Neptun
Tetra von rio settled behind the glass of amateur aquariums in the twenties of the last century. Due to the bright coloration, small size, relatively easy maintenance and breeding of this small fish is loved by more than one generation of aquarists.
Despite the emergence in our latitudes of new species of fish suitable for keeping in the aquarium all representatives of characinov to which belongs and tetra von rio deserve the attention of modern aquarists no less than in the past.
Habitat and species description
Tetra von rio (Hyphessobrycon flammeus, fire tetra) is a native of water bodies located in the vicinity of the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It has a flattened body on the sides, color from silver on the head to brick-red closer to the tail and at the ends of the fins. The edges of the fins are decorated with black edging, which during spawning becomes anthracite. Four vertical stripes are shaded on the body. Females are 4.5 centimeters long and have a rounded abdomen. Males have a more slender, lean body and more modest size, their length is about 3.5 centimeters.
Life expectancy under good keeping conditions is 4-5 years. Females reach sexual maturity by 6-8 months, males by 8-12 months.
Equip the aquarium
To the size of the vessel for keeping tetra von rio is not demanding. 5-10 fish can be kept in a vessel of 20-25 liters. However, it is better to keep them in a 50-liter aquarium. The most spectacular looks flock of 25-40 tails, and it is better to prevail males as they have a brighter coloration.
Of great importance for these fish is the composition of the water. Water should have a hardness of up to 12 degrees, pH 6-7. Temperature 17-18 degrees Celsius in winter and 20-22 degrees Celsius at night. Fish poorly tolerate frequent water changes. It is desirable once a week to replace 10-15 percent of water fresh boiled. Also detrimental to this species is the presence of organic decomposing residues in the ode. Therefore, you should remove the remains of uneaten food after each feeding. Dying plant parts should also be removed from the aquarium regularly.
As a soil you can use medium and coarse sand, fine gravel, small pebbles.
Decorating the aquarium with plants
Any plants with suitable conditions of maintenance are suitable. The rear window can be covered with dense thickets of vallisneria, peristolist, Elodea canadensis. The foreground can be decorated with low-growing echinodorus. A ball of cladophora also looks very pretty surrounded by these fiery beasts.
Tetra von rio is a very peaceful fish. It can be kept with almost any species of commensurate size and equally peaceful. Good neighbors for them will be all kinds of characin fish with commensurate sizes. They will get along with many viviparous – guppies, pecilias sometimes even swordfish.
Feed for Tetra von rio
Feed these fish preferably live feed periodically changing them. Will be eaten with appetite chalky moths, cut trumpet fish, daphnia. Need vegetable additives – white bread, scalded with boiling water, finely chopped lettuce, fine-grained porridge. You can sometimes feed and dry food – dried daphnia, mashed dried gammarus.
More and more often lately hormonal supplements are used to increase the intensity of coloration. It seems to me that the fish is beautiful, bright without artificial increase in color intensity. Especially since any interference in the hormonal background of the body has negative effects.
Breeding Tetra von rio
Sexually mature breeders are taken for breeding. For spawning begin to prepare about a week before spawning. Prepare water by mixing equal volumes of fresh and boiled water. for every ten liters of the resulting solution added twenty drops of peat extract or decoction. Instead of peat extract can be added 5 drops of orthophosphoric acid the result of all these manipulations should be water with a hardness of 4-4.5 degrees and the reaction of the medium 6-6.5.
Males are separated from females also about a week before the expected spawning. It is possible not to arrange them in different vessels, but to separate them with the help of a net or glass. During the week, the temperature of water in the tank with producers gradually rise to 25-26 degrees Celsius.
Tetra von rio Spawning
After all preparatory operations spawners are placed in the spawning tank with the same water temperature as in the vessel in which the fish were. The volume of the spawning tank depends on the method of spawning, which you decided to apply. Tetra von rio can be bred paired (one female – one male), nesting (one female – two, three males) and group (a flock of fish consisting of males and females in approximately equal numbers) method.
An aquarium of 20 -25 liters is sufficient for the paired method. The water level is about fifteen centimeters. For nesting or group methods should be equipped with a spawning aquarium of slightly larger sizes and increase the water level. It should only be borne in mind that the group method of reproduction increases the risk of eating eggs by fish, however, as with spawning in a common aquarium.
The spawning tank should be planted with low-growing small-leaved plants. Some hobbyists use a separator net pinned to the bottom.
Producers are placed in the spawning tank the evening before the anticipated spawning.
Once in the conditions ideally suited for spawning, which are determined by the chemical composition and temperature of the water, females after about 6-12 hours to mark the eggs, which will adhere to plants or separator net, and males fertilize it.
Care of eggs and fry
After this, the producers should be weaned off to avoid eating the eggs.
From that point on, all responsibility for the eggs and fry falls on you.
At a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, the larvae emerge from the eggs after about 24 hours. It is sometimes difficult to spot them, as they hide under plants or net strings. For the first 4-5 days, the babies feed on nutrients from the yolk sac. On the fourth day, most of the larvae will turn into fry, swim. Now they will need to be fed. By this time you should be ready to feed – nauplii cyclops, small plankton, infusoria.
After about a week you can give artemia nauplii, a small amount of white bread, oat flakes, small powdered dry food. Beginning in the second week should gradually reduce the temperature to values normal for adult fish. Reduction should occur within a week and a half to two weeks. As the growth of young fish should be sorted by size, sit in vessels of larger capacity and transfer to larger feed. From about one month of age under normal conditions of maintenance should not be any trouble.
Here is such a wonderful member of the genus Characinidae – tetra von rio.
If you are in contemplation, what fish to get – I advise you to take a closer look at these living lights. I am sure you will love them.
