Fun Diamond Tetra Facts For Kids
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Keeping in mind that the diamond tetra is a peace-loving fish species, it must be noted that they'll only show aggressive behavior or get mildly dangerous when they sense a threat.
They are usually bought because they are calm, however, they might turn slightly aggressive if they sense danger or even under circumstances when they are unable to adapt to their tankmates, the tank size, and the hardness and acidic nature of the water of the tank.
A pair, or often a community, of diamond tetras, is left to spawn in an aquarium well covered with leafy plants, preferably java moss.
Soft acidic water with a pH range between 5.5-6.5 is ideal.
The tetra fish are well-fed with proper nutritious live food before spawning. The preferred temperature during the breeding period should be around 84 f ( 28 C ).
The hardiest tetras are the neon tetras, generally silver, red, and blue. They are best suited for community aquariums as they are easy to handle.
Black skirt tetras, bloodfin tetras, Glowlight tetras, Serpae tetras, and X-ray tetras are the hardiest tetra fish. Although most fish change their gender during their lifespan, a tetra usually doesn't do so. According to researchers, a neon tetra's sex cannot be determined until it has reached four months of age.
If you like what you read, do check out Tetra Facts and Buenos Aires Tetra Facts.
Diamond Tetra Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a diamond tetra?
Diamond tetra, Moenkhausia pittieri, is a freshwater fish.
What class of animal does a diamond tetra belong to?
Diamond tetra fishbelongs to the class of Actinopterygii. Its family is Characidae. It is a freshwater fish and dwells in water bodies where the hardness is optimum and preferable for them.
How many diamond tetras are there in the world?
No information on the population of diamond tetras has been found.
Where does a diamond tetra live?
Diamond tetras are found in Lake Valencia, South America the largest freshwater lake which falls between the two states of Carabobo and Aragua. However, these freshwater fish are endemic in the northern part of Venezuela.
They thrive best in slow-moving streams with proper foliage and abundant leaf molds. The water conditions where they live must be optimum for the fish. There should be plants, flakes, and pellets in the water for their food.
They preferably live in a dim area, so the lighting must be available in that way. They cannot survive above 75-84 F (23.8-28 C).
What is a diamond tetra's habitat?
A freshwater lake is the natural habitat of the diamond tetra (Moenkhausia pittieri). Otherwise, they are also found in an aquarium or tank when kept as pets.
Who does diamond tetra live with?
Although this tetra diamond fish loves living alone and with its kind, it is found along with Lithogenes valencia and Pimelodella tapatapae, two other varieties of catfish also found in the waters of Lake Valencia, though precisely endemic to the region. Diamond tetras should be kept with up to seven of their species in an aquarium or large tank.
How long does a diamond tetra live?
The average lifespan of diamond tetra (Moenkhausia pittieri) fish is usually between three and six years. They live on brine shrimp and feed on water plants.
How do they reproduce?
A pair or often a group of diamond tetras is left to spawn in an aquarium, well covered with leafy plants, preferably java moss. Soft acidic water with a pH range between 5.5-6.5 is ideal.
The fish should be well-fed with proper nutritious live food before spawning. The preferred temperature during the spawning period is around 84 F (28 C).
Diamond tetra fish spawn early in the morning and the eggs hatch in around 36 hours. The males fertilize the eggs as soon as the females release them. The fry of the diamond characin is ready for free-swimming within three or four days.
The aquarium should have dim lighting and a little darkness along with the optimal temperature.
What is their conservation status?
Although diamond tetras aren't extinct, it is considered endemic to the northern part of Venezuela. They are, however, not listed on the IUCN Red List.
Diamond Tetra Fun Facts
What does diamond tetra look like?
Although both sexes of this freshwater fish are enchanting to look at, the males are much more vibrant in color and have lengthy dorsal fins as compared to the females. As a result of this, they quite clearly display sexual dimorphism.
The area up to the pupil of the eye is red. The color of the anal fin and the dorsal fin are purple while their body is silver.
A pitch-black band-like line crosses along the midline of their body. They are quite glittery and shiny and have an average length ranging from 2 to 2.4 inches.
Their scales are silver-gray and when light rays fall on the scales they shine like a diamond, displaying multi-shade colors like orange, green, blue, gold, and purple. This colorfulness is not as noticeable when they are young, but with growth, tetra fish develop this characteristic.
How cute are they?
They are pretty cute if one goes by their looks. They are frequently kept in an aquarium to increase the beauty of the room. They make a great view when kept in aquariums.
How do they communicate?
This kind of fish conducts its communication with its fins. They do so by making squabbling sounds. While doing so, they firmly hold out their fins to each other.
How big is a diamond tetra?
A diamond tetra fish is around 2.4 in (6.9 cm) head to tail.
How fast can a diamond tetra swim?
Not much is known about the swimming speed of a diamond tetra, but since they live in lakes and considering the surrounding water conditions, diamond tetra fish usually don't need to swim too fast. Their anal fin and dorsal fin are not so well developed to swim through fast-flowing water currents.
For this, the hardness and acidic nature of the water are crucial for the species to thrive.
How much does a diamond tetra weigh?
A diamond tetra fish weighs around 0.004 oz (0.13 g ).
What are the male and female names of the species?
A male and female diamond tetra have no specific names.
What would you call a baby diamond tetra?
There is no such specific name for a baby diamond tetra fish.
What do they eat?
A diamond tetra fish is omnivorous, that is they prey on smaller water organisms as well as eating water plants. It usually has a liking for animal food, feeding mostly mosquito larvae.
However, while they are in an aquarium at home, they mostly thrive on food like plant parts, pellets, flakes, and other processed fish food. They even feed on live daphnia or frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp.
They are served blood worms and shrimp two or three times a week.
While kept as a pet, care must be taken that feeding must be done multiple times in a day, though this is not time-consuming as they eat their food within three minutes.
While tetras living in lakes can thrive on plants and foliage, the ones which are kept as a pet and kept for breeding should be well-fed with good-quality food.
Are they dangerous?
Keeping in mind that they are quite a peaceful fish species, it must be noted that they'll only show aggressive behavior or get mildly dangerous when they sense a threat.
Would they make a good pet?
They would make great pets for an aquarium or large tanks. They have quite a long lifespan, so they can beautify your aquariums for a long time.
Care must be taken of the water conditions of the aquariums or tanks where they will be kept since they are cold-blooded animals. The aquarium must contain acidic water of hardness ranging between 5.5 - 6.5 pH.
They must be given plants, flakes, and pellets along with blood worms as food. An optimal temperature of 75 F (23.8 C) should be maintained in the aquarium.
Did you know...
Diamond tetras are fond of dim surroundings.
The females have a more rounded belly compared to the males.
Diamond characin is a common name for the diamond tetra (scientific name Moenkhausia pittieri ).
The diamond tetras spawn early morning and the eggs mostly hatch in 36 hours. The males fertilize the eggs as soon as the female releases them. The babies of the fish might take as long as two months to reach ¼ inch.
How fast do tetra fish grow?
Diamond tetra fish usually takes nine months to grow fully into an adult.
These tetras can adapt themselves within a pH range of 5 – 12 and a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Diamond tetra fish require soft mild water in which to live.
A water testing kit is important to test the hardness of the water available in their tanks. It should be noticed that the females lay eggs in the moss, otherwise, the adults may end up eating the eggs. Favorable water conditions increase the growth rate of the fish.
The breeders should be kept separated for between six and eight days before breeding and should provide them with good quality plant food.
Are Diamond Tetras aggressive?
They usually are calm animals, but occasionally they display some extent of hostile behavior when they face their species. This is a natural reflex to possible threats around them. They are known for being 'fin nippers'. Otherwise, they are usually peaceful when kept inside freshwater aquariums.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including the X-ray Tetra Facts and Neon Tetra Facts.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable dwarf caiman coloring pages.
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