Emperor Tetra
Nematobrycon palmeri
Native Location: Colombia
Climate: Tropical
Maximum Size: 4 CM
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Breeding: Easy
Temperature Range: 21 – 27 ℃ (69.8 – 80.6 ℉)
Preferred pH Range: 5.0 – 7.5
Minimum Aquarium: 90cm x 30cm
Potential Tankmates: Danios, Rasboras, Corydoras & Plecos
Care Level: Easy
Found in the slower moving areas of rivers, the emperor Tetra spends its time hunting tiny crustaceans, insects, and zooplankton. They are among the best tetras for the ‘general’ community setup. It is lively and peaceful, and its colours offer a pleasing contrast to those of many other species.
Feeding Emperor Tetras in the home aquarium is very straight forward because they will generally accept anything given to them. However, a mixed variety of quality dry foods, frozen brines shrimp, bloodworm etc plus regular live foods like daphnia will make sure your Emperor Tetras are vibrant and active.
Always buy a group of at least half a dozen of these, preferably ten or more. It’s a shoaling species by nature and will fare much better when in the company of its kind. It looks far more effective when maintained like this, anyway. Rival males are territorial with one another to an extent, but not as far as damaging each other during their battles, provided the tank is sufficiently large and well-decorated.
Breeding Emperor Tetra is not a demanding process however a 2nd aquarium should be used. Ideally a group of both male and female fish should be added and monitored until spawning has completed. Adults should be removed straight afterwards. Eggs will have been scattered and attached to plants or ideally a spawning mop.
All our fish are quarantined on arrival for two weeks. During this time, they are treated for any possible diseases and given a complete health check to make sure they are healthy, happy, and eating well before being placed in our display aquariums, ready for sale.
