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Category: Tetra

  • Red Phantom Tetra – Complete Care Guide

    Red Phantom Tetra Facts

    Red Phantom Tetras, as the name suggests, are beautiful red fish with a black-tipped dorsal fin. They are freshwater schooling fish and great additions to many community aquariums. They look similar to other tetra species such as the Bleeding Heart Tetra and Serpae Tetra. It is best to keep this species in groups of 6 or more. This guide will detail the Red Phantom Tetra’s aquarium requirements, dietary needs, compatible tank mates, and more.

    How Big Do Red Phantom Tetras Get?

    The Red Phantom Tetra will be about 1.5″ – 2″ in length when fully grown.

    Are Red Phantom Tetras Fin Nippers?

    Red Phantom Tetras should not nip on other fish species when they are in large enough groups, but there is always a possibility. If their school is too small, they may resort to bullying and nipping on the fins of other fish. Red Phantoms are also less commonly known as fin nippers compared to the similarly looking Serpae Tetra, which has a reputation for nipping on the fins of other fish.

    Aquarium Requirements

    To make them comfortable and give them the best chance at thriving in your fish tank, Red Phantom Tetras should be kept in 20-gallon aquariums or larger. They will also do best in a well-planted fish tank with a variety of rocks and driftwood to provide cover when stressed. Driftwood also releases tannins over time which can help soften your water and lower its pH. The side effect is that it may also tint your aquarium brown. Consider checking out Coral Driftwood and/or Spiderwood which are some of my favorite looking types of wood. You can follow the link which will take you to their store page on Amazon!

    Although Red Phantom Tetras aren’t commonly known as jumpers, I would still recommend placing a well-fitted lid on the fish tank to truly prevent it from happening. Most fish can potentially jump out of the aquarium when they are startled.

    Water Parameters

    Water parameters are an important aspect of keeping your fish happy. Every fish species has specific water parameters they do best with. The following are the parameter ranges for the Red Phantom Tetra.

    • Temperature: 72°F – 78°F
    • Water Hardness: 4 – 8 KH
    • pH: 5.5 – 7.5

    Keeping your water parameters within this range doesn’t always guarantee your fish will succeed in your aquarium, but it will help give it the best chance. You can keep your temperature stable with a heater and thermostat. Check out what are in my opinion, the 6 best Heaters for Freshwater and Saltwater Aquariums! Furthermore, to know what kind of water you have, you’ll have to purchase testing kits. My go-to testing kits are the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and API GH & KH Test Kit. The master test kit lets you test for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. The GH & KH test kits will help you figure out what the hardness levels of your aquarium are.

    Food & Diet

    Red Phantom Tetras are omnivores and often readily consume any type of food introduced into the aquarium. I would recommend providing a variety of different food to give them a well-rounded diet. They should consume frozen daphnia, bloodworms, and brine shrimp with no problems. I would also provide them with flake foods such as the New Life Spectrum All Purpose Flakes and Omega One Mini Pellets.

    Tank Mates

    This species of fish is generally very peaceful and will mostly spend time tightly and loosely schooling with other Red Phantom Tetras. They should do perfectly fine with most other community fish like Neon Tetras, Mollies, Platies, Rasboras, Corydoras, and many other peaceful fish. In a large enough aquarium, they should also be fine with different species of Ram, Angelfish, Rainbowfish, and Barbs.

    I would not recommend keeping them with African Cichlids, and other aggressive and large fish like Oscars, Jack Dempsey, Pike Cichlid, and other similar types of fish. Anything that can easily fit a Red Phantom Tetra into its mouth should be avoided.

    Can I Keep Red Phantom Tetras With Shrimp?

    Red Phantom Tetras will not actively hunt shrimp. However, many fish are opportunistic eaters so there is a possibility that they may try. Most adult shrimp’s exoskeletons will protect them from becoming a meal, but they are vulnerable when they molt because they shed their hard battle armor. Also, newborn shrimp and very small shrimp can become food for Red Phantom Tetras.

    If you’re looking to mix these two, I would recommend providing an abundance of hiding spots like caves and well-planted sections where the shrimp can take refuge.

    Breeding

    Before discussing breeding, you have to know how to tell the difference between male and female Red Phantom Tetras. The easiest way to do this with this species it to look at their dorsal fins. Males will have a much large dorsal fin compared to the female. During spawning, the males should also pop in color more than the female does.

    This fish species should breed on their own in a well-established aquarium. It is best to keep them in slightly acidic water to encourage breeding. You will see males courting the females in the aquarium when it’s time to breed. They do not care for their eggs. Instead, they scatter them throughout the aquarium and leave the eggs to develop on their own. Some aquarists will put their spawning Red Phantom Tetras into a breeding tank to release their eggs. Once the eggs are released, the breeders are removed from the breeding fish tank. This way, the eggs have the highest chance of survival because the parents and other fish will not prey on the eggs.

    Final Notes

    Red Phantom Tetras are wonderful fish and likely the peaceful counterpart of the Serpae Tetra. They’re fantastic fish to add to a community aquarium and will add a striking red color to the environment. Larger schools of these are always preferred to get the full effect of this fish species. However, if the Red Phantom Tetra isn’t for you, consider checking out a few other Red Tropical Fish for your Freshwater Aquarium!

  • Ember Tetra – Complete Care Guide

    Ember Tetra – Complete Care Guide

    Ember Tetras are beautiful red/orange freshwater fish that can be kept as a pet. They are perfect choices for nano fish tanks due to their small size. They’re peaceful schooling fish that greatly add to most community aquariums. This fish species is excellent if you’re looking to fill your aquarium with tiny fish. This guide will cover Ember Tetra care. It will discuss this specie’s aquarium requirements, food & diet, compatible tank mates, and breeding habits.

    Aquarium Requirements

    Ember Tetras are very peaceful fish that stay very small. They will be about an inch in length when fully grown. This makes them excellent candidates for nano aquariums as a centerpiece schooling fish or a schooling fish that blends into the background of a large aquarium. A well-planted aquarium with various rocks and driftwood makes the perfect enclosure for Ember Tetras.

    How Many Ember Tetras in a 10 Gallon Tank?

    A minimum of 6 fish are recommended to be considered a school. You should be able to successfully keep between 10 to 15 Ember Tetras in a 10-gallon fish tank. The max size of Ember Tetras and their incredibly small bio load gives you some flexibility regarding population sizes in a fish tank.

    Water Parameters

    Learning the water parameters for your aquarium is important to its success. Fish like the Ember Tetra are found in the tropical waterways of South America. This type of water is much different than what can be found in Lake Tanganyika, which has much harder and calcium-rich water. The following are water parameter ranges that will help you successfully keep Ember Tetras.

    • Temperature: 72° – 77°F
    • pH: 5.5 – 7.0
    • Water Hardness: 4 – 8 KH

    Based on the water parameters you can see that Ember Tetras do best in softer and acidic water. Some homes have naturally soft and acidic water, but there are many homes such as ones with wells that do not. Often well water is rich in calcium and other minerals that cause a spike in pH levels and hardness. An easy way to test for this is through the use of an aquarium test kit. I recommend purchasing an API Freshwater Master Test Kit and API GH & KH test kit. With these test kits, you can keep an eye on your aquarium’s pH, General Hardness (GH), Carbonate Hardness (KH), ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.

    Food & Diet

    Ember Tetras stay incredibly small, they may not be able to consume the large fish food that is often provided. They will do great with frozen daphnia, brine shrimp, and Mysis Shrimp. Traditional pellet food may be a little large for them to consume, so I recommend feeding them Ultra Fresh Tropical Micro Pellets and flake food such as New Life Spectrum All Purpose Flake Food. In the wild Ember Tetras eat a variety of foods so it is important to provide the same experiences in the aquarium.

    Tank Mates

    Ember Tetras, like most peaceful fish, will do fantastic with most other peaceful community fish. Keeping them with Tetras, Rasboras, Corycats, Honey Gouramis, Endlers Livebearers, Guppies, and other community species, should be successful.

    Due to their size, I would not recommend keeping Ember Tetras with large fish, fish with large mouths, and fin nippers. Their small size and peaceful temperament do not allow them to hold their own against more aggressive fish. You will want to keep them with community fish that will not harass Ember Tetras.

    Breeding

    A large enough school will provide you with both males and females. In a well-established and healthy aquarium, Ember Tetras should breed on their own without much intervention. However, getting eggs to hatch before getting eaten and having your fry develop into adulthood will be the challenge.

    Ember Tetras scatter their eggs throughout the aquarium after spawning. The eggs are adhesive and will stick to many different surfaces in the fish tank. To provide the best chance for the eggs, a heavily planted aquarium will be needed to provide hiding places for the eggs to adhere to. I recommend many different plant species, especially things like java moss that grow dense which may create cover for eggs. A lot of plants will also benefit from providing cover for the fry once they hatch.

    Eggs and fry are likely to get eaten by most other inhabitants of the aquarium. Keeping your Ember Tetras in a species-only aquarium will help cut down on the die-off. For more information on breeding, check out real life experiences of breeding Ember Tetras on Fishforums.

    Final Notes

    If you enjoy nano fish tanks and micro fish, Ember Tetras might be an excellent choice for you. They are small, stay small, have a nearly non-existent bio-load, and generally are great fish to keep. Their red/orange colorations will pop in a well-planted aquarium and maybe just the final touch you need for your fish tank. If you’re not sold on Ember Tetras, consider checking out other Red Tropical Fish for your Freshwater Fish Tank.