The common tradition for many fish enthusiasts is trying to breed their fish. Especially with the tetra owners, they want to breed their tetra fish and produce more bright colors, tetra babies. Breeding tetras are not much of a difficult task. However, raising the tetra babies or neonates tetra requires the next level of dedication. In this article, I will mention what you will need when you set-up the tank for tetra fry and what their requirements are.
If you are a frequent tetra fish breeder, you must be aware of setting up a separate tank just for spawning the breeding pair of tetras. You need to condition the breeding pairs at first by feeding them and isolating the pair from other fish in the tank.
Once the tetras spawn, the female lays the eggs, and the male fertilizes the eggs. After fertilization is complete, you must remove the adults from the tank as soon as possible because tetra fish tend to eat their own eggs. Hence, to ensure maximum survival rate for the baby tetras, you need to remove the parents.
The next step is to care for the tetra fry, their requirements in the tank as well as proper diet. Keep reading to more about this in detail.
Requirements for Tetra Fry Fish Tank Set-up
Even before you breed the tetra, you need to be prepared to raise the fries. Most people who want to have fries forget that the tetra babies are delicate and cannot treat them similarly to the adult tetras.
You first need to realize how tiny the baby tetras will be when they hatch. The tetra fries will still require a good environment with stable water conditions and proper diet. Make sure you cover these entire bases before trying to breed the tetras.
Follow the steps given below to set-up a tank for tetra fry.
The pH Level
Tetras are the species that thrive in slightly acidic water. It goes the same with the tetra fries as well. Hence, the pH level for the babies should be between 5 to 7 only.
Hardness
Tetra fish do not live in hard water. These fish want their aquarium water to be soft. Hence, until the tetra babies do not develop, you will not need hardness more than 2 dH.
Temperature
As the tetras are cold-blooded animals, the temperature of your tank can play a great role for good metabolism. The temperature in the tank for the tetra fish fries should be 75 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Filtration for Tetra Fry Tank Set-Up
The tetra fry fish will require proper clean water. For this, there needs to be a clean filtration system. Now, as you know, the fries will be very tiny and fragile just after they hatch. Therefore, you mustn’t use very powerful filters, as it is not required.
You can use small air-driven sponge filters instead. These filters work great and keep the aquarium running.
Read Article on How to Clean Tetra Fish Tank
Lightings
The tetra fry tank should have minimal lights. This is because the fries are light-sensitive during their initial developing stages. You can provide the babies with a darker environment as possible.
Substrate
You do not have to focus in detail about the substrate for the tetra baby tank. Most people do not use the substrate in the breeding tank. However, if you are going to raise the tetra fries in the breeding tank, you will need to think about the benefit of your fish for the future.
Therefore, you can use the substrate such as gravel, which is similar to the one used in the adult tetra fish tanks.
Plants
Avoid using unnecessary decorations in the tetra fry tanks. Once the fries develops, then you can use the decoration while you shift them to the adult tank.
For now, when the tetras are very small, you can use the large mass of Java Moss or Yarns.
Heater
The baby tetras require temperature around 75 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. If this range is achievable naturally, there is no need to keep any water heaters. If you can use heaters if the temperatures do not reach up to the standard mark.
You can use digital thermometers to measure the temperature of the aquarium tank. When you are using the digital thermometers, you can measure the temperature from a distance without having to dip into the water.
Tetra Fry Diet
One of the most important parts of caring for the tetra fry is being prepared to feed them. Most people get so busy setting up baby fish tanks that they forget to plan for the foods. The food is a vital part of the survival of the tetra babies and falls under the requirements for the tank set up.
As the fry tetra fish are very small in the beginning, that does not mean you do not need to feed them. The fries will need the food to develop fully. This means that you will need to make sure you have suitable food available from the very beginning.
Read Full article on Tetra Fish Diet
Infusoria
The easiest diet you can feed the fry tetras is by culturing the infusoria. The infusoria are the micro lives that help to feed the little fries.
First, you will need to boil eggs, broccoli, and potatoes. You will need a separate small container and keep the boiled broccoli into the container and fill the container with some aquarium water.
You may also need to add some java moss into the container. But, do not worry if you do not have it because if you are using the tank water, there will be the development of infusoria.
When the broccoli decays, you will see the water turning from clear to milky. This is the stage when the infusoria are going to be thick. You need to wait for the water to clear up slowly.
You can then feed the tetra babies when they start to swim freely.
Micro-worms
Small baby tetras tend to hover at the bottom of their fish tank in the initial stages. Hence, the best food for them can be micro-worms. These foods can guarantee the growth and development of the fries.
Baby Brine Shrimp
When your tetra fries grow a bit, you can feed them with baby brine shrimps. This will help the fries that are growing slower than others are.
The baby tetra fish are able to intake baby brine shrimps within a day or two after their hatching.
Closing Remarks
Once the tetras have grown, you can transfer them into the adult tanks. Otherwise, you can also transform the existing tank into the adult tetra fish tank as well.
You may be able to do this by changing the water parameters of the baby tetra fish tank slowly into the adult tank. You should never perform these changes abruptly, as the tetras could face distress.
Conclusion
You will need to be extra careful when housing the tetra fry fish. As the baby tetra fish are very gentle, you need to ensure that the tank set up for them has all the requirements needed beforehand.
You need to prepare yourself for all the possibilities and have some alternative backups in case of an emergency. In this article, I have listed out all the top priorities that you will need, no matter what, for tetra fry tank set-up.
If you are breeding the baby tetras, then you should also know that there is a good chance that not all the eggs survive and develop into the adult fish.
You must make sure that the tetra fry fish that has survived needs to be cared for.
Image Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er9iIaIVMKE
