My biotope aquarium

Common names: African red-eyed tetra

Settlement: Rivers in Nigeria - Lower Niger, Ogun, Otamiri, ...

Size: up to 9.5 cm

Water chemistry: Fresh water. Temperature 24 to 27 ° C, pH 6-7.5 (6.5), hardness 5-15 gH (8), 4-8 kH

Difficulty: Slightly demanding (4/10)

Aquarium: 150 liters are enough for fish. It is a shoal fish (10+) and loves a medium current with swimming space, as it is extremely active but also timid. The container should contain roots, plants and not too bright a base, so the flock will feel safer. It needs a lot of oxygen. Lifespan 5-10 years.

Feeding: Insects, flies, spiders, worms, mosquito larvae, briquettes, dry food, ... It has a small mouth, food should be suitable for this. In nature, more than 80% of their diet is represented by insects.

Breeding: Arnoldichthys spilopterus spawns quite easily in an aquarium and if they are in good condition, they are likely to spawn regularly. But the eggs will not survive due to predation. For successful breeding of this fish you will need a separate aquarium (60 L), with many small-leaved plants tied in bunches, and the pH should be slightly below 7. For spawning, choose the strongest and most beautiful male and the most round female. Spawning can continue for a long time and parents will eat some of their own eggs, but a healthy, well-prepared female can lay up to 1000 eggs in one spawn, so losses are insignificant. After spawning, remove the parents and the pups will hatch after 30 - 36 hours, depending on the temperature. In their natural environment, African red-eyed tetras lay eggs during dense vegetation. Males spawn alongside the female in trembling movements. When the pups swim freely, they can initially be fed with commercial liquid food for the pups (plankton), but when they become large enough (3 days), they can switch to newly hatched nauplii artemia and then to finely ground food.

Both adults and juveniles are sensitive to water quality and regular maintenance is essential here, otherwise the fish do not thrive. Preferably, the blackwater scenario corresponds to it.

The

Description of fish

This daily active fish with a brown back is covered with large rainbow scales. The basic lateral coloration is silver-green-blue, but with two bands running along the sidewalk, one orange-gold, the other greenish-blue. The upper half of the eye is red and a black spot is visible on the dorsal fin. Sexual dimorphism is not strong, the main differences are visible on the anal fin, which has a translucent appearance with a black dot on the pre-tail fin in females, while in males the anal fin is lemon yellow to red with dark or black bands and dark on the colored edge . Arnoldichthys spilopterus is an active and calm fish of the school, found in nature in slow, tannin-colored rivers and streams with an abundance of decomposing organic matter. They stick to the middle and surface of the water, and feed on surface insects, insect larvae, worms, and crustaceans.

The

Notes

African red-eyed tetras are best grown in groups of at least 10 specimens in an aquarium, with sand or fine gravel substrate, with some smooth river stones, a few branches or roots, and a densely planted background. On the ground some dry leaves containing tannins and some floating plants that will allow diffused light in the aquarium, this will benefit them immensely.

Due to active group activity, African red-eyed tetras need a lot of swimming space and a good filtration system to maintain water quality. Peat filtering simulates their natural conditions, stained with tannin.

Populations of Arnoldichthys spilopterus are found in less than ten locations and face habitat loss due to the oil industry and human intervention. As a result, wild populations are listed as vulnerable on the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species

The extent to which the red-eyed tetra occurs is estimated at less than 20,000 km². Habitat quality is declining rapidly.

The

The