Diamond tetra in the aquarium

Are you looking for a good community fish to your aquarium? If yes, diamond tetra will be perfect tank mates for the rest of the inhabitants. Look into our article to see how to care for this beautiful freshwater fish.

Characteristic

In natural habitat, diamond tetra occur in the neighborhood of the Lake Valencia in Venezuela, South America. Diamond tetra has a beautiful color - purple fins and a silver, shimmering body. The male diamond tetras are intensely colored, have long dorsal fins and elongated caudal fins. Females, despite less vivid colors, also look beautiful. Diamond tetra reach size up to 6cm and are herd, peaceful fish.

Diamond tetra care in the freshwater aquarium

Aquarists like diamond tetras because of their beautiful appearance and low requirements. The average diamond tetra lifespan is 4 years. A small group of diamond tetras can be surely used in Amazonian biotope setup which is also their great advantage.

Water conditions and arrangement

Moenkhausia pittieri is an undemanding fish, although it does not like increased water hardness or alkaline water. As it is a herd fish, it's necessary to introduce at least 6 individuals into the fish tank. The minimum tank size for such a group is 100l. Diamond tetras prefer water temperature between 24-27 Celsius degrees and the pH 6,5-7. A gentle water flow from an external filter is recommended. These active herd fish need a large open swimming space, but not so many aquarium plants. The water should be soft and acidic, preferably with some tannins. Lighting should be not too intense. For the arrangement, you can use roots, leaves and pieces of wood. Diamond tetra thrives among such decorations.

Feeding

To ensure the proper growth and development of the fins, diamond tetra must be fed with live food such as daphnia, bloodworms and mosquito larvae. If live food cannot be obtained, frozen food may be used as well as dry food. They often like eating aquarium plants which should be also mentioned.

Breeding

Breeding diamond tetras is possible in normal aquarium conditions. Before spawning, the diamond tetras should be fed particularly well so that they gain weight and increase in size. To encourage the breeding pair to spawn, raise the water temperature to around 27 degrees Celsius and darken the breeding tank. It is also a good idea to provide the fish with a sufficient amount of dense live plants. During and after spawning, the light supply to the aquarium should be gradually increased to imitate the light in natural habitat. After laying the eggs, the parents should be caught as soon as possible and moved to separate tank to prevent them from eating the eggs. The fry hatch after approximately 36 hours. In the first days of its life, the diamond tetra fry should be fed with rotifers, and later introduced with other fish food.

Summary

Moenkhausia pittieri is a stunning tetra species which can be a beautiful addition to any aquarium because of its peaceful attitude to other fish. These fish thrive among live plants in all biotope aquariums of South America (not only Lake Valencia biotope) which is an additional advantage, especially that diamond tetra care is easy comparing to other freshwater fish. We strongly hope that diamond tetras will be the great tank mates for your current stock soon!