Dwarf tetraodons are small, beautiful, harmful snailophiles. Dwarf tetraodons - small, beautiful, harmful snailophiles Tetradons are small and snails are large

IN lately You can buy a variety of exotic fish in pet stores. One of the most unusual, but very remarkable inhabitants of aquariums is the dwarf tetradon. Many people know very little about this cute and funny fish, so they often make mistakes when keeping them.

HABITAT IN NATURE

IN recent years, a lot of fish originally from India appeared. These include the denison barb, the dario dario and many other, not yet so popular species. But standing apart from them is the dwarf yellow tetradon. They are originally from the state of Kerala, in south india. They live in the Pamba River, which flows from the mountains and empties into Lake Vembanad (where they also live). The Pabma River is different slow flow and rich in vegetation.
This means that the dwarf tetradon is completely freshwater fish, unlike all of its relatives, who at least need salted water.

Description and features

Appearance behavior dwarf tetradon(lat. Carinotetraodon travancoricus) makes it a very attractive and sought-after fish. The body is pear-shaped with a transition to a large head. It is quite dense with small spines that are not visible when the fish is calm, but if it is scared or worried about something, fish inflates like a ball and spikes become a weapon and protection.

However, such frequent transformation of it negatively affects health and it is impossible to specifically frighten the tetradon.

In this case the size dwarf tetradon reaches 2.5 cm. The anal fin is poorly defined, the others are expressed by soft rays. Relative to the body, the fins look miniature and are very mobile, like the wings of hummingbird.

The fish has large, expressive eyes that amaze with their mobility, but if the tetradon is looking at something, they will stand almost motionless.

Mouth fish somewhat reminiscent of a bird's beak, with fused premaxillary and jaw bones, however, the fish is predatory and also has 4 plates of teeth, located two at the bottom and at the top.

Distinguishing a male from a female is a very difficult task. Sexually mature male tetradons are usually colored brighter than fish females of the same age and have a dark line along the abdomen. Tetradons come in a variety of colors, some of which form the names of the varieties of these fish.

Taking into account the characteristics of tetradons, the following conditions can be distinguished for their comfortable life in an aquarium: Availability of clean fresh water. Individuals do not tolerate even slightly salted water; this can cause them to quickly die. On average, 5-7 liters of water, sufficiently balanced in terms of the amount of nitrates and ammonia (fish are sensitive to them), are enough for one tetradon to live. Maintaining sufficient temperature. Since they come from India, to keep them the water temperature must be kept constantly warm - about 23-26 degrees. Aquarium water must be clean.

Tetradons can easily eat only the required amount of food and leave the leftovers to rot. It is recommended to use a filter, do not forget to fill clean water(about 20% to total mass per week). Arrange the “interior” of the aquarium. These fish love to hide in plants and swim among snags, so you should take care of their presence in advance. In general, we can say that tetradons are quite unpretentious fish, they are able to adapt, you just need to take them into account unique features. They prefer balance, so when it comes to arranging their home, you just need to avoid extremes. You should also remember that they are far from expert swimmers; it is not recommended to create a strong current in the water (do not use strong filters).

Nutrition

The biggest difficulty in keeping dwarf tetradons is proper feeding. No matter what the pet store tells you, fish don't touch pellets or flakes. In their natural habitat they feed on invertebrates, snails and small insects. Therefore, at home you will have to provide them with the same diet, otherwise they will starve.

The best food options are squid (frozen) and small snails (melania, frieza). Tetradons will not refuse bloodworms, artemia and daphnia. Although they still prefer live food, which they can hunt for.

Whatever food you choose, the basis of your fish’s diet should be snails. They not only get enough of them, but also grind their teeth on their shells. This food will not be enough for a long time, so it is better to grow arthropods in another container and plant them in the aquarium with the tetradons as needed. It should be taken into account that fish will ignore large snails.

It is recommended to feed pets twice a day, giving food in small portions. Fish are prone to overeating, so there is no need to be overzealous.

Compatibility

The dwarf tetradon is a very quarrelsome neighbor that will not leave other inhabitants of the aquarium alone. Therefore, it is better to keep such fish separately, especially since they do not need a large displacement. Tetradons are very territorial, and in the fight for their space they can be extremely aggressive. This often results in the death of their rivals, even if they are larger. Among those with whom pufferfish predators can exist in peace for some time: otocinclus and shrimp.

A fairly large flock of tetradons can live in one aquarium, but only if there is a sufficient amount of food and shelter.

Reproduction

Dwarf tetradons form a short-term pair of a male and a female and arrange preliminary games. The male, having fluffed out his dorsal and ventral crests, circles around the female. If she reciprocates, she will follow the male to his designated spawning location, lay her eggs and swim away. The male will remain to fertilize her. This procedure can be repeated several times. The male usually chooses a spawning site in dense thickets of plants or in thickets of aquarium mosses. The area with the laid eggs will be such that the male can protect it from other annoying males.

The male dwarf tetradon will guard the territory with eggs and ventilate it until the young hatch. Females do not take any part in caring for eggs and raising offspring. The fry are born large enough for such a small fish, and are immediately able to take newly hatched brine shrimp, although not all fry are born so large. Hobbyists often manage to breed tetradons at home.

Tetradon caviar is transparent, up to approximately a millimeter in size. On average, one female produces about a hundred eggs. Parents are not sentimental and may well eat their future offspring.

Experienced aquarists collect fertilized eggs using a pipette or other devices and send them to safer conditions. In this case, milky white eggs are rejected; most likely they are unfertilized or diseased. A small tank with water from general aquarium will be enough for the fry to appear. Temperature and other requirements are the same as described earlier, a special filter is needed, without the risk of absorbing eggs or fry. Algae and moss from the parent site will also be useful.

You should wait about a week and larvae will appear from the eggs - future tetradons. The first three days they do not need feeding due to reserves from yolk sac. Having settled in a new place, the fry more and more resemble brave little ones - tetradons; fine food such as ciliates and microworms will provide them further development, and in a month, the little ones will try “adult” food for the first time - frozen bloodworms.

After two months, they reach a length of one centimeter and can themselves hunt small inhabitants of their environment.

Diseases

This small predator gets sick very rarely. Most often, the cause of illness is improper care and poor living conditions. Poisoning with ammonia compounds. The gills suffer the most; they become inflamed, turn red and increase in size. The fish breathes with difficulty and prefers to stay close to the surface. The problem can be eliminated by installing a good filter, frequent water changes, siphoning the bottom and adding zeolite to the water - a drug that absorbs excess ammonia. Nitrate poisoning. A sick fish first becomes agitated, moves erratically, and reacts to the slightest stimuli.

Then convulsions develop, the tetradon goes to the bottom. All his fins and gills are spread out, his mouth is open. Sick fish should be immediately placed in a temporary aquarium with clean water, and constantly siphon the bottom thoroughly, replace half of the water with fresh water, rinse the filter and add substances that neutralize nitrates. Dropsy. The tetradon's abdomen is strongly inflated, and its scales are raised. The color loses intensity and brightness. Most likely, your tetradon is lacking food. Increase the diet, improve its quality, switch the fish only to live food and be sure to feed snails. Life expectancy If you keep the tetradon in good conditions, he can live about 5 years.

Carinotetradon travancoricus(scientific Carinotetraodon travancoricus), which is also found under the name Tetradon Dwarf, Dwarf Puffer Fish(eng. Dwarf Puffer Fish) or simply Dwarf Puffer(eng. Dwarf Puffer), in many ways, can be an ideal puffer fish for most aquarists. Firstly, they live in fresh water and originate from India. Secondly, the most convenient feature of Dwarf Tetradons is that they are very small and do not grow more than 3cm in length. Such small sizes make it possible to keep them in 20 liter aquariums, which is not permissible for most other pufferfish, which require larger containers.

It is very important to choose the right neighbors for Tetradonov Dwarfs. For example, they can get along well with Otocinclus catfish. Dwarf Puffer, as their owners assure, do not bother Otocinclus and give them the opportunity to do their job of cleaning the aquarium from algae. They stick to most other fish and often bite. And in general there are very few fish that can be successfully kept with Dwarf Tetradons. Most of them are either too large and capable of swallowing Fugu whole, or, on the contrary, they are too small and weak, as a result of which they die from Tetradon bites. For example, if you put Corydoras catfish in an aquarium with these pufferfish, then after a while you may notice that they are thoroughly, often even fatally bitten. Also, large shrimps are sometimes kept together with Dwarf Pufferfish, but such company still needs to be constantly monitored, otherwise invertebrates can become a good snack for pufferfish. It's essentially a game of chance with shrimp.

Tetradons Dwarf in a poorly equipped aquarium they can start to get bored. To prevent this from happening, experts recommend keeping them in a 20-liter aquarium, the bottom of which is covered with sand and densely planted with plants. It is also very important that the container has plenty of good hiding places. Or rather, there should be much more of them than the Tetradons themselves. This is very important when keeping a group of Dwarf Puffer, as they can be very territorial.

Experts recommend keeping Tetradon Dwarfs in a ratio of 1 male to 2-3 females. Females are generally more rounded than males. As the male Dwarf Puffer ages, a dark line appears along the entire length of his abdomen, and rainbow-colored “wrinkles” often appear on his face.

Reproduction of Tetradon Dwarfs in captivity it is possible, but this happens quite rarely, and in most cases without the intervention of an aquarist. These Puffer are more shy (most likely due to their small size) than their larger relatives, such as the Green Spotted Puffer or Figure 8 Puffer.

Tetradons Dwarf can be quite picky about their food. Most will accept frozen bloodworms, snails, and live worms such as tubifex or blackworms. They are also fed all kinds of shrimp food and daphnia.

Like all pufferfish, Dwarf Tetradons are very sensitive to water conditions, so try to constantly monitor its quality. There should be no ammonia and nitrites in the aquarium at all (the indicator should be zero), and the nitrate content should tend to zero (preferably below 10 ppm, but not more than 20 ppm). In addition, before introducing new Dwarf Puffer into the aquarium, they must be properly acclimatized to it.

Tetradon dwarf - photo.

Tetradon Dwarf - video.

Tetradon Dwarf - maintenance and reproduction.

Scientific name: Carinotetraodon travancoricus (Carinotetraodon travancoricus).

Common names: Tetradon Dwarf, Tetradon Yellow, Dwarf Puffer, Little Puffer (Peewee puffer), Pea Puffer, Pygmy Puffer, Bumblebee Puffer, Indian Dwarf Puffer, Fugu Malabar (Malabar puffer), etc.

Level of care for Tetradon Dwarf: easy.

Size: about 3cm (1 inch).

pH: 6.5 to 7.5.

t 0: 24-28 0 C (76-82 0 F).

Water hardness: from 5 0 to 20 0 dH.

Live Tetradons Dwarf about 5 years.

Habitat/Origin of Dwarf Puffer: inland waters India.

Behavior/Temperament: semi-aggressive. They love to bite fish, snails, shrimp and other aquarium inhabitants.

Reproduction of Tetradon Dwarfs: Getting fry of these fish is not easy, but it is still easier than breeding other pufferfish.

In order for Dwarf Tetradons to begin to reproduce, they are transplanted into a separate spawning tank. Typically, 2-4 fish are placed in a 40-100 liter container (20 liters per 1 fish). You cannot allow more than one male into the aquarium, as they are territorial. Therefore, it should be either a pair or 1 male and 2-3 females. It is preferable to plant one male and several females for spawning. This will allow the females to not suffer as much from the male's pursuit and bites as they would if there was only one female in the tank.

The spawning tank for Dwarf Tetradons should have weak filtration. If it is not there, you will have to change the water regularly. Sand or fine gravel is usually poured into the bottom of the container. These puffers love to lay eggs among small-leaved plants, so the spawning ground must be planted with Java Moss, Ambulia, Cabomba, etc.

Immediately after transplantation into the spawning tank, Tetradon Dwarfs begin to be fed abundantly, using snails and other live food. The male, ready for spawning, becomes very bright and beautiful. He begins to chase the female and if she is not yet ready to spawn, he bites her on the sides. After a while, spawning itself occurs in the thickets. The female releases eggs, and the male releases milk. Each female is capable of laying only a few very small (1 mm) non-stick eggs (up to 10 pieces), which fall on the plants and to the bottom. But at the same time, spawning can occur daily.

When breeding Dwarf Tetradons, you should remember that they love to eat their eggs, so they need to be removed from the spawning area. To do this, using a large pipette or tube, it is transplanted into an incubator that has the same water parameters as the spawning tank. But the difficulty here is that the eggs of these puffers are practically invisible. Therefore, experts recommend that, if you notice behavior similar to non-mating games, periodically go through hard-to-see areas with a tube or pipette. Pour the collected water, even if it contains debris, into the incubator - there may be caviar there.

Tetradon Dwarf fry appear on the 2nd day after spawning, and at first feed on their yolk sacs. Later they begin to be fed using ciliates or microworms. As they grow, they are switched to larger foods, such as Artemia nauplii, then to small snails, etc.

Tetradon Dwarf fry grow quickly. In just 2 months they reach 1cm. As they grow, they need to be sorted, since the larger ones can eat the smaller ones.

Aquarium size: Due to their territorial nature, it is recommended that each Dwarf Puffer be provided with at least 20 liters of water.

Compatibility: if there is enough space in the aquarium and it is properly equipped, then Dwarf Tetradons can be kept in groups. They also get along well with

Tetradon is a dwarf fish, which, due to its size and characteristics, is ideal for life in an aquarium.

The demand for them is gradually growing, although they cannot be found on sale everywhere. But before you buy, you need to know how to ensure best opportunities for life and reproduction in an aquarium so that the tetradon can live in comfortable conditions.

Key features of this species

Being the smallest of the family, it is the dwarf yellow that is used in aquariums; its main feature and difference from its “brothers” is that it is freshwater.
In Latin it is called Carinotetraodon travancoricus and originated in southern India. This fish is really small: an adult is only 2.5-3 cm in length. Although it is small, it is considered a predator, which directly affects feeding (more details below). This little guy has a funny behavior when in danger - he “swells” 2-3 times in size if he feels threatened (or if he feels like it in the aquarium). This effect occurs due to the fact that it fills its tummy with water: this way the individual scares away larger predators, making it difficult to swallow. Funny photos and videos demonstrating this behavior can be easily found on the Internet.
It is also distinguished by its hunting, long-term “aiming” - initially it freezes over its prey (a worm or snail), examining it, and selects right moment to attack, and the process can be quite long. And if live food tries to bounce off it, then the tetradon will have to “set up” again to attack.
They wake up with the advent of light (solar or artificial), adult individuals are quite calm if they are full, and young tetradons prefer a more active lifestyle, moving back and forth around the aquarium. Mature males, unlike females, are brighter in the center of the abdomen; they have a small dark stripe on the abdomen.

This fish protects itself by “bloating”

Despite their size, tetradons are very smart - they remember the owner who feeds them, and even specifically wait for him, and they are also curious and love to see what is happening outside the aquarium! They see what is happening behind the glass and can attract attention with their behavior in order to get more food. This is sometimes surprising: there is enough information, photos and videos on the Internet that depict such behavior.
Another unique feature of dwarf tetradons: in addition to the fact that they can live in exclusively fresh water, individuals of this species are able to turn their eyes - very few fish are able to do this. They do not have to turn their entire body to change the focus and direction of vision.
If all conditions for a comfortable existence are met, then life expectancy is more than 6 years. If you are interested in them, you should be warned that they are becoming fashionable on the Russian market, and there are not yet many video materials in Russian from people who could describe their experience. Therefore, for now, we often have to turn to videos from foreign users to clearly see how to care for individuals of this species.

Requirements for keeping in an aquarium

Taking into account the characteristics of tetradons, the following conditions can be distinguished for their comfortable life in an aquarium:

In general, we can say that notebooks are quite unpretentious, they are able to adapt, you just need to take into account their unique features. They prefer balance, so when it comes to arranging their home, you just need to avoid extremes.
You should also remember that they are far from expert swimmers; it is not recommended to create a strong current in the water (do not use strong filters).

Behavior of individuals, compatibility

Although it is believed that other fish will not suffer from dwarf tetradons, these individuals are quite assertive. This is surprising, but in some people they can be calm, while in others they can tear off the fins of their neighbors and “kill” them. IN different conditions content, they behave differently, and it is also worth remembering individual qualities character of each individual.
But still, for the most part, they are quite peaceful and can live with other species in the same aquarium. Their aggressiveness decreases if the habitat is equipped and there is a place for it; therefore, the presence of shelters (snags, plants, etc.) is important in this regard.

Life expectancy is about 6 years

Individuals of the species Carinotetraodon travancoricus show aggression towards slow fish (veiled fish, etc.), while more active species are perceived more calmly by them.
Also, yellow tetradons should not be kept together with shrimps and other invertebrates - this small and remote fish is a predator and will attack its “roommates”.

Feeding

This is one of the most important points. They do not eat dry food, or rather, very inactively. Food must be served live or frozen. They eat with pleasure:

small snails (such as melanea, coils, etc.) are required;
insects (moths), can be frozen;
planktonic crustaceans (daphnia, artemia), can be frozen;
mollusks and other small invertebrates.

Snails should be present in the regular diet of tetradons because they grind their teeth on their shells. And in this sense, snails need to be selected - specimens with hard shells are not suitable.
Feeding rules can be found on various videos on the Internet. For example, it is recommended to mix frozen food with live food and serve it together (in case tetradons are not too willing to eat frozen food). If you do not give these fish live food, they are quite capable of starving and dying.

Breeding

Tetradons can easily reproduce in aquariums if living conditions are comfortable. What needs to be done?

In order for spawning to be successful, the tetradons are well fed at the first stage. How time is getting closer spawning, the brighter the color of the males will be; The behavior of males will become very active.
Conditions are created in the correct proportions: in a group of fish, females should predominate 3 to 1. At this time, it is better not to keep males next to each other. In addition, the water temperature can be increased to 28 degrees. Since the eggs are deposited on the bottom, you need to prepare a substrate - small plants and, especially, moss will do. Planting the spawning area (spawning ground) with plants should be dense.
The male will relentlessly follow the female until she lays eggs, which he will immediately fertilize. Up to 50 transparent eggs are usually deposited on the bottom, each less than a millimeter in size.
Immediately after spawning, the male and female should be removed from the area where the eggs are incubating, because they can eat them. Unfertilized eggs must be removed.
The fry appear after 5-7 days. 3-4 days after hatching, they empty their yolk sacs, and now they need to be fed by the owner - microworms, later ciliates, brine shrimp, etc.

How to properly monitor spawning can be found in a variety of training videos.

As a result, we can say that dwarf tetradons are very unusual fish that can surprise and delight with their behavior. Caring for them is not as difficult as it might seem; the main difficulty is the need for regular feeding with live food. However, they will delight responsible owners for a long time!

It is very difficult nowadays to remain uniformly calm. Time flies, life is hectic, we are constantly in a hurry, we don’t have time to do anything. And so a five-minute rest is not enough to sit down, relax, drink a cup of herbal soothing tea and not think about anything.

Some people listen to relaxing music, others meditate. Someone needs to go to coniferous forest or a birch grove and be alone. But not everyone has this opportunity. And a vacation with a trip to the sea is only once a year. How to find a way out of this situation.

Recommendations from psychologists, get them aquarium fish. They will restore your emotional background without words. And their care is minimal, change the water on time and do not overfeed. No need to walk them like dogs. Change trays, which is done after cats.

Without stopping to catch an escaped hamster, or not getting enough sleep at night listening to chinchillas being awake. The fish will calm you down, put your thoughts in order, let you think about the eternal, and listen carefully to conversations about painful issues.

People who are interested in Feng Shui believe that having an aquarium in your home will definitely bring you wealth measured in money, as well as wealth of soul. Which, to be honest, is something many people really miss.

And there is a huge number of them, different colors and sizes. WITH long tails and completely without them. With a mustache, needle noses, or just round like a ball. But if you still decide to buy a fish or many different ones, whole families.

Tetradon will inflate if startled, but this can lead to death

This undertaking must be taken with full responsibility. Because not all of them get along with each other, they have different temperatures water for maintenance, and feed components also differ. And in order to avoid getting upset when you gain joy, study this issue more carefully, and we will help you with this.

Description and features of tetradon

Dwarf tetradon or scientifically they are also called Carinotetradon travancoricus - this is dwarf fish fugu. They belong to the pufferfish family. As for their distant biological relatives living on the high seas, they are probably the most poisonous fish throughout the aquarium.

Delicious exotic dishes are prepared from them, but making even the slightest mistake during preparation can result in losing your life. And many beginners mistakenly think that domestic babies are just as poisonous, and are afraid to add other fish to their aquariums. Tetradons people from India. They are inhabitants of fresh waters, which is why they are not problematic to keep.

Dwarf tetradon It is easy to find out in the aquarium where he lives. Firstly, these are small fish, smaller than a matchbox. Boy fish have an elongated body, while girls have a slightly rounder body. Unlike puffer fish, they do not have spines on their bellies.

And instead of them, just a black stripe across the entire abdomen. Appearance depends entirely on the psycho-emotional state. If the fish has a good day in the morning and is in a great mood. That tetradon floats in the aquarium bright yellow-green color. If the mood changes, the fish darkens and becomes covered with black peas.

But, as they say, genes take their toll, despite the pretty appearance, tetradon fish predators. They can cause harm to smaller fry and even more big fish. Since they have four constantly growing teeth, they must grind them down somewhere. That's why Tetradon fish You need to add small shrimp or snails to your food.

When a fish is anxious or feels danger, its stomach fills with oxygen or liquid. Just like the puffer fish, it can inflate like a balloon to a frighteningly large size. But it’s better to take care of her nerves and not allow this condition to happen again, it has a bad effect on the health of the tetradons.

This fish is quite active, but if you notice that it has frozen motionless in the aquarium. Don't be alarmed, the tetradon is just looking at something carefully. Quite an interesting sight, her eyes, independent of each other, move in all directions.

This is a very curious fish. She can spend a long time looking at what is happening outside the aquarium. Having carefully studied its owners, the dwarf tetradon immediately recognizes them upon further meetings. The fish's mouth is somewhat unusual, very reminiscent of a bird's beak.

Tetradon fish loves to eat snails

When it first gets into an unfamiliar aquarium, the fish becomes wary and gradually arches its tail. This is a sign of her aggression, a defensive reaction. But after quickly becoming familiar with all the inhabitants, calm comes.

Care and maintenance of tetradon

Tetradons are a type of fish that do not need much space to keep them. For a small flock, a two-bucket aquarium will be enough. To roughly understand exactly how much water is needed for fish, calculate the ratio - three liters per fish.

And exclusively fresh water, you need to carefully monitor its quality. Since the fish recently came to us, they have not yet been fully studied. To avoid their death, the water must be free of ammonia and nitrate compounds, and no salt.

Since baby tetradons are big fans of hunting snails. After eating their prey, they leave a lot of waste at the bottom of the aquarium, which over time begins to rot.

The photo shows the teeth of the tetradon, which are very strong

You need to clean it well and often by installing powerful filters. Then make sure that the filters do not create a large current. It is almost impossible for dwarf tetradons to overcome it. And change one third of the water daily.

The water temperature for their habitat should be within twenty-five degrees Celsius. Cover the bottom of the aquarium with sand from the river, mixed with small pebbles. Plant a lot of greenery, the fish love it very much. And in some places of the aquarium, make dense plantings so that they can hide there.

These fish can exist in any light. But the brighter it is, the more saturated the color of dwarf tetradons stands out. One compressor is fully capable of providing good oxygen saturation aquarium water.

Tetradon nutrition

What to feed a dwarf tetradon, now we will study. About great love we already know about small snails. They serve not only as food, but also as a kind of sandpaper for grinding down constantly growing teeth. In a larger snail, the tetradon will not bite through the shell, but will pinch with its teeth until it gets tired and starts to crawl out.

Also, tubeworms, bloodworms, daphnia, and small shrimp are suitable for feeding them. And both raw and frozen.

Tetradons are curious not only about their surroundings, but also about food. Therefore, if the food is not frozen, at least put it in the feeders. Otherwise, a live bloodworm or shrimp will not wait until people admire them and will quickly bury themselves in the sand.

And this dwarf predator will also closely examine each subsequent victim until it runs away without thinking twice. If there is no such feeder, then throw in the worms at intervals, not all at once.

The number of feedings per day should not exceed two times. They are big gluttons, and when they overeat, obesity occurs. The functioning of the liver and kidneys is disrupted, which leads to premature death. Throw food in small portions.

It is important for beginner aquarists, in order to avoid malnutrition of babies, that they do not recommend this in specialized stores. Remember, dwarf tetradons eat only natural, live food. They do not feed on any pellets, unlike other fish.

Compatibility with other fish

In fact, tetradons have individual characters. But they are considered more active and aggressive yellow tetradons. They, of course, need to be kept only in a separate aquarium. Otherwise, the fish adjacent to the dwarfs will be bitten and nipped.

But there is no need to despair, these fish can be kept in whole schools, they do not need large volumes of water. Introduce snails and shrimp with them. True, these predators will quickly hunt them. If possible, set aside a separate container in the house for breeding snails.

Diseases and life expectancy

All their diseases are closely related to care and proper feeding. Since in good conditions tetradons live more than three - four years.

So, if you overfeed a fish, it will inevitably become obese, which leads to near death.

If you notice a bloated belly on your fish, ruffled scales, and dull coloration, you know your fish is starving. Due to feeding babies with store-bought flakes or granulated food. Review the diet, only live bait and snails and shrimp will save the babies.

Since they predatory fish, then the likelihood of helminth infection is very high. And if you have purchased new fish and want to add them to existing ones, do not rush to do this. Place them in a separate container for two weeks to prevent disease.

Tetradon MBU

If the aquarium is not cleaned regularly, ammonia and nitrate compounds are released in the water, which is harmful to the fish. You need to install good filters in sufficient quantity, change the water regularly, and clean the bottom of the aquarium. Zeolite diluted in water will eliminate ammonia compounds.

When a fish gets sick, the first thing that gets damaged is the gills. They increase in size and become bloody. The fish find it difficult to breathe and rise to the very top of the water.

When poisoned by nitrates, the fish becomes irritated and agitated. Then convulsions occur. And with open gills and an open mouth, the fish sinks to the very bottom. It is necessary to immediately put it in an isolator, completely clean and change the bottom, change and purify the water. Add a solution that blocks nitrate compounds.

Reproduction of dwarf tetradons

For greater reproductive efficiency, dwarf tetradons have spawning grounds separate from the flock. This is a temporary, not large aquarium, with densely planted vegetation. The presence of moss is very desirable. A pair, or preferably a male and a pair of females, are placed in a temporary home. One female can be severely tortured by a male.

It is not difficult to distinguish who is who. Females are more rounded in shape, males are oblong, with a dark stripe across the entire belly. The transplanted fish are well fed in mating season. The male acquires a brighter color and begins to pursue his lady of the heart.

Pictured is a dwarf red-eyed tetradon

In the most common places, the female releases almost imperceptible eggs, a little more than seven or eight of them. And floats away. She never returns to her offspring. Unlike a male individual. The tetradon releases milk and remains to protect the offspring.

The most optimal thing, for reliability, is to remove the eggs from them, in order to avoid them being eaten by fish. This procedure can be carried out using a pipette or a small hose.

New offspring can already be seen in a couple of days. But here you also need to be on alert. Otherwise, the fry are not born of the same size, and larger ones often eat smaller fish.

Tetradon price

In specialized stores, or from aquarium fish lovers, you can buy tetradone, and even a whole flock. Yellow notebooks cost from two hundred rubles. Green tetradons will be a little more expensive, from three hundred rubles.

Tetradon Kutkutya

Types of tetradons

One of the representatives living in freshwater - Tetradon Mbu. The largest species, growing up to half a meter. The shape is somewhat similar to a pear. Enough angry fish, and doesn’t know how to be a neighbor at all. Such a tetradon definitely needs to be kept separate from everyone else.

Another fish from the tropics - tetradon eight. It is yellow-brown in color and aggressive. The back is covered with spots similar to the number eight.

Tetradon Kutkutya with an egg-shaped body, yellow - green. It has no scales at all, but has small spines. It is covered in poisonous mucus. Green tetradon– he is so active that while playing, he can fall out of the aquarium.

Bornean red-eyed tetradon

The dwarf tetradon became known to aquarists relatively recently, but quickly gained popularity. This is due to the fact that small predator can be kept in nano-aquariums - 15 liters is enough for a small flock. The fish also have distinctive feature behavior - they carefully monitor what is happening outside their home. Some breeders claim that pets begin to recognize their owner after a couple of months.

Description

Dwarf tetradons are the smallest representatives of their species - their maximum length only 3 cm. These fish have an oblong body with a pointed muzzle and a back with a hump. They have large bulging eyes that are able to move independently of each other, which is what we give to tetradons good review. Remaining motionless, the fish sees everything that is happening around it.

The coloring of the tetradon is unique. Usually the fish has a yellow color, but when its mood or lighting changes, it changes. The pet may turn brown, green or bronze. Only black spots located throughout the body do not fade.

The dwarf tetradon is very unpretentious. Let's start with the fact that he needs a very small aquarium - from 10 to 20 liters per individual, different sources give different figures. The main thing is that the water is completely balanced, since the fish are very sensitive to the level of nitrates and ammonia. Do not add salt under any circumstances, since tetradons naturally live in fresh water bodies.

We list the main parameters of water:

The temperature is from 24 to 27. The minimum can drop to 19, and rise to 29. But these are critical indicators, the fish will not live long in such conditions.
Normal hardness – from 5 to 22; carbonate – from 7 to 16.
PH – from 6.6 to 7.7.

Regarding the arrangement of the aquarium:

River sand mixed with small pebbles is perfect as a soil.
There must be plants. It is advisable to create dense thickets in the corners of the aquarium where tetradons can hide. Any plants will do - the fish will not cause them any harm.
Any lighting will do. But in bright light their color becomes richer and more interesting.
You will definitely need to install a powerful filter and replace 1/3 of the water volume daily. Tetradons tend to leave garbage after eating because they never pick up fallen pieces from the bottom. Snails could be a salvation, but small predators hunt them and very quickly eat everyone.
One compressor is enough to supply the fish with oxygen.

General cleaning of the aquarium is done once a week.

Feeding

The biggest difficulty in keeping dwarf tetradons is proper feeding. No matter what the pet store tells you, fish don't touch pellets or flakes. In their natural habitat, they feed on invertebrates, snails and small insects. Therefore, at home you will have to provide them with the same diet, otherwise they will starve.

The best food options are squid (frozen) and small snails (melania, frieza). Tetradons will not refuse bloodworms, artemia and daphnia. Although they still prefer live food, which they can hunt for.

Compatibility

A fairly large flock of tetradons can live in one aquarium, but only if there is a sufficient amount of food and shelter.

Reproduction and gender characteristics

The male is easy to distinguish from the female by size (they are much smaller) and the presence of a ventral ridge and a dark stripe running along the entire abdomen. Sometimes the color of boys can be much darker. Also during mating games The dorsal and ventral fins of the male acquire a yellowish tint.

Dwarf tetradons reproduce well in home aquariums. To create optimal conditions A pair or one male and several females are placed in the spawning tank. The second option is preferable, since it makes it possible to increase the offspring - one female lays no more than 10 eggs. In addition, the male will not be able to drive his girlfriend to death, since he will be busy with the others. Never house two males together. This will lead to a fight that will end with the death of one of them.

First, several thin-leaved plants will need to be planted in the spawning area - it is in their thickets that the reproduction process will take place. The water should always be at the same temperature – 25 degrees. Future parents need to be fed heavily before spawning, preferably with snails and live food.