Tetras
Tetras are a group of mainly quite small, schooling fishes which originate from Southern and central America and Africa. In general tetras swim in the middle levels of the aquarium, but will come to the top to feed.
Tetras are egg scatterers that do not tend their eggs or fry and so a separate spawning/fry tank is needed. Spawning occurs usually between pairs, although some species spawn in schools.
In most species there a few differences in appearance between males and females, however, when in spawning conditions, females will be noticeably plumper than males. To bring the adults into breeding condition, plenty of frozen foods should be included in the diet, and the water should be kept fairly soft, slightly acid and with blackwater extract added. Some species will spawn even in quite hard, alkaline water, but survival of fry in these conditions is usually very low.
The breeding tank should be dimly lit, with the water conditions outlined above and at a temperature of 26°C. Fine leaved plants or an artificial spawning mop should be used to collect the eggs. A bare bottom is recommended so that the tank can be kept very clean.
After spawning the parents should be removed. Depending on the species, the eggs take between 1 and 3 days to hatch. Very fine live foods, e.g. infusoria, are usually needed to raise the fry. Frequent feeding is important, as are daily water changes to keep water quality high.
Tetra Care:
Most species will adapt to a range of water conditions so long as the water is clean and well aerated. Extremely high pH (e.g. over 7.6, or 8 for hardy species) and very hard water should be avoided.
Most tetras will fade in color if they are stressed or uncomfortable with their surroundings. (But note that many lose all their color at night, which is not a cause for alarm).
They are schooling fish and will not be happy unless kept in a group of at least four of their own species.
Large fish such as Gouramis, Angelfish and Silver dollars should be avoided: even quite passive fish will eat other fish if they can fit them in their mouths!
Larger tetra species such as buenos aires tetras, congo tetras, serpaes and others can be mixed with quite large tank mates.
Tetra Related Articles:
Cardinal Tetra: Cardinal Tetra Millions of cardinals are caught wild and exported from Brazil every year.
The Neon Tetra was the first wild-caught fish that really set the tropical fish hobby into a dither, and contributed much to establishing the "tropical" fish hobby.
The Bleeding Heart Tetra: is a hardy, peaceful, schooling species that should be kept in groups of six or more. It does extremely well when kept with other peaceful fishes, such as Megalamphodus, Corydoras and Nannostomus species.