Habitat in nature
Under natural conditions, these creatures live in the warm waters of shallow rivers, whose bottom is covered with fallen leaves. Tetras' home waters are located in tropical forests, their beds hidden by dense vegetation. The fish try to stay near snags attached to the bottom and live in schools.
Area
This breed of sea creatures inhabits the forests of South America. Various species of this group live in separate places in the Amazon basin. The fish came to Europe in the second half of the 20th century.
Variety of species
As for the diversity of tetra fish, there are a lot of species. They are divided more by appearance than by behavior and temperament. Next are the most popular types with photos.
African
Scientifically, Arnoldichthys spilopterus lives in the Congo. This is an unusual, rainbow fish, shimmering in many bright shades - from purple to yellow. They have an elongated body and large scales.
White
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, artificially bred from the Black Tetra. High body, large, veil fins, transparent color. Undemanding, perfect for a beginning breeder.
Diamond
Moenkhausia pittieri, found in Venezuela. It has an oval, slightly elongated body, yellowish-gray color. A distinctive feature of the breed is its scales, which can reflect and break light into rainbow reflections, like a diamond.
Blue
Alestopetersius smykalai, native to Nigeria. Almost disappeared in nature, its export is prohibited. Color - silver with a blue tint. The body is long, slightly compressed at the sides.
Green stripe
Iguanodectes spilurus, or Tetra Iguana. Found throughout the Amazon. It is large in size - up to 10 cm. A distinctive feature is a green stripe along the body.
Golden
Hemigrammus rodwayi, live in the Amazon, at the crossroads of salt and fresh waters. Famous for their characteristic golden color. At the same time, individuals raised in captivity lose this shade, becoming silver.
Exquisite
Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon bentosi, found in slow-flowing tributaries. Pink body, black markings on fins with white tips.
Colombian
Hyphessobrycon columbianus, lives in the Acandi River on the border between Panama and Colombia. The color is double - blue on the back turns into silver towards the belly.
Royal
Nematobrycon palmeri, native to northwestern Colombia. The coloring of the royal tetra is unusual - its transparent, purple-tinged back is intersected by a black stripe, turning into a dark-colored abdomen. The most popular of the entire group of tetras.
Red
Hyphessobrycon flammeus, found in eastern Brazil. Notable for the bright fiery tint of its scales. If the fish is stressed, the color may fade.
Lemon
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis, native to the Peruvian Amazon. It is distinguished by its lemon color, which is also an indicator of the condition of the individual. If the scales turn pale, the fish is unhealthy.
Blue
Mimagoniates microlepis, lives in southeastern waters of Brazil. They have pale blue scales. During the mating season they are capable of emitting sound signals with their swim bladder.
Tetra
It is also called Ordinary. Scientific name: Prionobrama filigera. It has a diamond-shaped body and an adipose fin behind the dorsal. Lives up to 6 years, lives in schools. Characterized by a calm and peaceful disposition.
Ulreya
Hemigrammus ulreyi, lives in Paraguay. Gray scales, longitudinal stripe of black and yellow color throughout the body.
Schultz
Name - Hyphessobrycon haraldschultzi, family Сharacins, habitat - Araguaia River. It is distinguished by its red hue and dwarf size.
Black (Veil)
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, derived from the Black Tetra. Its peculiarity is its long, voluminous fins, the size of the fish itself. The color of the body and tail is silver, and the dorsal and anal fins are inky black.
Sex differences
Males of this breed are larger than females and are much brighter in color. Males have a black stripe running along the side of the ventral and anal fins. The female's tail is pink.
Character and behavior
Tetra is a calm and peaceful pet. They do not spoil the landscape and algae. This breed lives in flocks, so it is advisable to place at least 7 individuals in the aquarium at once. Lonely individuals become aggressive.
Compatibility with other types
Tetras coexist well with species of similar sizes and the same calm temperament:
- guppy;
- neon;
- catfish;
- discus;
- mollies.
You should not place these species in the same aquarium with them:
- gold fish;
- cichlid;
- barb;
- astronotus.
Larger and more temperamental fish will annoy timid characionids and take away food.
Compatibility
Tetras are fish that are highly compatible with other aquarium inhabitants. But due to their small size, most species are not recommended to be kept together with large predatory neighbors. It is prohibited to introduce cichlids, South American and African.
It is not recommended to keep astronotus and goldfish together with tetras. They don't go well with eels and crabs or shrimp.
Small fish with not very developed territorial instincts can become good neighbors for tetras. This category includes neons, guppies, zebrafish, and Corydoras catfish. Peaceful tetras get along well with cockerels, barbs, and swordtails.
Conditions of detention
Caring for characins is not so difficult if you know a few simple rules and take into account important points.
Choosing an aquarium
When purchasing, you should pay attention to the following points:
- volume - average, from 60 to 100 liters;
- the shape is preferably rectangular;
- soil - dark gravel or sand, with the addition of dry leaves;
- There should be a lot of vegetation: moss, duckweed, fern, elodea.
Characins prefer dim lighting; their color fades from direct rays. The glass tetra requires particularly thick shade to show off its uniqueness.
Water parameters
Now a few words about water:
- characins need clean, settled water without chlorine;
- temperature - about 22-26°C;
- acidity - not higher than 7;
- hardness - no higher than 15;
- The water is changed once a week in a volume of 1/6.
It will be useful to saturate your pets' habitat with tannins.
Necessary equipment
To create suitable conditions you will need special equipment.
These devices are worth purchasing:
- thermostat and thermometer - to prevent temperature changes;
- water filter, preferably peat;
- an aerator that saturates the water with oxygen.
It’s a good idea to set up a small darkened corner for the fish. The entire characidae family tends to hide in its natural habitat.
Scenery
Tetras are undemanding when it comes to decoration. The best design for an aquarium will be floating plants. At the same time, you should not place shells and stones in the aquarium - they can change the balance of minerals, which will lead to stress in its inhabitants. The tank should be installed in a quiet corner, since characins do not tolerate noise or excessive activity around them.
What do tetras look like?
All representatives of the species are characterized by:
- Small size. There are “kids” with a body length of 2.5 cm and 15-centimeter “giants”.
- A narrow long body, shaped like a diamond.
- A rich palette of colors, which is determined by the variety. There are elegantly and modestly colored fish, monochrome and multi-colored. Moreover, it is mainly the males that shine with beauty, but the females have a plain appearance. It is interesting that if living conditions worsen, the beauty and brightness of the tetras’ coloring gradually fades away.
- In good conditions they can live up to 5-6 years.
Feeding and diet
Tetras are not too demanding when it comes to nutrition. They readily eat live food - cyclops, bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, tubifex, and do not refuse dry granulated food. The fish's diet should be varied, rich in additives - vegetable, egg yolks, as well as finely crushed oatmeal. Feeding occurs twice a day - morning and evening.
Feeding the fry
In the first days of feeding, the fry are given a slipper ciliate and hard-boiled egg yolk. Two-week-old young animals are transferred to live food - cyclops, rotifers, echintraeus, artemia nauplii, while continuing to produce yolk. At first, feeding is done every 3-4 hours, then the interval is increased to 6-7 times a day.
What to feed and with whom is it compatible in the aquarium?
Any type of dry or frozen food is suitable; it should be fed in addition to the main diet with herbal supplements and crushed oatmeal. Without additional plant nutrition, it may begin to eat the edges of algae.
The most common food is TetraMin flakes, which contain a large amount of prebiotics, essential substances for long life of fish, and stay on the surface of the water for a long time. Tetras have a good appetite, it is important not to overfeed or overeat.
Compatible with all non-aggressive colorful fish of the same or almost the same size type: Danios, Swordtails, Guppies, Platies, Norman's Blueeyes, Cardinals, Mollies, Neons, Acantophthalmus, Catfish, aquarium shrimp.
Major diseases
Under favorable conditions, tetras rarely get sick. They are mainly susceptible to typical diseases of tropical breeds.
Diseases associated with unfavorable environment:
- alkalosis and acidosis, pH shock - occur due to inappropriate pH values;
- osmotic stress and shock - from changes in the mineral composition of water;
- poisoning - may occur due to harmful substances entering the tank;
- new aquarium syndrome - if the balance of minerals in the aquarium is not stable.
All these diseases have similar symptoms - anxiety, changes in color and behavior, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite. There is only one treatment - to normalize the balance of minerals in the aquarium as quickly as possible.
Characins are also susceptible to infectious diseases:
- dropsy;
- bulging eyes;
- fin rot - treated with medicine based on phenoxyethanol;
- mouth rot (fungus) - treatment is the same;
- tuberculosis;
- ulcers - they are treated with the same phenoxyethanol.
If symptoms of the disease appear - loss of appetite, strange behavior, marks and formations on the body - you should immediately isolate the sick individual and consult a specialist.
Reproduction
Characins reach sexual maturity at the age of 6 months. In aquarium conditions, young animals can appear in large schools every month. This breed has high fertility, but cannot boast of a developed parental instinct.
Creating suitable conditions
Strong and healthy individuals selected for spawning are placed in a special tank, while males and females are separated. The fish are fed live food for about 10 days.
The parameters of the spawning aquarium are observed as follows: temperature 26-27 ° C, hardness not higher than 4, acidity - 6.7. The bottom is covered with a nylon mesh (permeable to eggs), or Java moss, and a washcloth and plants with small leaves are placed there.
Spawning and raising fry
The signal for the start of spawning is a decrease in acidity and an increase in temperature and pressure in the tank. To do this, water is mixed with distilled water and enriched with peat extract. Females and males are released, and, after a couple of days, mating games begin. A female tetra lays up to 300 eggs during one spawning. After the spawning is over, the fish are removed from the tank, as they may eat their own eggs. The water in the spawning tank is changed almost completely. After a few hours, unfertilized eggs acquire a whitish-cloudy hue and should be removed immediately.
The young hatch on average after five days. The fry do not tolerate bright light, so the walls of the tank should be darkened. The temperature is maintained at 24-26 degrees. Aeration is not recommended. The juveniles are fed live dust and plankton. The spawning tank should be kept perfectly clean to prevent rot and infection.
How to increase the survival rate of fry
The fry are quite independent, but they need good conditions. It is useful to add trypaflavin to water. High-quality, rapid growth and survival are facilitated by dim, diffused lighting directed from above. Do not forget about oxygenation and frequent filtration, removing uneaten food and dead larvae. Over the course of two weeks, the fry gradually become accustomed to the parameters of the environment that are comfortable for adults.
Results
Thus, final conclusions can be drawn about this breed of the characin family. The tetra is a small, brightly colored fish that comes in many unique varieties. She has a peaceful character, lives in flocks, is unpretentious in maintenance and is quite easy to breed. The tetra will make a wonderful pet and will give its owner many pleasant moments of contemplation, filled with peace and tranquility.
Source: Aquarium fish tetra: varieties with photos, features of keeping and breeding
Peculiarities
Under natural conditions, this fish lives in the rivers of South America. She prefers places with warm water, with a bottom covered with fallen leaves, with thickets of aquatic plants, the presence of roots and snags where she could hide. All this must be taken into account when keeping these attractive aquarium fish.
In nature, fish tend to live in schools. It is very rare to see a single individual. It is not recommended to keep them alone in a home aquarium, otherwise they become aggressive and do not allow anyone into their territory. It is necessary to stock approximately 10 fish of this species.
There are several varieties of these fish. They have a long, diamond-shaped body and a variety of colors. Males are distinguished by their beauty, females are more modest in color. As living conditions deteriorate, the color fades. Body length ranges from 2 to 15 cm, depending on the variety. Life expectancy is five, six years. Tetras are often owned by both beginners and experienced hobbyists. This is explained by the following qualities:
- unpretentiousness to food;
- good adaptation;
- calm, peaceful character.
All types of fish have the following properties:
- small size;
- narrow body;
- various colors.
Tetra, photos of which can be seen in various photographs below, attracts the attention of many aquarium enthusiasts.
