An egg scatterer, not difficult but rarely attempted. Condition with live and frozen foods, then put the best male and fattest female in a small, dimly lit tank with a mesh base and some plants, in soft water below neutral pH. The fish spawn side by side after vigorous driving by the male.
Keep a group of 8-10 and move a well-conditioned trio or group to a spawning tank.
30-40 L tank with a spawning grid or dense java moss, soft to medium water (pH 6-7.5), a sponge filter and subdued light.
Heavy live-food conditioning, then a water change with slightly cooler water in the morning.
Up to 1,000 eggs per female; they hatch in about 30-34 hours.
Start with infusoria or powdered fry food, then newly hatched brine shrimp; sort by size as they grow.
One breeding tank for the red-eyed tetra, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 24–27 °C · pH 6–7.5 · soft water
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 10 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.
A 120 cm rack for breeding the red-eyed tetra in numbers.
In total: 3 tanks, about 246 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.
Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.
Males are slightly more colourful, have dark stripes in the anal fin and are slimmer than mature females.
Typical for egg scatterers
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.
Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.
Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.
Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.
Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.
Most small fish reach about 2 cm in 2–3 months and can join the main tank.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.