Family: Lebiasinidae
Distribution: Copeina guttata, or Red-Spotted Tetra, is a South American freshwater species distributed in the streams and rivers of the middle Amazon River basin.
PH: 6.5 – 7.5
Temperature: 23°C – 28°C (73 – 82F)
Hardness: 8 – 12 dH
Description: Copeina guttata can grow a maximum of 8 cm in a tank environment, although they have been recorded as reaching 15 cm in the wild. The Red-Spotted tetra has a green-brown colouration on its dorsal region – which gets darker at the flanks – and a light-yellow ventral surface colouration. It is named the Red-Spotted Tetra due to a red marking on each large scale. This species can live anywhere from 3 – 8 years.
Diet: Copeina guttata is omnivorous and will accept a varied diet of fish flakes, pellets, frozen foods and vegetables, but should also be given live food such as brine shrimp, insect larvae and small flying insects.
Breeding: The Red-Spotted Tetra should be bred in a pair. The male, who will display great colouration in the form of a red dotted flank, will mate with the female when she lays her eggs in your gravel substrate or on a flat stone. The female can produce around 300 eggs. You should remove the female at this point. You should also remove the male once the fry have hatched from the eggs and can swim on their own.
Comments: Copeina guttata is best kept in larger tanks where it has plenty of swimming space. A tank of at least 30 gallons in volume is recommended. This species is quite hardy but careful attention should be paid to water quality. You can add plants to your tank, along with flat rocks and several hiding places. This species is suitable for beginners and newcomers to the aquarium hobby.
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Recommended Compatible Species: They will live happily with most Tetra species (particularly the Neon Tetra and Black Tetra). They are also great tank mates with Discus, Apistogramma‘s like Apistogramma Cacatouides and Apistogramma Borelli, Corydoras Catfish (particularly Corydoras Sterbai and Corydoras aeneus) Angelfish, Clown loach, the common Guppy and Platy and most Gourami (such as the Blue Gourami and Dwarf Gourami like the Honey Gourami) Also can live happily with most Danio (particularly the Zebra Danio and Pearl Danio) and also many Killifish make great tank mates.
Originally posted 2010-01-15 12:50:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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