Tetra fish are one of the most popular aquarium fishes around. One tetra that is becoming more and more popular in the hobby is the ember tetra. Ember tetras have a beautiful red coloration unique from other popular tetra fish and are very active swimmers. Ember tetras require the same care as most other aquarium fishes, but there are some specific things to consider when keeping ember tetras because of their pregnancy requirements. Should I Separate Pregnant Ember Tetras?
Yes, it would help if you separated pregnant ember tetras. It would help if you kept your female and male ember tetra in separate tanks during pregnancy to prevent harassment by a male, protecting fry from being eaten after birth, resting after birthing children.
In this blog post, we will go over some signs that indicate a female is expecting eggs and what you should do if they show up, why you should separate pregnant Ember Tetras, and how to keep them separated once they have given birth!
Should I Separate Pregnant Ember Tetras?
Yes, it would help if you separated pregnant ember tetras.
It is a good idea to keep pregnant Ember Tetras in separate tanks. This is because ember tetras are quite fragile and can’t take harassment from the male Ember Tetras.
It would also be helpful to keep your female and male in separate tanks during pregnancy to prevent a male from harassing them, protecting fry from being eaten after birth, resting after birthing children.
In addition, pregnant Ember tetras have to rest after giving birth. Hence it would help if you separated them from the other fish to protect them and their fry.
Reasons Why You Should Separate Pregnant Ember Tetras
There are several reasons why you should keep your Ember Tetra fishes separated while they are pregnant:
To Prevent Harassment By Male Ember Tetras
The male ember tetras will be eager to breed with the female Ember Tetra and might harass her. Unfortunately, this can lead to a stress-related miscarriage of the fry, which means that none or very few eggs are produced during pregnancy.
To Protect The Ember Tetra Fry
The male ember tetras have a habit of eating up their own fry once the breeding is over. Therefore, keeping the pregnant Ember Tetra away from the male ember tetras will protect them and their fry from getting eaten up by the male fish.
To Take Rest After Laying Eggs
The female Ember Tetra does not lay eggs for long when she gets pregnant, but her body takes a lot of time to recovTherefore, it. It is important that you give her some time to rest after giving birth, and this requires a separate tank from the one in which you were breeding her.
How To Keep Pregnant Ember Tetras In Separate Tanks?
It would help if you either used a breeder’s box or seclude her in another tank until after labor and when all fry have dropped into the main tank.
There are several ways by which you can keep your pregnant ember tetra separated:
Seclude Near Labor
Before your pregnant ember tetra lays eggs, she will be very stressed out and agitated. You should avoid separating her from the main tank during this phase of labor as it might cause a lot of damage to her.
Prepare Your Nursery Tank
Once you know that she has laid eggs in the main tank, you can prepare the nursery tank to separate her.
Using The Main Tank
You can use the main tank to separate pregnant ember tetras as well. But before separating them, consider taking out all other fish from there and clean up the aquarium properly. This will help your tetras with separation anxiety.
If you are using a breeder’s box, make sure there is a filter in the tank and that it has enough water for your pregnant ember tetra.
Keep all other fish apart from Ember Tetras out of this tank. They will eat up their own fry once you separate them to bring about fertilization.
Divider Or Tank Divider
Some tanks come with dividers. If you have such a tank, the best way to separate your pregnant ember tetras is by using this divider to keep them away from other fish until their fry hatch out and drop into the main tank, where all of these fishes can easily eat up their own children except for Ember Tetra who will eat them up as well.
Signs Of Pregnant Ember Tetras
Pregnant Ember tetras are easy to identify as they will develop a bulge in their abdomen. This is the sign of pregnancy, and you can also observe that she becomes less active than usual.
You should note here that pregnant ember tetra might die if not separated from other fish during labor.
Ember Tetras can be easy to identify if they are carrying eggs, as their belly becomes huge and rounder than usual.
Some female fish carry fry inside( of them for a very long time and you might not be able to identify if they are pregnant or not.
They don’t just grow in size but also change colors and develop red spots on the side of their bodies.
These changes make them very easy to spot from other types of tetra fish. However, with all these changes happening during pregnancy, you must know what you need to do with your pregnant Ember Tetras!
How Long Are Ember Tetras Pregnant For?
The gestation period for Ember Tetra is about two weeks. This means that the female fish will live up to this time of pregnancy, and if you do not separate them during labor, they might die due to stress or other complications associated with their condition.
FAQ
Do Ember Tetras Eat Their Own Fry?
Yes, ember tetras have a habit of eating up their own fry after the breeding session. This means that you should keep them separated for some time, even once they lay eggs, to protect the unborn fry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is advisable to keep pregnant Ember Tetras in separate tanks. This will prevent harassment by male Ember tetra, protect the fry and let them rest after birthing their children. It would help if you took this opportunity to prepare your nursery tank and ensure all the necessary equipment like breeder boxes or dividers.
You can use a divider or a Breeder’s box to ensure that you are keeping Ember tetras in separate tanks. It would help if you also made sure that the main tank has enough space for its inhabitants when you seclude pregnant fish near labor so they can easily turn around and not bump into anything but still have access to food and oxygen through the water surface.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll try my best to answer them.