Emperor Tetra

snowflake311

Fish nerd
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Names: Emperor tetra

Family: Characidae

Species: Nematobrycon palmeri

Habitat: Rio San Juan and Rio Atrato basins in Colombia. This tetra is found in slow moving rivers.

Size: 3" males 2" females

Tank size: 20 gal or bigger

Temp: 73F - 80F

pH: 5.0 -7.5

Food: This is a hardy fish and is not picky. The Emperor will eat flakes or just about anything that will fit in their mouth.

Care: Emperor tetras do well with floating plants, open swimming space with some caves and drift wood. They do love plants. Soft water is preferred and they can live in brackish environment (South American biotope).They prefer to be kept in schools of 6+. They will do great in any community tank with fish that will not eat them. Males can get a little nippy at times. They are active and fun to watch. They do well in so American bio type.

They are pretty tough and don't scare easy. In fact I can pet mine. They nip at my arm during water changes. I try and scare them off but they come right back to nip me.

Breeding: They are easy to spawn but hard to raise. The fry can be a bit harder unless in a breeding tank. The adults will eat the fry unless removed. They prefer acidic water for breeding.

Sexing: Females are smaller and have less color. Males have bright purple and longer fins. The dorsal fin is more pointed too. The male's tail has an extension in the middle described as a trident-shaped tail which ends the long stripe down it's body. The female's tail is more U-shaped.

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Females
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