# Easiest to breed tetras



## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

I'd like to take a crack at breeding tetras, and I'm looking for suggestions on the easiest to breed. I once had an article that listed about a half dozen of the easiest species, but I can't seem to find it now. Here are three early thoughts:

1. Splashing tetras- I know I've read they're easy to breed. Only problem is I don't think I've ever actually seen them for sale.

2. Glowlights- I've actually had them spawn on several occasions before, though I never had any hatch and survive.

3. Emperor tetras- I've also read that they are easy to breed. As a bonus, they are more colorful than the other two. 

Any other recommendations or any comments on the above possibilities? All help is appreciated.


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## Lupin (Nov 21, 2006)

Most of the tetra eggs you're dealing with are light-sensitive. They should not be exposed to light and should be kept in a dark place.

If you condition the parents with live foods, then you might be able to encourage them to breed though most of them require specific water conditions in order to trigger them to spawn.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...?highlight=breeding+cardinal+glowlight+tetras

MUST READ.

He had glowlights breed no problem.....

The eggs aren't very light sensative.. read the topic.

-Andrew


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## seastar0328 (Apr 3, 2004)

I haven't bred any tetras but I have spoken to a few people who have and most of them had the emperor tetras in common. Good luck on your project and keep us updated!


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

Yes, I kept up with crshadow's project. That was part of the motivation for putting glowlights on the short list. All things considered, they may be what I go with considering 1. highly available and 2. lowly priced. Anyone ever seen splashing tetras? I've read that some consider them the easiest to breed, but if so, where are they???

Any other suggested species?


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## chaznsc (May 1, 2006)

Fish Newb said:


> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...?highlight=breeding+cardinal+glowlight+tetras
> 
> MUST READ.
> 
> ...


Looks like he says they are LS .....also found this.

Hemigrammus erythrozonus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

Are white cloud tetras technically tetras? I didn't think they were, but those are very easy to breed and very very pretty.


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

I don't know who started calling white clouds "white cloud tetras," but they should get a knock on their door in the middle of night from the taxonomic police. Almost all the Characin species are New World fish, with a few in West Africa. White clouds are from East Asia, China I think. I don't have a reference book nearby, but I'd bet they are Cyprinids. 

But yes, they are easy to breed. Just not what I'm looking for.


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

They're cyprinids and really minnows. 

Bharada had some Columbian tetras breed for him and he didn't have to do anything on his part. I've also bred some yellow tail Congos, but didn't have the right conditions for hatching the eggs.


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## seastar0328 (Apr 3, 2004)

There are some splash tetras at sailfin in IL. If you were really in a bind, I could purchase them for you and send them to you for whatever their price is plus shipping.


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

Ibn said:


> Bharada had some Columbian tetras breed for him and he didn't have to do anything on his part. I've also bred some yellow tail Congos, but didn't have the right conditions for hatching the eggs.


Now there's a suggestion I like. I've kept Columbians before, and they have always been hardy and colorful. Thanks. I'll have to keep them in mind for the short list.


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## chris_gillespie (May 16, 2005)

I've bred diamond tetras, columbians, emperors (all three species), and neons. All incredibly easy--especially emperor tetras. The key is lots of Java moss to give the fry cover. Tetra fry grow fast. Any of the fish I listed will be swimming fearlessly with adults in 3 months.


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## dbl_dbl17 (Feb 4, 2012)

chris_gillespie said:


> I've bred diamond tetras, columbians, emperors (all three species), and neons. All incredibly easy--especially emperor tetras. The key is lots of Java moss to give the fry cover. Tetra fry grow fast. Any of the fish I listed will be swimming fearlessly with adults in 3 months.



Hey Chris, could you explain how to get Neons to breed?


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## Canoe2Can (Oct 31, 2004)

I'd forgotten all about this thread. It's been a few years, I guess. I have had emperor tetras breeding in my 120 for several months now. Obviously, most get eaten by the adults, but with the dense growth of dwarf sag and chain swords, some make it each time. There's about 20 juveniles big enough to swim in the open, and I have no idea how many more hiding in the grass. I've had at least 8-10 different spawnings, based on the variety of different sized juveniles and fry.

They started breeding after I moved last summer to a place with much softer water. I also bought a RO/DI filter for my new reef tanks project, so sometimes I cut the tap water with it. I often see the adults spawning after a water change. Right now it's about 7 degrees of general hardness.

I have about fifteen adults in there, probably half and half of each sex, but there are two males who are clearly kings of the castle, judging by their size, attitude, and the length of their fins. They are the only males I ever see spawning. 

For feeding, I give the fry baby brine shrimp, cyclops, or just crumbled flake food. 

Recently I added fifteen neon tetras in the hopes that they will follow suit. Several of the females appear to be fattening up, but I haven't seen any activity yet. I'm trying to get the water hardness down below 6 degrees for them. But since their eggs are supposedly light sensitive and since their fry will probably be smaller than the emperors, I don't know if they'll survive even if they spawn.

Meanwhile, I also have bristlenose plecos spawning in there. I've already removed about sixty of them to sell to the LFS, and I have to get busy catching them again soon.


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