The Ember Tetra

[TCfishies]

Just some shots I snapped this evening:
Half of the group:

Male:

Female:

Male/Female comparison, this pair has spawned, the Male is on the top and the Female on the bottom (apologies for the slightly out of focus female):

As you can see there is clear sexual dimorphism between each gender.

They are really lovely! I bought 7 two days ago and another 5 today! Mine aren't quite as deeply coloured as yours.
I read that this might be because my water is quite alkaline... somewhere btw 7.4-7.6, but so far they seem fine.

what is your ph?

cheers

TC

 

[StandbySetting]

My PH is 7.6 normally, I inject CO2 and that brings it down to about 6.8, but that is a carbonic PH change, the mineral content is still the same, the best way to colour them up is to feed a good quality micro pellet or powdered flake (I use New Life Spectrum Pellets) and supplement with live food.

 

[TCfishies]

My PH is 7.6 normally, I inject CO2 and that brings it down to about 6.8, but that is a carbonic PH change, the mineral content is still the same, the best way to colour them up is to feed a good quality micro pellet or powdered flake (I use New Life Spectrum Pellets) and supplement with live food.

good to know!

 

[cupcakes]

Thankyou Stand By Setting. I am going to have a look for some today i think.

 

[-FighterFishh]

Beautiful fish! I was going to look into a shoal to put in with my betta, but decided against it as I was told they were nippy.

 

[StandbySetting]

I wouldn't advise keeping them with a Male Betta personally either, they are quite nippy sometimes, which is why it's a pretty good idea to have at least 10 to help spread the aggression, mine do chase each other around quite a bit, usually it is the Males fighting over Females .

 

[minnnt]

Just wondering how many of these i could fit in a 125 litre tank SBS? Also what would be good tankmates? Current setup is rocks and wood but this will be going planted once the other fish have been rehomed.

 

[StandbySetting]

You could comfortably get 50 in there, but really I think 20-30 would look best, they school quite well as well, good tank mates include those that are found from a similar location in the world so other Amazonian fishes, but make sure they aren't large enough to eat the Ember Tetra's.

Here's another shot I took tonight:

 

[minnnt]

Brilliant! So what would you keep them with and what kind of tank setup?

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd keep them with small Corydoras species and a pair or trio of Apistogramma's to act a centre piece fish.
I've always been a fan of keeping only 3-4 species, less is more.

Definitely a planted set up, a black water set up would work well too.

 

[minnnt]

What species of Apisto's? Wouldn't want anything too bright as to detract from the colour of the Embers... Thinking dark Cory's too? Maybe something like peppered or masked?

 

[StandbySetting]

C.habrosus are small and 'peppered' I believe, A.borellii is a favourite of mine as is A.hongsloi.

 

[minnnt]

Yes all three of them look stunning.

Thankyou!