About the Kerri Tetra
Species Type: Freshwater Fish
Category: Characins
Care Level: Easy. Does well in a slightly more narrow range of water parameters and shouldn't be used to cycle an aquarium. Will eat most prepared foods. May have some specific care requirements in terms of particular water parameters, social behaviors, food items etc.
Origin: Amazon Basin, Brazil: Rio Aripuana, upper Rio Madeira basin.
Compatibility/Temperament: A peaceful and social tetra, it must be maintained in a group of minimum 5 but preferably a few more. Suitable for community aquaria with similar small, peaceful fish such as other tetras, rasbora, pencilfish, dwarf cichlids, catfish, loaches, gourami.
Description
A tank furnished with several plants and driftwood with some leaf litter and tannic acids provided by driftwoods and peat filtration will make an excellent tank environment for these little fish. It prefers well-planted aquaria, but swimming room must be provided. This tetra will do best when kept in a group in soft, slightly acidic water but will still adapt to various water conditions so long as they are properly acclimated to it and the water is not too hard. In non-planted tanks, or with different water parameters, the colours will not be defined and it will appear washed out.
A ready spawner when conditions are to its liking, the sexes are easily identified by the colour of the adipose fin; on males it is blue, but on females it is reddish-orange. The male also has a luminous blue sheen over the body. These characteristics can be seen in the accompanying photo.
This fish is sometimes commonly named the Blue Emperor Tetra, though it is not closely related to the true "Emperor" tetra Nematobrycon palmeri nor N. lacortei. The kerri tetra possesses an adipose fin, which is absent on both Nematobrycon species.
This species was described by Gery & Junk in 1977.
The genus Inpaichthys was previously considered within the Sub-Family Tetragonopterinae, but this classification has for some time been deemed incertae sedis [Latin for "of uncertain placement"]. In a study published in 2010, it was determined that the Sub-Family Tetragonopterinae should only be used for species within the genus Tetragonopterus. [Robert Javonillo, Luiz R. Malabarba, Stanley H. Weitzman and John R. Burns, "Relationships among major lineages of characid fishes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes), based on molecular sequence data," Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Vol. 54, No. 2 (February 2010)]. Also, J. Marcos Mirande proposed several revisions to the Family Characidae based upon phylogenetic diagnosis in "Weighted parsimony phylogeny of the family Characidae (Teleostei: Characiformes)," Cladistics, Vol. 25, No. 6 (July 2009). Some genera have been moved to a new Sub-Family, while others are now (temporarily) assinged to a specific clade within the Family pending further study.
Kerri Tetra Diet
Omnivore; these tetras are rather greedy so anything will be relished. Be sure not to overfeed!
Size
Minimum Tank Suggestion
24 inches in length
Ideal water parameters for Kerri Tetra
Soft (hardness to 10 dGH) and slightly acidic (pH up to 7.0) water, temperature 24-27C/75-81F.
