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Characins
/ Characinae / Bucktoothed Tetra
Black Tetra, Black Widow, Petticoat Fish, Blackamoor
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi | Pictures
SYN: Moenkhausia
ternetzi, Tetragonopterus ternetzi
PD: This fish is somewhat oval-shape.
Young are more attractive than adults. The main
body color is dark gray to black while the fins are black.
Older fishes’ colors fade and their fins and
body color become smoky gray.
Two black bands extend vertically; one just behind the gill cover and the other in its
midsection.
SIZE: To 2.5" (6.4 cm)
SS: None
HAB: South America; in shaded, calm areas with plants thickets in small brooks in rainforest
tributaries, of the Rio Negro, Rio Paraguay, and Rio Parana.
S: middle
TANK: 20" (50 cm) or 10 gallons (38 l).
The tank should be well-planted and
arranged in dark colors.
Use a cover of floating plants to diffuse the lighting.
Leave an open area for free-swimming.
WATER: pH 5.8-8.2 (6.8), 4-28 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C)
SB: A peaceful, schooling fish that is an excellent community fish.
Occasionally large, adult males can
become aggressive towards smaller fish, but this is not usually a problem in a well-planted tank.
Keep in a school of at least five individuals.
SC: Tetras, Corydoras,
Apistogramma, Discus, Angelfish, Livebearers, Gouramis, Rasboras,
Loricarids.
FOOD: Live; insect larvae, crustaceans, aquatic insects; flake.
SEX: Males are smaller and slimmer. Females have rounded dorsal fin and a rounded body
cavity when seen against the light.
B: This fish is easiest to breed in a breeding tank with marbles as a substrate or a mesh
netting for the eggs to fall out of reach of the cannibalistic parents.
Use warm water (84-86°F) to initiate
spawning.
After courting procedure of the male swimming around females with fins spread, many tiny transparent
eggs that fall to the bottom.
Parents must be removed or eggs will be eaten.
The eggs hatch in 24-28 hours and the
fry are free-swimming after 3 to 5 days after.
Start feeding with small live and crushed flake foods.
BP: 6.
Breeding the Black Tetra is not difficult.
R: The are variants of this fish who have longer, more elaborate fins. These are slightly
harder to care for because these fins are often nipped at.
A gold variety is also a product of selective
breeding.
This fish matures in about a year.
DC: 2.
A hardy fish ideal for a beginner's community tank.
Recent articles about fish
Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees
(2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health.
Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees
(10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine.
Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater
(12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina.
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