Black Phantom Tetra

[karawr]

Hello all,

I recently bought a black phantom tetra however he's looking very red compared to the others. I googled red phantom tetras but he doesn't seem that red. Could he be sick?

20g tank, Aquaclear 30:
x10 Corydoras Habrosus
x1 Rubberlip Pleco
x4 Phantom Tetras (will be bumping up this number next week)

This is the best pic I can get:

 

[This Old Spouse]

Sure looks more like a serpae tetra to me.

 

[stu40]

Not 100% sure but i think female Black phantoms have more red colouring

 

[james_fish]

I've noticed this in some of my BP Tetra's. They are shaded red, but not that red enough to be a red phantom or definitely not a Serpea.

James.

 

[karawr]

Yikes I wonder. Hope it's not a serpae. Googled pics of those too... they look mighty similar but still, he doesn't look that red.

I will do some research on females being more red..
Edit: Have found that yes, females can be more red. Should I try to look for more reddish ones to even out the genders? The other 3 I have now are males then, going by this colour difference.

 

[stu40]

i think the general rule of thumb is to have more females than males, but i don't know if that applies to BPT's

 

[alan3513]

Your fish is definately a Serpae Tetra. Red Phantoms have a rounder black mark on their sides, Serpaes have more of a slash like your fish, hope that helps.

 

[Supersalmon]

Your fish is definately a Serpae Tetra. Red Phantoms have a rounder black mark on their sides, Serpaes have more of a slash like your fish, hope that helps.

It is definitely a female black phantom, the top fin is all wrong for a serpae tetra, but looks identical to a black phantom

 

[karawr]

Your fish is definately a Serpae Tetra. Red Phantoms have a rounder black mark on their sides, Serpaes have more of a slash like your fish, hope that helps.

It is definitely a female black phantom, the top fin is all wrong for a serpae tetra, but looks identical to a black phantom

I agree. The slash may distinguish it from a red phantom, but a serpae is just far too red compared to my fish and, as said above, the fin is different. I've confirmed with some others... female BP.