| Common Name | Buenos Aires Tetra
|
| Species/genus | Hemigrammus caudovittatus
|
| Keeping | These beautiful fish are quite hardy.
This is a good beginner's fish. Buenos aires are schooling fish and
better kept in groups of 6 or more. They are egg scatterers and easy to breed.
The female has a more rounded stomach. The male will have brighter coloured fins.
They take all dried foods but diet should be supplemented with vegtable matter such
as zucchini, lettuce etc., and live food for best results. They are not particular
about water pH and dH. For best results keep
the water slightly soft. These are semi aggressive fish and have to be kept with
other fast swimmers which can escape their fin nipping habits. They also tend to
fight and chase among themselves. They will eat live plants so keep only tough ones
such as amazon swords and java ferns.
|
| Breeding | They are fairly easy to breed.
You need a 10G long tank. Condition the male and female by introducing them into
the breeding tank with a glass partition. Water can be neutral to soft. Breeding tank
should have plants. Feed them well with live foods for three or four days. Then one
morning before dawn remove the partition, spawning takes place with in a day. Female
scatters the eggs among the plants. Spawning may last a few hours, after which
remove the male and female from the breeding tank.
The fry hatch after a couple of days and tiny fry need Infusoria or liquid fry
food. After two weeks they can take freshly hatched brine shrimps. Filtration is
not required during the first two weeks, but water must be changed partly using
the small air tube as hose with a nylon mesh net at the end.
|
| Origin | Temp | Water | Temper
| Size | Tank | Food | Breeding
|
| S.America | 73-86 °F | Soft to Neutral
| Semi Aggressive, Community | 2-3 inch | 30 Gallon
| All, Worms | Easy, Egg scatterer
|
|