Data sheet for the Mourning Cloak Tetra
German name:
Mourning Cloak Tetra
Scientific name:
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Origin:
South America: Bolivia
Size:
5 cm
Aquarium
Length:
80 cm
Contents:
From 112 liters
Lighting:
Bright
Furnishings:
Loose planting with long-stemmed plants and lots of free swimming space
water values
Temperature:
20-26ºC
PH value:
5:8-8
Behave
Number:
10
Area:
center
propagation:
egglayer
Lining:
omnivore
Behave:
school fish
Difficulty level:
Beginner
Sources
Mourning Cloak Tetra – Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
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Mourning Cloak Tetras eat frantically.
Mourning Cloak Collector Photo: Sophie Weirauch
It is normal for black tetras to eat like piranhas or sharks.
They pounce wildly on any food.
Like many tetras, they shoot around with similar speed in their harmless territorial fights.
Mourning Cloak Tetras can get quite big bellies without being sick.
gender differences
You can see it best from above. The females are larger and fuller than the males.
Mourning Cloak Tetra female
Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons
License: CC Attr. SA 3.0
Author: Sychriscar
Mourning Cloak Tetra male
Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons
License: CC Attr. SA 3.0
Author: Sychriscar
Mourning Cloak Tetra Breeding
© leila h. / Young mourning cloak collector shortly after birth
A breeding tank for Mourning Cloak Tetras should be at least 30 centimeters long. The water level should be 15 to 20 centimeters.
The total hardness should be around 10° dGH. The water can even be a bit harder. Mourning Cloak Tetras are not particularly demanding.
Allow the water to stand a little before inserting the animals.
Water fern is planted in the center of the pool, the leaves of which reach to the surface.
The pool is lit only weakly or not at all. A filter is not necessary. A heater makes sense.
Two-year-old animals are used for breeding.
A special choice of partner does not take place with the mourning cloak tetra. Females are slightly larger and fuller than males. Before being placed in the breeding tank, the animals are well fed with live food.
Black mosquito larvae are the best. Frozen food also works if it is thawed beforehand.
When the female is ready to spawn, i.e. her belly is full of eggs, the pair is placed in the breeding tank. There is no feeding in the breeding tank.
Mourning Cloak Tetra Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: Sychriscar
If no eggs are found after 6 days, new water is poured in and another breeding pair is used. If no other pair is available, the original pair will be given a break.
If possible, the animals are kept separately according to gender. This means that there is no uncontrolled egg release.
A pair can be set to spawn every 8 days after the first spawning. The eggs are about 1 millimeter in size and can be seen with the naked eye.
Mourning Cloak Tetras are not strong spawn robbers, but they prey on the eggs. A spawning grid or glass balls should therefore lie on the bottom of the aquarium. Alternatively, java moss can be used.
The development time of the eggs is a few days.
Mourning Cloak Tetras are very productive. Approx. 300 young fish can grow up per litter. The young are very difficult to sell. Adult animals are not very attractive.
The young are very small at first. They cannot eat Artemia yet. The first food they need is wheels or parameciums or pond dust food.
A clump of java moss is so full of infusoria that 15 – 30 young have food without any additional feeding until they can eat normal food.
Ablino mourning cloak collector
Albino / Golden Mourning Cloak Tetras are often commercially available as a breeding form.
© -ARCHIV.DE
FAQs – Frequently asked questions about Mourning Cloak Tetras
What do Sorrow Cloak Tetras eat?
The fish are omnivores. In their natural environment they take insects and their larvae. They eat small crustaceans and occasionally eat plants, such as algae.
As aquarium fish, they can be fed commercial flake food or granulated food that is available specifically for small omnivorous fish.
It is important to have a varied diet that also offers live food and frozen food from time to time. The animals particularly like taking Artemia, white mosquito larvae or brine shrimp.
Where does the mourning cloak tetra come from?
The fish lives in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. It is found there in slow-flowing regions of the Río Paraguay and Rio Guaporé and in the middle Rio Parana. In general, he prefers regions that are well shaded by plants.
What types of breeding are there?
Cultivated forms with longer extended fins are known as so-called veiled mourning cloak tetras. There is also the golden mourning cloak tetra (albino mourning cloak). It has a very special rose-gold, uniform coloring.
How many Mourning Cloak Tetras should live together?
As a fish that lives in loose groups, the black tetra can live well with around ten of its own kind in a community aquarium.
Is it possible to socialize with shrimp?
Yes. The fish can be socialized with dwarf shrimp. However, young shrimps are eaten.
How many eggs can the Mourning Cloak Tetra lay?
Black tetras can release up to 500 eggs about one millimeter in size as free spawners, preferably on slender plants such as mosses.
Which fish get along with the Mourning Cloak Tetra?
The fish is peaceful, calm and sociable, but has a rather boisterous eating habit. He greedily pounces on what is offered to him. The socialization with very small and calm fish, which also eat calmly, can be unfavorable under certain circumstances, for example with armored catfish or butterfly cichlids.
At the very least, she should be watched closely. Otherwise, potential roommates are, for example:
– danios, such as zebrafish or harlequin rasbora
– Catfish, for example armored catfish, catfish
– Dwarf cichlids, discus