Buenos Aires Tetra (Hemigrammus caudovittatus) Breeding Guide

The Buenos Aires tetra scatters semi-adhesive eggs into plant thickets and breeds readily in slightly acidic water; eggs hatch in about 24 hours and parents soon eat the spawn.

Overview

The Buenos Aires tetra (Hemigrammus caudovittatus) is a robust characid from the Río de la Plata Basin in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southeastern Brazil, with its type locality at Villarrica, Paraguay. It grows up to about 7.5 cm and lives 5-6 years. It breeds by scattering eggs, and a separate breeding tank is needed because the species can occasionally nip at and eat aquarium plants.

Conditioning

Adults come into condition readily on a varied diet. Because the species nibbles soft plants, conditioning is usually done with hardy or artificial plants in the spawning tank rather than delicate fine-leaved species.

Breeding Setup

A dedicated breeding tank is used. Wikipedia notes that slightly acidic water gives the best breeding results, with spawning taking place among plant thickets that catch the scattered eggs.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The male chases the female into plant thickets, where she releases semi-adhesive eggs. Pairs in good condition spawn readily, and small numbers of fry can even appear unprompted in a mature aquarium.

Egg & Fry Care

Eggs begin to hatch in about 24 hours. The larvae feed on their yolk sac for the first three to four days before becoming free-swimming. The parents will soon begin to eat their young, so removing them once eggs are laid greatly reduces fry losses.