Cochu's Blue Tetra Breeding Guide
Breeding Cochu's Blue Tetra (Boehlkea fredcochui): subtle sexing, soft acidic peat-filtered water, eggs laid under broad leaves, prompt parent removal and rearing tiny fry.
Overview
Cochu's Blue Tetra (Boehlkea fredcochui), also known as the Blue King Tetra, is a translucent blue characin from the Amazon basin. It is an egg-scattering tetra without parental care, and AquaInfo describes it as not easy to breed, requiring careful attention to water chemistry and the timing of parent removal. The species is normally maintained in a tank of at least 60 cm in length, in water of 22-26 C and pH 6.0-6.5, so the breeding tank simply intensifies these soft, slightly acidic conditions.
Sexing
Sexual differences are subtle. According to AquaInfo, females are slightly fuller-bodied than males, while males tend to show a little more colour; distinguishing the sexes reliably takes experience. Observing a group over time, and watching for the rounder body of a ripe female, is the most practical way to identify potential breeders.
Conditioning
Condition well-fed adults before moving them to a breeding tank. Good condition in the female, seen as a fuller body, indicates readiness to spawn. A varied diet helps bring the females into spawning condition before they are transferred.
Breeding Setup
- Separate breeding tank with soft, acidic water.
- Temperature 22-26 C, pH 6.0-6.5, general hardness around 8-12.
- Filtration over peat to maintain soft, acidic conditions.
- Broad-leaved plants, as eggs are laid on the underside of broad leaves.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
AquaInfo reports that the eggs are laid on the underside of broad leaves. Because the adults slowly begin to eat their own eggs after spawning, it is important to remove the parents immediately after spawning has finished.
Egg & Fry Care
The newly hatched fry are extremely small. Initial feeding should be infusoria, progressing to brine shrimp nauplii as the fry grow large enough to take them.
Common Challenges
The species is described as not easy to breed. The main difficulties are achieving genuinely soft, acidic water, the subtle sexual dimorphism that complicates pairing, and the parents' tendency to eat their eggs if not removed promptly.