how to breed flame tetras

jr.masterbreeder

Does anyone have tips on how to breed Flame tetras? How can I induce spawning? I already have a low PH at around 5.6 (after buffering) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

bettababy

5.6 is pretty low even for those guys... buffering it down into the 6's and keeping it steady, keeping a large enough school of just that species with lots of plants and a good mix of male/female, good healthy foods (brine shrimp, black worms, flake, even formula 1 frozen food) will all help induce spawning. Keep in mind that the fish must first be mature enough to spawn, and any other fish/animal in the tank can either inhibit spawning habits and or eat eggs quickly.
I will do some checking for you to see if there is anything else that may help, but lots and lots of decorations will help most of all, especially plants.
What is their temp? How many of them are there and how big of a tank are they in? What are water params reading for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and kh?

jr.masterbreeder

Nitrate Nitrite and ammonia are all 0. Temperature is 76 degrees fahrenheit. and that ph was a typo. it is 6.5.

Falina

I'm concerned that you have no nitrates. Is the tank brand new? It suggests that the tank hasn't started cycling.

okiemavis

That, or your test is inaccurate. Are you using test strips or liquids?

jr.masterbreeder

liquids. but today i tested it at the pet store and it measured .8 for nitrate and .2 for nitrite. no tank is far from new. its been running since october of 2006.

jr.masterbreeder

and are these guys too hard for me to breed? ive been in this hobby for 3 years so i know quite a bit. (still have alot to learn)

Falina

I'm sorry but i don't know much about breeding this particular tetra. What i will say though, is that I would work on your water quality before attempting to breed. Make sure your amonia and nitrites are 0, as fry are often particularly to bad water quality.

jr.masterbreeder

everything is good now i had it tested at a pet store today and they said it would be good for breeding them. No one at petsmart knew how to breed them though so now is where you guys come in.

bettababy

I'm not sure if a chemical buffer is going to be enough to induce spawning. Keep in mind that chemical buffers will help control pH, but when it comes to the fish GH and KH are going to be just as important.
A safer, cheaper, easier way to buffer your water down to induce spawning would be to add a small pouch of peat moss to the filter.
Then... give them time and keep the water clean... the rest is entirely up to them!