Tetras - A great choice for nearly every Fish Keeper
Tetras are one of the best choices for the beginning fish keeper. Their
family, the Characins is one of the oldest as well as one of the most prolific
on the planet, which is a good testimonial to how hardy these little fish are!
In fact, even the smallest tetras have a life span of up to five years. Tetras
are easy-care, lively, unaggressive. Although tetras are indigenous to both
African and South America, those kept in aquarium guide home aquariums are typically the South
American varieties.
Body shapes range from long and narrow to short and stout. If color is
important, there is certainly a tetra that meets your specifications! Cardinal
and neon tetras are small, slender fish that are red, silver-white, and blue.
The biggest difference between them is that the red stripe of the neon begins at
its dorsal fin and ends at its tail while the stripe on the cardinal extends
from head to tail.
The black neon tetra also has a head to tail stripe. Instead of a red stripe,
the black neon has a thick black stripe from head to tail. In place of the blue
stripe of the cardinal, the black neon has a dark green stripe, which runs
through the upper portion of its eye and is displayed in the eye as red. If
black is your color of choice, there are several tetras to suit. The Belgian
Flag Tetra is a silver-bodied fish with a transparent upper body. It has a red
lateral stripe with a darker, wider black stripe underneath. It has clear fins
with black highlights on the caudal fin. The black widow tetra is a dark silver
fish with vertical black lines behind its eyes and fins etched in black. The
black phantom tetra has a transparent body with black highlights, most
noticeably a black patch over its heart.
Yellow tetras include the lemon tetra, the pretty tetra, and the golden tetra
and of course, the yellow tetra. For some real flash in your aquarium, consider
the jeweled tetra, the head and tail light tetra, the glowlight tetra, the glass
tetra or the flame tetra.
Tetras generally are omnivorous, prefer well-planted aquariums, and like to live
in schools of six or more of their kind. One of the wonderful things about them
is that their species has enough diversity to make even a small ten-gallon
aquarium an interesting and attractive part of your aquarium guide home.
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