Diamond Tetra

Diamond tetra is a small freshwater belonging to the family of characin. The fish is mainly found in the southern part of America around Lake Valencia in Venezuela.

The male diamond tetra’s have a longer dorsal fin than the female ones. They are also colored more than the females but generally both are very attractive. The fish can be kept in aquariums due to their colored bodies.

When you look at the appearance, you will discover that just above the eye, there is a red mark. The body is silver in color, with dorsal and anal fins being purple. Along the body there is a dark band that runs across and may look as if it is dividing the bottom from the top.

When kept in an aquarium maintaining them is quite easy just like any other tetras. But generally they don’t do well in hard, alkaline water. So the water should be soft and slightly acidic with a pH of 6. The temperature should be around 28 degrees Celsius.

Diamond tetras are omnivorous. When kept in aquariums they are fed with the normal fish foods especially the flakes, daphnia or frozen bloodworms. But when in the wild they mostly feed with mosquito larvae or other animal foods.

For breeding purposes, the aquarium should be well set since the fish will prefer a well shaded area. The place should be kept dark at first increasing the lights slowly in order to achieve a natural lighting. This allows the pair to spawn in that area. Fish should be fed with rich foods too.

Spawning takes place in the morning. If the eggs are not removed the fish will eat them up. The eggs take 36 hours to hatch and after around four days the fry are freely swimming.

The babies don’t take long to grow. In fact when well fed they grow very quickly. Live foods should be introduce at all stages.