Tetras

By Steve Challis

This book gives advice on keeping and breeding 36 species of tetra. It is based on the author's over 50 years experience in keeping fish and the things he has learned in over 20 years of running an aquarium shop.
The Tetras in the book are the:
Adonis Tetra,
African Long-Finned Tetra,
Black Phantom Tetra,
Black Neon Tetra,
Black Widow Tetra,
Blind Cave Tetra,
Buck Tooth Tetra,
Buenos Aires Tetra,
Cardinal Tetra,
Colombian Tetra,
Congo Tetra,
Costello Tetra
Diamond Tetra,
Emperor Tetra,
Flame Tetra,
Glass Bloodfin Tetra,
Glowlight Tetra,
Gold Tetra,
Green Neon Tetra,
Head and Tail Light Tetra,
January Tetra,
Lemon Tetra,
Minor Tetra,
Neon Tetra,
Paraguay Tetra,
Penguin Tetra,
Pristella Tetra,
Red Eye Tetra,
Red Phantom Tetra,
Rosy Tetra,
Rummynose Tetra,
Serpae Tetra,
Silver Tetra,
Silvertip Tetra,
Splashing Tetra,
Vampire Tetra and the
Yellow Tail Tetra

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Challis
• Release date: Jan 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301078493

Steve Challis

I was born in 1951 in Aldridge in England, and migrated to Australia in 1964. I was a research technician at the Waite Agricultural Research institute of the University of Adelaide for 17 years. After that, my wife and I founded an aquarium and animal feed shop called Betta Trading in the Adelaide Hills town of Littlehampton, and we have now run it for over 20 years. I have written a number of science fiction books and some animal books. I am in the process of publishing on Smashwords my own books as well as some written by my Father, Richard F. Challis, and our cat, Luna Challis

Book preview

The Adonis Tetra, "Lepidarchus adonis, is sometimes called the Jellybean Tetra or the Adonis Characin". Occasionally it is called the African Tetra; this is not very descriptive because there are quite a few tetras from Africa.

It comes from the western coast of Africa from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Côte d'Ivoire. It is native to the Pra River and the Tano and Volta river basins as well as to some small streams in the same area.

Size

The Adonis Tetra can reach just over 2 centimetres (nearly an inch) long so it is a very small fish; it is one of the smallest fish normally kept in aquariums.

Water Conditions

The Adonis Tetra is generally considered to be an acid loving fish with a preferred pH of between 5.8 and 6.5. However some of the rivers it comes from have a somewhat higher pH and this suggests the possibility that this fish could be acclimatized slowly to a pH nearer 7.

This fish comes from the tropics and needs to be kept in a tropical tank with adequate heating. A temperature of between 22 and 26 degrees C (between 72 and 79 degrees F) is recommended.

The water should be very soft.

Not a Beginners Fish

This is a fish only suitable for experienced aquarists.

Food

The ideal food in an aquarium is very small live food like newly hatched Brine shrimp and screened Daphnia. Mosquito larvae are also a good food, especially if they are small. Fine dry food, including dry fry food can be used as part of the diet.

Companions

The Adonis Tetra in not a community fish in the normal sense. It is a peaceful schooling fish, and a minimum of 6 is suggested. It can be put with other very small fish that also like very soft acid water. The obvious companions are some of the smaller and more peaceful South American tetras like the Neon Tetra and its relatives. The smallest species of Rasboras would also fit in well. White Cloud Mountain Minnows could also be in the aquarium. The conditions needed for the Adonis Tetra are not ideal for the White Clouds, but the White Clouds are very adaptable fish and should be all right.

Peaceful bottom feeders like the Bronze Catfish would also be suitable companions.

Sexing

The anal fin of the males tends to be rounded while that of the females is more pointed.

Breeding

The water conditions are critical for successfully breeding this species. The water needs to be very soft, preferably well below 2Gh. It should also be acidic. A pH of 6 is suitable. The breeding tank should be dimly lit. If the water conditions are right, this fish is an easy one to breed.

Only about 20-30 eggs are produced per female. After spawning, the parents are removed and the tank darkened.

With luck the eggs will hatch in about 36 hours and the babies should be free swimming in a week.

Raising the Fry

The Baby Adonis Tetras are very small. They will need infusoria for quite a while before they can graduate to larger food.

Conservation Status

The IUCN list shows the Adonis tetra as being Vulnerable.

Indications based on commercial availability suggest that this species is not currently rare. However there is cause for concern. The Adonis Tetra is very sensitive to water conditions and the rivers it comes from are subject to severe and increasing pollution. This pollution is caused both by the rapidly increasing Human population of the area the fish comes from and by industrial and mining pollution including by Mercury because of the extraction of Gold from places along the Pra River.

Common Names in Other Languages

Lepidarchus adonis is called the Adonistetra in Finland and Demark, the Adonissalmler in Germany, and in Mandarin Chinese the preferred name is 亚东雅非洲脂鲤. An alternative common name in Mandarin is 亞東雅非洲脂鯉.

African Long-Finned Tetra

The African Long-Finned Tetra, "Brycinus longipinnis", comes from the Atlantic coastal region of Africa from Angola to Senegal.

Alternative Common Names

Other common names are African Longfin Tetra, African Tetra, African Tetras, Long Finned Characin, African Longfin, and Silversides.

As well as the names that are reasonably specific to the species, it is sometimes referred to by more general names like Characin, Long-Finned Characin, Long-Fin Tetra and Longfin Tetra.

Habitat

As well as coming from a large area in Africa, the African Long-Finned Tetra comes from a wide range of habitats. It will live in the big rivers, including the mighty Congo River, but also inhabits the tributaries and even the very small streams leading to these tributaries. In addition it will live in the estuaries of the rivers, including water with some mix of sea water with the very fresh water of these rivers.

Many of the rivers it lives in have acidic tea coloured water stained from the tannins from the vegetation of the forests.

Size

The African Long-Finned Tetra will grow to at least 5 inches (12.5 cm) long although most of the ones we see are smaller than this.

The populations from the small streams are smaller fish than those in the big rivers.

Food

The African Long-Finned Tetra is a large and active fish and needs quite a lot of food to maintain its lifestyle. It is an omnivore with a preference for high protein animal food like Mosquito larvae, Daphnia, live or frozen Blood Worms, live or frozen Brine Shrimp etc. They will also eat fish flakes and pellets readily.

The high requirements for food of this fish carry the potential for polluting the water.

The African Long-Finned Tetra swims mainly in mid water, but feeds both on the surface and in mid water. If necessary it will eat from the bottom of the aquarium, but does not do this for preference.

The African Long-Finned Tetra can tolerate a wide range of conditions in an aquarium just as they do in the wild. The ideal water may be soft and moderately acidic, but they will adapt to water of pH between 6 and 8. Moderate levels of hardness also do not seem to worry this versatile fish.

Some people use peat filtration to try to mimic the tannin stained water of some of the rivers this fish comes from, but this does not appear to be necessary.

The ideal temperature range is from 22-26 degrees F (71-79 degrees F) although it will certainly tolerate variation from this range, and in the wild, some of the rivers they come from definitely get hotter than 26 degrees C.

This fish requires well oxygenated water and is intolerant of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. A good filtration system is recommended, and it is better if a current be maintained in the aquarium.

The African Long-Finned Tetra is a bigger fish than most tetras as well as being very active. Therefore it needs a big aquarium, preferably at least a 48 inch (120 cm) one. It needs plenty of swimming room. But some plants are also beneficial to provide the fish with the illusion of security.

Companions

The African Long-Finned Tetra is a schooling fish and I suggest that at least 5 be kept together. It is a very peaceful fish as well as being big and fast enough to be able to look after itself. I would not recommend it as a companion for the smallest tetras like Neon and Cardinal Tetras, and I have never tried it with slow moving long finned fish like Siamese Fighting Fish and Guppies, but there is a very wide range of fish that would be suitable companions for a school of these beauties.

Although the African Long-Finned Tetra does not seem to harass the other fish, it is a very ready eater and there is a danger that the other fish in the tank will not get enough food.

Availability

Nearly all the African Long-Finned Tetras offered for sale are caught in the wild. It is not one of the more common fish and is more expensive than most of the commercially bred tetras. As a very rough guide you can expect to pay about 4 times as much for this fish as for most tetras. However, it also tends to be bigger when sold than most tetras.

Sexing

The sexes of the African Long-Finned Tetra are easy to distinguish. To me the most obvious difference is in the dorsal fin. In the males it is longer and more pointed while in females it is shorter and rounded. The males grow a little bigger than the females, and the body of the males tends to be deeper than that of the females. The anal fin of the male tends to be convex and edged in white while that of the females to be straight or concave.

Breeding in the Wild

Some observations suggest that in the wild an African Long-Finned Tetra school may breed over an extended period, laying a few eggs each day over plants. It is a reasonable guess that this versatile fish has several different breeding strategies in the wild adapted to the wide range of habitats it lives in.

Breeding in an Aquarium

The African Long-Finned Tetra