Graceful and mobile fish, very beautiful. From the middle of the body to the base of the caudal fin there is a bluish longitudinal strip, bordered along the edges. But dark gray fins with a white border are especially beautiful. In the reflected light, the fish sparkles like a diamond. She has a peaceful disposition. Gender is easy to determine. Six-centimeter males are larger than females. Their dorsal fin is much larger and more strongly curved.

Content

For keeping this fish, a general aquarium is suitable, densely overgrown at the edges, but with sufficient space in the middle. The diamond tetra is a peaceful, agile schooling fish. It quickly sweeps through the aquarium, so that later it hides among snags and plants. Gets along with neon, small cichlids and small armored catfish. It is desirable to pass the water in the aquarium through a peat filter, pH 5.5 - 7.0, hardness 4 - 12 0, temperature 22 - 26 0 С.

The food for these fish is small live or frozen food, as well as dry film food.

Breeding

To breed a diamond tetra, you need an all-glass aquarium with a capacity of 15 - 20 liters. You can't put sand in it. A bunch of myriophyllum or hornwort, thoroughly washed with running water, should be pressed to the bottom of the aquarium with a clean glass rod. The water temperature is 26 - 28 0 C. To breed the diamond tetra, it is necessary to select a pair of spawners at the age of 8 - 9 months and deposit it for spawning. Spawning occurs in thickets of plants. Then the producers are removed from the spawning ground. A day later, larvae appear. Tiny, transparent, within four to five days they do not need additional nutrition. Only when they turn into fry and swim, they should be fed 4-5 times a day with zooplankton (“live dust”).

When breeding these fish, one important circumstance must be remembered. The fry grow unevenly. Many of them grow much faster than others. This threatens with cannibalism, that is, when the larger ones eat their little brothers and sisters.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to remove large fry from the spawning ground in a timely manner into a separate vessel with the same water as in the spawning ground. And most importantly, fry should be provided with a varied and regular diet.


False royal tetra. These are peaceful schooling fish, up to 5 cm in size, preferring clean, fresh water with a temperature of 22-27 degrees. Inhabits: the northern region of Mato Grosso, the upper reaches of the river. Aripuana. Live up to 5 years. Sexual maturity is reached at 6-8 months. Optimal sires are selected from a flock of 2-3 month old juveniles of average size. 5-10 days before the expected spawning, the fish are heavily fed, with the addition of livebearers, cyclops and bloodworms. Spawning pair. The signal for spawning is a decrease in hardness (by adding fresh distilled water). Increasing the water temperature by 2-4 degrees. Spawning tank with a volume of 2-4 liters, with a protective net at the bottom. Productivity up to 300 eggs per pair. Fertilized eggs have a transparent shell. After 3-5 days, the juveniles begin to swim. The fry are fed with rotifers, nauplii, ciliates.

Appearance:

The main body color of the male is dark purple with a longitudinal dark stripe in the middle. Adipose fin cornflower blue. The females of this species are much less colored.

view freshwater fish the characin family. Homeland - the upper part of the Amazon basin. Popular tropical fish for keeping in aquariums.

Area:

state of Mato Grosso (Brazil), r. Takuari to Cochin.

Dimensions:
Gender differences:

males are much slimmer and smaller than females.

aquarium from 40 l, densely planted with plants, but with free space for swimming. Water hardness 8-15°, pH 6.4-7.5, temperature 22-24°C. A weekly replacement of 1/5 of the volume of water with fresh water is required.

Feeding:

V natural conditions black neons feed on various small species of crustaceans, mosquito larvae and small insects falling to the surface of the water.

Breeding:

black neons become sexually mature at 8-10 months. Spawning is paired, but better in the ratio of 2 males / 1 female. Water settled for two weeks; hardness 2-12°, pH 6.2-6.6, temperature 24-26°C. Spawning - 10-30 l. The layer of water is 20 cm. Producers are put into spawning grounds in the evening. Lighting is weak. A safety net is required. The incubation period is 24-30 hours. By the end of the fourth day, the fry begin to swim and feed.

Compatibility:

peaceful schooling fish. They prefer to stay in the upper and middle layers of the water.

An interestingly colored small characin, outwardly very similar to the popular red neon among fans. Exceptionally peaceful inhabitant of tropical aquariums, compatible with any other non-aggressive aquatic organisms of similar size and character. Spends most of the time in the middle and lower horizons. Stays in packs. Shy, at the slightest danger seeks to hide in the thickets, the presence of which in the tank is necessary. When decorating, it is also recommended to use dark soil, branched snags. In general, it is recommended to keep the surroundings in dark colors, emphasizing the originality of the false red neon color.

Area:

Under natural conditions inhabits the tributaries of the Rio Negro (Brazil).

Dimensions:

The maximum size is 4 cm.

Content:

A pair can live in a tank with a volume of less than 5 liters, but feels better in more spacious aquariums - from 100 liters per flock of 15-20 individuals.
Water is preferable with the following parameters: Т=24-27°С, dGH 4-16°, pH about 7. Filtration and regular replacement of water with fresh water of the same type are required. chemical composition. Sensitive to an excess of dissolved nitrogen salts and a sudden change in environment.

Feeding:

Food: frozen bloodworms, daphnia, artemia, high-quality flaky dry food (for example, TetraPro).

(lat. Paracheirodon innesi) is a species of freshwater fish of the characin family. Homeland - the upper part of the Amazon basin. A popular tropical fish for keeping in aquariums.

Names in other languages: English. neon tetra; German Diamantkopf-Neontetra, Neonsalmler, Neontetra .

Area:

the upper reaches of the Amazon from Sao Paulo de Olivens to Iquitos, mainly in the river. Putumayo, also in the river. Purus to Boca do Tapahua.

Dimensions:
Gender differences:

the luminous blue stripe in the male is straight, in the female it is slightly curved in the middle, and the females are much fuller than the males.

aquarium from 30 l, densely planted with plants, but with free space for swimming. Keeping neon is pretty easy. They can withstand water hardness from 0.5° to 20°, temperature fluctuations from 18 to 30°C. Optimal conditions: hardness 5-7°, pH 6.5-7, water temperature 23-24° C. Poor lighting.

Feeding:

they eat well both live and dry combined feeds.

Breeding:

Neons become sexually mature at 5-8 months. Before spawning, the producers are seated in different aquariums with a water temperature of 19-20 and are fed only with live food - cyclops, washing, small bloodworms. Spawning is paired or schooling. Spawning, respectively, 6-10 l and 25-30 l, water level 10-15 cm and 20-25 cm. Distilled or cationic water is used (i.e., passed through ion-exchange columns). In the first case, the water should stand in the light for 2 weeks, in the second, the fish can be planted the next day. A separator mesh is installed at the bottom. Water hardness 0.5-3°, pH 6-6.5, KH 0-1°, temperature 23-25°C. Water should be disinfected with ozone or ultraviolet irradiation. Producers are put into spawning grounds in the middle of the day or in the late afternoon. The next morning (or after 2-4 days) spawning takes place, which lasts 2-3 hours. Productivity is 50-150 small transparent eggs. After spawning, the producers are caught and again seated in different aquariums. After 5-6 spawning, repeated every 6-8 days, the fish should be allowed to rest for about a month. Caviar should be darkened. Remove whitened eggs 2-4 hours after spawning. The incubation period is 20-24 hours. On the 4th-5th day, the fry swim. Starter food - ciliates, rotifers, etc. At this time, water hardness should be gradually increased, otherwise dropsy develops. They spawn throughout the year.

Compatibility:

schooling fish, swim more in the middle layers of water and at the bottom.

Additional information:

there are veiled and albino forms of blue neon. In the aquarium live up to 3-4 years.

Rybka kyerry, or as it is also called, false royal tetra- a small, mobile fish with a bright color. The length of the fish is about 5 cm, while males are usually larger than females. Its main color is blue-violet with a longitudinal light stripe. The life expectancy of Kerry reaches 5 years with proper care. The Kerry fish got its second name due to the fact that it is very similar to the Royal Tetra. However, upon closer examination, one can see noticeable differences in each species.

Aquarium

The Kerry fish does not like being alone. It belongs to the schooling species of fish, so Kerry will feel more comfortable surrounded by 8-10 neighbors. The optimal volume of the aquarium for 15 individuals should be at least 60 liters. If you plan to keep more fish, then you need to take care of purchasing an aquarium with a larger capacity. The fish are quite unpretentious, so the aquarium is equipped with a minimum configuration: lighting, filter and compressor. Carries will be happy to have plants in the aquarium, but they also like movement, so you will need to leave more free space for swimming. It is better to cover the aquarium with fish with a lid so that the fish do not jump out. To fully enjoy the beauty of the Kerry fish, side lighting can be installed in the aquarium.

Water parameters

Kerry prefer neutral, soft, slightly acidic water. Ordinary fresh water is not suitable for them. Recommended parameters: gH up to 15°, pH up to 7, t 24-28°C. Fish love cleanliness, so it is advisable to clean the aquarium as often as possible and change the water every week about 20-25%. Kerry get sick from high nitrogen and organic compounds and are difficult to treat.

Feeding

Fish like to take food from the surface. They are quite omnivorous, so you can feed live, frozen or dry food. You should not overfeed your fish.

Behavior and Compatibility

You can hook up with Kerry. In general, any fish with a calm character of the same size will do. Although Kerry fish are quite peaceful, they are able to show aggression towards small neocaridine cherry shrimp and caridine crystals.

Breeding

Breeding these fish is not difficult. The volume of the spawning tank is 5 liters per couple. At the bottom, there must be small-leaved plants and a net. The height of the water level is from 10 to 15 cm with the parameters: pH not higher than 7, GH not higher than 8, kH better than 0, t 26-28°. Fish spawn in the morning. Tadpoles hatch after 19-30 hours at a temperature of 24-26 °, and after about 3 days they begin to feed

Family Characinidae.

Range: Brazil.

Water temperature: 24-27.

Acidity: 6.5-7.5.

Hardness: 1-12°H.

The volume of the aquarium for a small flock: from 70 liters.


Purple neon kerry (Inpaichthys kerry) in its name has the abbreviation INPA, which stands for Brazilian Institute of Amazonian Studies. The fish lives in the upper reaches of the Rio Aripuana.

At first glance, Kerry is very reminiscent of royal tetra(Nemaioerycon palmery). This similarity gave the fish a second name - false royal tetra or blue emperor.

The fish were brought to Russia back in 1979 from Czechoslovakia by the famous Moscow aquarist V. Potapov. He managed to breed them, and a little later presented them at a citywide aquarium exhibition.

In their natural habitat, they live in running water, the hardness of which is 1-2 °, pH 6-6.8, temperature 24-27 ° C.

The fish easily adapt to aquarium conditions and live well in water with a hardness of up to 12 °, pH 6.5-7.5, at a temperature of 24-27 C.

They are unpretentious in feeding - they eat both dry and live food. Feeding aquarium fish ok should be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotus. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regimen for fish.

Sexual dimorphism is not very clear. The male is slimmer than the female. The coloration is bright blue with a purple tint, the adipose fin is pale blue. The female is more angular, the abdomen is noticeably pronounced. Its coloration is duller, yellow-brown tones predominate, the adipose fin is red-or orange-brown. The maximum size is 5 cm, usually 3-4 cm. The maximum productivity is 350 eggs per spawning, an average of about 200. The eggs are glued to plants. The caviar is small, about 1 mm in diameter. Hatching after 18 hours (at a temperature of 26-28 ° C), the embryos are about 1.5 mm long. The larvae pass to an independent life when they reach a length of 2.5 mm. At this time, they greedily pounce on any small food: rotifers, brine shrimp nauplii, etc. Juveniles grow rapidly. Already at the age of four months, the fish become sexually mature.

All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also lively emotions, allowing you to more fully and subtly feel the world of aquarism. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and firsthand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share your successes and joys with us, share experience and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every realization of a mistake that makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us, the more pure and transparent droplets of goodness in the life and life of our seven billionth society.

purple neon kerry

Aquarium fish blue tetra Kerry in Europe appeared as if from nowhere. In 1976, the Czech aquatic botanist Karel Rataj brought back a large collection of living aquatic plants from South America. Together with them, several eggs of this charming fish from a Brazilian river with beautiful name Igarape de Pista de Pongo. Among the brought floristic trophies, K. Ratai found 9 tiny fry, which gave rise to the European population of the blue tetra kerry. There is no doubt that in subsequent years there were other, already purposeful, importations of this attractive characin to Europe. And the ease of breeding Kerry has led to its widespread use in amateur aquariums.

Photo blue tetra kerry

Already at the first acquaintance with the blue Kerry tetra, the surprising similarity of its coloration with the well-known and long-time popular royal tetra Nematobrycon palmeri attracts attention. Because of this, Russian aquarists dubbed the Kerry a false royal tetra.

I somehow don’t like it when they strive to double different, not even related, but similar in appearance fish, calling one of them false. We have heard of a whole series of such innocent "false" fish. It seems that such a name should immediately cause disdain for them, prejudice as to some kind of falsehood, fake. Why do we offend a beautiful fish? Already the second is better spread from someone light hand Name - " purple neon”, although Kerry is not neon at all, and his color is by no means purple.

German lovers have just a kerry tetra - a royal tetra (Kenigtetra), and palmeri - a tetra-emperor (Kaisertetra)! Now that's respect!

Only very popular fish are closely monitored and subjected to persistent,
careful selection by amateurs. They are often and massively bred, they note attractive color metamorphoses that occur when there is some kind of distortion in the fish genes, they try to fix the most attractive and promising of them. Such a fate was prepared for the carry.

For thirty years of their continuous reproduction, amateurs have identified interesting deviations (mutations) in color, which have been fixed and replicated many times. To date, I know of two of them: the Super Blue tetra carry, i.e. "super blue", and the Goldpink carry is "gold pink" (or "rose gold").
Both are periodically put up for sale by the German company Glaser, which specializes in rare species of aquarium fish. Some information about these kerries can be obtained on the Internet or from Moscow aquarists who already had some experience with "purple neon".

Photo blue tetra kerry female

When I became interested in these fish, the first thing I did was interview my friends. Some interesting details emerged. It is believed, for example, that the super blue Kerry tetra is a very capricious and delicate fish, it dies easily, and the pink-gold one is so unattractive (as they sometimes say, “nothing”) that it is not particularly advisable to deal with it.

Amateur aquarists in the bulk of the people are generally unpractical, and they do not care about other people's mistakes. So I decided to confirm this axiom to find own experience. However, by that time, the pink-gold carry from Glasera had disappeared, and I had to limit myself to super blue.

And so on March 3rd, 2010 I received 20 Inpaichthys kerri Super Blue super blue Kerry tetras from Germany.
On one Czech site, photos of shoals of these fish in large aquariums were posted. In flocks, entirely azure, sky-blue males and dark, blackish females were clearly visible. I expected something similar from my purchase. However, the fish that arrived did not look super blue, but black. It took a detailed examination to find out if the individuals in my flock were of different sexes.

Kerry fish are restless, mobile, and it turned out to be quite difficult to catch the difference.

DESCRIPTION OF TETRA KERRY

It turned out the following. The males of the Kerry blue tetra are slightly larger, their blackness gives off a dark violet (here's a purple neon for you!) Or a thick blue, which is better visible from above, and the female is simply black or black and gray. The fins of males are colored as follows: dorsal - dark gray or smoky black, anal - with redness (dark brick), fatty - slightly azure. The bellies of both sexes are milky white.

As with regular tetras, the Kerry tetra is highly dependent on the position of the light source. The most beneficial fish look at side lighting, and worst of all at the top, that is, just the kind that is practiced in modern aquariums. And again the similarity of color with palmeri appeared, this time with the so-called "black", or Nematobrycon amphiloxus.

Without postponing reproduction for later, I selected three pairs and planted them in pre-prepared spawning grounds with soft, slightly acidic water and bunches of Javanese moss, and placed the rest in a 35-liter whole glass jar without soil and also with a large bunch of moss. All aquariums were equipped with box-type sponge filters.

Then things didn't go according to plan. Spawning of the Kerry tetra in spawning grounds did not take place after a week. One of the females was killed by the male. I tried to express eggs from females - almost nothing happened (I was afraid to injure).

He left two males (selected!) together in a 15-liter spawning tank, and reunited the females with the flock.
Almost immediately, unpleasant white spots appeared on the backs of several specimens (in front of the fin). It soon became clear that this was something like an epidemic, which at first spread only among males, and in all this infection arose in the same place already mentioned.

TETRA KERRY DISEASE

Tetra kerry disease was most similar to that caused by the bacterium Flexibacter columnaris. This pathogenic organism is not terrible for strong individuals, but crowding and poor maintenance contribute to its mass development.

Given the speed of manifestation of the disease, one must think that the fish brought this disease with them.
After 2-3 days, ulcers and saprolegnia appeared in place of white spots (secondary fungal disease that occurs on dead tissues).

Photo sex marker tetra kerry

In addition to clean, fresh, daily water changes, I used medicines in the recommended doses: Biseptol, Bactopur and Mycopur (SERA), but I failed to overcome the disease, and most of the super blue kerries died by the middle of the second month.

Attempts to separate the content of infected fish did not help either. Three specimens survived, having lost any mating interest by that time, most likely due to the consequences of the disease.

In this sad story, meanwhile, there is a bright and at the same time somewhat mysterious and incomprehensible page. Kerry, refusing to spawn in randomly selected pairs, already on the third day began to spawn in a flock and continued to spawn, not paying attention to the disease, literally “until the last”!
The “fighters” dropped out one after another, while in the meantime I collected 30-50 eggs from under the grate every evening, of which, unfortunately, only about 10% survived. Either the disease that struck the parents had an effect, or it was a sign of the obviously general degeneration of the species due to its mutation.

It was obvious that all the fish that arrived from Germany would gradually die, and one could only hope that they would have time to create a new home flock.
What was incomprehensible in this story was that the surviving fry did not accept the illness of their parents in any way, showed a good appetite and grew at a normal rate.

Signs of coloration appeared at the age of one month in the form of a black longitudinal stripe. Since all spawning lasted for 1.5 months, fry of different ages were brought up together, and they had to be fed taking into account their size, but in general, the main food was brine shrimp nauplii with the addition of brackish-water rotifers home breeding and ciliates-shoes.

TETRA KERRY SPawn

In the epic with blue kerry tetras, as you can see, I used a flock of prolonged spawning, when a pair is not selected by an aquarist, but is formed by fish arbitrarily ready for spawning.

The conditions for such spawning of the Kerry tetra depend on the size of the spawning flock. For "volley" (pair) spawning, a small capacity -10-12 l can be used; this space is usually enough for manufacturers, but given that good female can spawn more than 350 eggs (I didn’t have a chance to observe this in super blue kerries) and with a favorable outcome for one fry, in this case you will have only 30 ml of water, then it is better to take a larger breeder.

Photo fry tetra kerry

As a spawning substrate, kerries need bushes of small-leaved plants (or moss), squeezing through the thickets of which, characins and spawn in portions of 3-10 pieces. Spawning water: 0.5°dGH, 0.4-0.5°dKH, pH 6.2-6.8 at 26-28°C.

Spawning in the blue kerry tetra occurs at any time of the day, but most often in the very early hours, in low light.
Producers planted in the evening spawn the next day or the next day.

According to my observations, in calm water spawning occurs with difficulty or even fails, at the same time, intense blowing provokes it: kerries like to feel the flow of water that makes them move. To create a current, you can place a low-power, approximately 2 W, water pump near the bottom and direct its flow along the bottom.

When spawning of the Kerry tetra takes place in a common aquarium as part of a flock, the leading male takes a comfortable position near a small-leaved bush or a voluminous bunch of moss and waits for a ready female, vigorously driving away competitors. Of course, the water in the tank must correspond to spawning parameters, and a protective net must be placed at the bottom.

Obviously, it is not necessary to wait until the end of spawning, but simply at the end of the day, with a siphon tube, collect the laid eggs from under the grate, and at the same time the accumulated debris. IN last resort, the eggs can also be sucked straight through the grate without lifting it. Then, from the sludge, select (in the light) healthy caviar and move it to a separate bowl with water from the spawning ground.

Hatching occurs 18 hours after spawning, and after 98-122 hours the larvae pass into the fry stage and begin to feed.

Tetras carry during spawning, very small eggs are thrown, and the hatched larva is also very miniature: the diameter of the egg is 0.95 mm, the length of the newborn at the time of emergence from the shell is 1.7 mm.

The situation is saved by the unusually rapid growth of fry: before the moment they start swimming, they manage to almost double in size due to the yolk sac. These rates continue to be maintained. The maturity of ordinary kerries under favorable conditions of detention occurs after four months. At the same time, their super blue relatives also ripen.

Feeding juveniles of the Kerry tetra is not difficult, so a fish that has switched to afloat after a day of taking the starting food (ciliate, rotifer, cyclops larva) is able to swallow even Artemia nauplius. Kerry juveniles are inactive, hide in the vegetation until the color appears, then its activity increases and the fry rise to the upper layers.

Photo blue tetra kerry

Nursing fry has no features. And the endurance of young carries indirectly confirms the following fact, told to me by V. Miloslavsky, to whom, as usual, I gave the fish to prepare illustrations for this article.

This time the subjects of photography were a pair of spawners I selected and a few Kerry larvae. At the end of the shooting, Vladimir returned the “waste material” to me, and then drained the water from the tank in which the fish were during the photo session, almost to the ground level, turning off, of course, the heating pad and the lamp.

When, a month later, the vessel was required for photographing the next batch of fish, an almost centimeter-sized, completely healthy fry was found in it, which successfully endured both the inevitable temperature changes in such conditions (it was in the spring with its unstable weather), and a meager diet, consisting exclusively of a self-reproducing population of benthic microorganisms, and even forced to be content with not open water, but miserable puddles left in the gravel pits.

I.VANYUSHIN, Mytishchi, Moscow Region

Magazine Aquarium 2010 № 5

Kerry or false Royal Tetra(Inpaichthys kerri) Gery & Junk, 1977

Other names: Kerry Tetra, Purple Imperial Tetra.

Range and Habitat

South America: Aripuanan River, Upper Madeira Basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Mainly inhabited forest areas slowly flowing tributaries of the main riverbed.

The water in these biotopes is often colored brown due to tannins/tannins and other chemical substances released from decaying organic materials, as a result is very acidic.

Description

Purple Imperial Tetra dyed brilliant violet-blue color. The translucent ventral, anal and caudal fins are colored yellow, their dorsal fins are colored various shades of red.

Males and females differ in coloration, the dorsal fin of the male is elongated, the adipose fin of blue color. The rest of the fins are transparent, but the pectoral and anal fins are also tinted blue. The back is light blue to purple. A broad iridescent/shimmering dark blue stripe runs from the snout through the eye to the caudal fin. Below the stripe, the color is pale blue down to the belly, where the color changes to beige.

The female also has an elongated dorsal fin, but the adipose fin is reddish in color. It has a broad black line instead of blue, and the area above it is beige with a silvery blue sheen in reflected light. The belly is white, and sometimes has a silver sheen.


Now on sale there is a breeding form of tetra Kerry - Inpaichthys kerri "Super Blue".

Size

The maximum standard length is 3.5 cm.

Aquarium

A small group of these fish will need an aquarium with a size of about 60*40*30 cm and a volume of 70 liters. Organizing an aquarium biotope is very simple. Use a river sand substrate and add some driftwood, twigs and swirling roots.

A few handfuls of dried leaves (beech or oak leaves can be used) will complete the natural look. Aquatic plants are not feature natural waters in habitats. Driftwood and leaves will stain the water the color of weak tea, remove old leaves and replace them every few weeks so that they do not pollute the water as they decompose.



A small mesh bag filled with peat can be added to the filter or use peat concentrate to help with modeling natural conditions- creation of "black water". Use fairly dim lighting.



An alternative biotope in which Inpaichthys kerri will thrive is an aquarium densely planted with aquarium plants with free places for swimming.

Water parameters:

Temperature: 24-27°C
pH: 5.5-7.0
Hardness: 1-12°DGH

It is advisable to avoid alkaline conditions.

Behavior and Compatibility

The Kerry or False King Tetra is a small, peaceful aquarium fish species that will not compete with more active/aggressive or larger tankmates. Ideally, they should be kept with other South American species, which may include small tetras, nanostomuses, cuneiformes, Apistograms or other dwarf cichlids and peaceful bottom dwellers such as Corydoras and Otocincles. It will also coexist well with small gouras, rasboras and peaceful barbs.

They have a slightly undeserved reputation as fin-biting fish. Although this kind of behavior tends to be kept in insufficient quantities. If a group of half a dozen is acquired, any aggression is generally limited within that pack. And the larger / denser this flock, the definitely much better these fish feel in it and the more interesting their behavior and the brighter the color.

Nutrition

None special requirements. Tetra Kerry will accept any prepared dry food and should be offered small live and frozen food such as brine shrimp, daphnia and the like on a regular basis. A varied diet will help ensure the best color and full development.

Sexual Dimorphism


Females are much less colorful and have a more rounded body shape than males. In addition, they have a predominantly red adipose fin, while in males it is blue.

Breeding

They are regularly bred in captivity. You need to take a separate aquarium as a spawning tank if you want to raise a decent amount of fry. Something around 45*25*25 cm in size for a group of fish and slightly smaller for a pair.



This container should be very dimly lit, as eggs and juveniles of this species are sensitive to light. Add bunches of small-leaved plants such as Java moss or artificial spawning pads to give the fish a place to lay their eggs.

Alternatively, you could cover the base/bottom of the spawning area with some sort of netting. The mesh size should be large enough that the eggs can pass through, but small enough that the producers cannot reach them. Peat filtration is a useful addition as the water will be used after reverse osmosis.

A small low bubbling sponge air filter is all that is needed in terms of filtration.

Water parameters in a spawning aquarium: The water should be soft and acidic in the range of pH 5.5-6.5, Gh 1-5, at a temperature of about 25-28°C.

Spawning can take place in a group, with half a dozen individuals of each sex, to be more productive.



Alternatively, spawning may take place in pairs. When using this method, groups of males and females are kept in separate aquariums. When the females noticeably pick up eggs, and the males acquire a bright color, select the best producers from them (more complete females and the brightest and most active males), it is better to plant them in a spawning aquarium in evening time. They usually spawn the next morning.

In any case, the spawners eat the eggs and should be removed immediately after spawning. The larvae hatch after 24-48 hours, the fry begin to swim freely after 3-4 days. For the first few usually 10-12 days, ciliates are used as starter food until the fry are large enough to accept nematodes or brine shrimp nauplii.

Lifespan Kerry (Inpaichthys kerri) 3-5 years, depending on the conditions of detention.

Notes

Pretty little various kinds aquarium fish can be seen for sale with the same names, including the "royal" tetra. Palmeri or King's tetra (Nematobrycon palmeri) is sometimes confused with Kerry or false King's tetra (Inpaichthys kerri), but they can be easily distinguished from each other, Kerry has an adipose fin, while all Nematobrycon species do not.

The genus Inpaichthys is currently monotypic (contains only one species), as are some other fish associated with the family, such as hithessobricons, and its taxonomic status is Incertae SEDIS, which means uncertain. It is therefore possible that I. Kerri will be reclassified at some point in the future.