Emperor tetra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Emperor tetra |
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| A female Emperor Tetra | |
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The emperor tetra (scientific name: Nematobrycon palmeri) is a cool type of characid fish. You can find them in the Atrato and San Juan river areas in western Colombia. People first brought them to the United States in 1960 for aquariums, and they've been popular ever since!
This fish was named after Mervyn George Palmer, an English traveler. He collected many specimens for the British Museum in Central and South America, including the first emperor tetra ever studied.
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What Do Emperor Tetras Look Like?
Emperor tetras can look purple, especially in an aquarium with floating plants and soft lighting. If the tank is too bright, their yellow colors might show more. They have a long, slim body that can grow up to about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long.
If you look closely, you'll see a black line inside a blue stripe from their eye to their tail. Their fins – the dorsal fin (on top), pectoral fins (sides), and anal fins (bottom) – are yellow.
How to Tell Males and Females Apart
It's pretty easy to tell male and female emperor tetras apart because they look quite different!
One of the best ways is to look at their eyes. Males have shiny blue eyes, while females have shiny green eyes. Also, male emperor tetras have a special three-pronged tail. The black stripe in the middle of their tail usually sticks out further than the rest of the tail. In females, this black stripe usually only reaches the clear part of their tail.
Sometimes, a male's third tail prong might get nipped by other fish. Also, some strong female tetras might grow a longer tail extension too. So, checking eye color is often the most reliable way!
It's important not to confuse emperor tetras with the royal tetra (Inpaichthys kerri). They might look similar, but they are different species.
What Do Emperor Tetras Eat?
Emperor tetras are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and small animals. A good quality flake or pelleted fish food is a great base for their diet. They also enjoy live foods like daphnia and mosquito larvae. Frozen foods, such as frozen bloodworms, are also a tasty treat for them.
Reproduction
In a large aquarium with lots of plants, a pair of emperor tetras will often breed on their own. If there are no other fish in the tank, some of the baby fish might even survive. This is especially true if the parent fish are well fed.
In a big, planted tank, the baby fish can find tiny natural foods like protozoa and algae. As they grow, you can feed them screened daphnia or special dry food made for baby fish.
Emperor Tetras as Pets
The emperor tetra is a peaceful fish, so it prefers calm tank mates. It can get stressed by very active or aggressive fish. These fish usually grow to about 1.6 inches (4.2 cm) long.
They like water with a pH of about 6.5. The water hardness should be around 3-6 dKH, and the temperature should be between 23–27 °C (73–81 °F).
Unlike many other tetras, emperor tetras don't always swim in a big group (called a school). A pair of them often seems quite happy together. However, if you add some fresh, cool water to their tank, a large group of emperor tetras might school together for several minutes!
Gallery
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An Emperor Tetra swimming
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A close-up of an Emperor Tetra
See also
In Spanish: Tetra emperador para niños
- List of freshwater aquarium fish species
