Breeding Yellow Congo Tetra (Alestopetersius Caudalis) In The Aquarium

Yellow Congo Tetra, Caudal Congo Tetra, African Longfin Tetra, Congo Yellow Tetra

Occurrence

A freshwater, endemic species that naturally inhabits the open waters of the Congo River and its tributaries in Africa.

External Appearance

The upper body color is olive-gold, gently opalescent in blue. The lower body color is creamy-silver. The female is slightly smaller than the male, with transparent fins. The male is more colorful, with elongated ventral, dorsal, and anal fins. Additionally, his fins have a white margin.

Temperament

These fish are calm and somewhat shy. They should be kept in larger groups - a minimum of 5-8 pieces. Then they are less skittish, and males display their best colors and compete with each other for the favor of females. Be careful, as the fights of males can end in injuries for them, especially when they dominate in the aquarium (there are more of them than females) or the tank is too small. They can be kept in community tanks with other Alestes, loaches, small armored species, or Synodontis catfish, peacefully tempered dwarf cichlids. Avoid aggressive fish and those which like to nibble on fins. These fishes swim mainly in the middle waters. They do not bite plants.

Aquarium

This species feels best in a tank that has been configured to resemble a flowing river. In that case, the aquarium should be equipped with a sandy-gravel substrate, with larger, rounded stones, plants, and free space for swimming freely.

Breeding

Oviparous species. We should breed fish in a separate tank with clumps of plants with delicate leaves, subdued lighting, slightly acidic and soft water, with a lowered level. We stimulate them to spawn by abundant feeding with live food. The chosen pair (the thickest female and the most colorful male) are moved to the breeding aquarium. The spawning is preceded by intensive courtship by the male. Female lays her eggs in the open water column, which fall to the bottom. Parents are caught - they do not take care of their offspring, they eat eggs and fry. The larvae hatch after about 6-7 days, after another day the fry freely swim in search of food. The roe is very sensitive to rotting - it should be reviewed daily and rotten eggs removed.