tolstoy21 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I have been trying to breed wild-caught red cherry tetras (Hyphessobrycon sp. MZUEL 17771) for a over a half year now. I don't really know how to sex these, nor do I know anything about their preferred breeding environment, etc. The only detailed video I could find about how to breed them was in German and You Tube is a poor translator, so I got half an idea (a half baked one) about maybe how to approach the subject. I paid a pretty penny for these fish, so after four failed attempts, I felt kind of discouraged. Then something happened -- PFM, as we say in the IT industry when something fixes itself and no one knows how (PFM stands for Pure F*in Magic). And this was a true PFM moment . . . I went to check on my blue dream shrimp (got these recently) and guess who is in there? Yeah, cherry tetra fry! No idea what they hitched a ride in on -- java moss, java fern, alder cone, worm hole, teleportation or something else to do with advanced particle physics -- but there they are, enjoying tasty blue shrimplets! So, at least I know now that I can raise the fry in my tap water. But the linger questions remains -- how the heck do I intentionally breed them? 4 1 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 PFM is always great when it works. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 On 2/21/2024 at 7:30 PM, tolstoy21 said: how the heck do I intentionally breed them? I'd argue that you already did intentionally breed them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 On 2/22/2024 at 8:39 AM, jwcarlson said: I'd argue that you already did intentionally breed them. Awesome . . . what water params did I use? 🙂 To be honest, I'm not sure if they came from plants in my breeding tank, or from the tank containing the adults. I'm trying another round of breeding today. If I made one error during the last attempt, I think it might have been declaring defeat too early. The fry might have still been too small to see, or just hiding very well in the java moss. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 On aquarium Glaser it's says the males grow larger than the females and have enlarged fins so if you have full grow mzuel tetras it should be easier to sex them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) On 2/22/2024 at 5:02 PM, Colu said: On aquarium Glaser it's says the males grow larger than the females and have enlarged fins so if you have full grow mzuel tetras it should be easier to sex them I read that also. But in all honestly, if there is a difference in body and fin size, it's subtle. The one difference I do notice is that there appear to be two groups of fish amongst my tetras. One is larger (on average) and more reddish-orange in color. The other is much more red, with no hints of orange coloration, and smaller (on average). I have the groups in separate 10g tanks right now and will fatten them up over the course of the week. At the end of this, I'll see which one looks more 'swollen' with eggs. Now, if my hunch that coloration indicates gender difference, then I should be able (hopefully) to be able to sex them in the future. If coloration is not a differentiator, then everything is out the window and body and fin size is irrelevant. If what I really have are two different species of tetra, then the same holds true -- there is no real difference in body and fin size. If I think I'm coming closer to an answer on their gender difference, I'll post here. Edited February 22 by tolstoy21 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) On 2/22/2024 at 11:55 PM, tolstoy21 said: I read that also. But in all honestly, if there is a difference in body and fin size, it's subtle. The one difference I do notice is that there appear to be two groups of fish amongst my tetras. One is larger (on average) and more reddish-orange in color. The other is much more red, with no hints of orange coloration, and smaller (on average). I have the groups in separate 10g tanks right now and will fatten them up over the course of the week. At the end of this, I'll see which one looks more 'swollen' with eggs. Now, if my hunch that coloration indicates gender difference, then I should be able (hopefully) to be able to sex them in the future. If coloration is not a differentiator, then everything is out the window and body and fin size is irrelevant. If what I really have are two different species of tetra, then the same holds true -- there is no real difference in body and fin size. If I think I'm coming closer to an answer on their gender difference, I'll post here. They do look very similar to orange lemon tetra looking at pictures if you had two species they would be closes match in terms of colour and body shape Edited February 23 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 On 2/22/2024 at 7:28 PM, Colu said: They do look very similar to orange lemon tetra looking at pictures if you had two species they would be closes match in terms of colour and body shape The main difference between the cherry and orange lemon is that all the fins on the cherry are vibrant red. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 On 2/21/2024 at 8:30 PM, tolstoy21 said: I have been trying to breed wild-caught red cherry tetras (Hyphessobrycon sp. MZUEL 17771) for a over a half year now. I don't really know how to sex these, nor do I know anything about their preferred breeding environment, etc. The only detailed video I could find about how to breed them was in German and You Tube is a poor translator, so I got half an idea (a half baked one) about maybe how to approach the subject. I paid a pretty penny for these fish, so after four failed attempts, I felt kind of discouraged. Then something happened -- PFM, as we say in the IT industry when something fixes itself and no one knows how (PFM stands for Pure F*in Magic). And this was a true PFM moment . . . I went to check on my blue dream shrimp (got these recently) and guess who is in there? Yeah, cherry tetra fry! No idea what they hitched a ride in on -- java moss, java fern, alder cone, worm hole, teleportation or something else to do with advanced particle physics -- but there they are, enjoying tasty blue shrimplets! So, at least I know now that I can raise the fry in my tap water. But the linger questions remains -- how the heck do I intentionally breed them? Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 @tolstoy21 i see your raok that you recently posted, so how did you end up breeding these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 (edited) On 6/3/2024 at 9:58 PM, T. Payne said: @tolstoy21 i see your raok that you recently posted, so how did you end up breeding these? Well, you see, when a man fish truly loves a woman fish . . . Honestly, I bred them pretty much the same way I would imagine most people breed egg scatterers. I’m not aware of anything I did that was out of the ordinary or special. I just had a third spawn, but this one appears much smaller than the last. I’m going to start another in the next week or so. I should probably keep notes. Edited June 4 by tolstoy21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Gotcha, so a bottle of wine and a little Marvin Gaye does the trick.... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 On 6/3/2024 at 10:24 PM, T. Payne said: Gotcha, so a bottle of wine and a little Marvin Gaye does the trick.... Specifically I used a 10g with a false bottom. Conditioned the sexes separately for a week. Introduced them to the breeding tank and then pulled them after three days. I use fairly soft water but I do that for everything I breed out of habit. The fry are infinitesimally small, so you need paramecium or infusoria for the first week or two or three. I keep half the tank dark, just in case the eggs or fry are light sensitive, but I have no real idea if they are or not. (Again I should probably take notes). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 @tolstoy21 thanks for this thread I do enjoy the PFM effect; the puffers occasionally find it. Congrats! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now