Gold Pristella Tetra Breeding Guide
How to breed the Gold Pristella (Pristella maxillaris), an egg-scattering tetra: sexing, a dim soft-water spawning setup, egg scattering and raising light-sensitive fry.
Overview
The Gold Pristella is a selectively bred colour form of Pristella maxillaris, a small characid from the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America. Like the wild form it is an egg-scattering, free-spawning tetra that provides no parental care, so the standard approach is to spawn adults in a dedicated tank and remove them once eggs are laid.
Sexing
According to Seriously Fish, mature females are usually bigger and noticeably stockier than males. Well-fed, ripe females show a rounded body when viewed from above or the side, which helps in selecting breeders.
Conditioning
Condition prospective breeders in separate male and female groups, or with the sexes divided by a tank partition, feeding plenty of small live foods to bring the females into spawning condition.
Breeding Setup
- Spawning tank around 18 x 10 x 10 inches (about 45 x 25 x 25 cm).
- Very dim lighting; the tank should be kept dark.
- Temperature 27-29 C (80-84 F).
- pH 5.5-6.5 with general hardness around 1-5; RO water and peat filtration are recommended.
- Clumps of fine-leaved plants such as java moss or spawning mops, or a mesh base that lets eggs fall through out of reach of the adults.
- Gentle air-powered sponge filter only.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Pristella maxillaris can be spawned in a group of around six of each sex or as a single pair. Eggs are scattered among the fine-leaved plants or fall through the mesh base. Adults will eat the eggs given the chance and should preferably be removed as soon as eggs are noticed.
Egg & Fry Care
Eggs hatch in roughly 24-36 hours and the fry become free-swimming about 3-4 days later. Both eggs and fry are light sensitive in the early stages, so keep the tank dark. Start the free-swimming fry on an infusoria-type food, moving on to microworm and brine shrimp nauplii once they are large enough.
Common Challenges
Egg predation by the parents is the main risk, so prompt removal of the adults is important. Sensitivity of eggs and early fry to light means the tank must be shaded. Maintaining genuinely soft, acidic water improves fertilisation and hatch rates.