Black-banded Copella (Copella nigrofasciata) Breeding Guide

Breeding Copella nigrofasciata: a lebiasinid splash-tetra relative that deposits eggs on submerged vegetation guarded by the male, rather than splash-spawning above water.

Overview

Copella nigrofasciata is a small lebiasinid characin and a relative of the splash tetras, reaching about 3.8 cm standard length in males and 3.0 cm in females (FishBase). FishBase reports that the species deposits eggs on submerged vegetation, which are guarded by the male during incubation. This places it among the conventional spawners of the genus rather than the out-of-water splash spawners.

Sexing

FishBase records that males reach a slightly larger maximum size (about 3.8 cm SL) than females (about 3.0 cm SL). Beyond this size difference, detailed sexing characters were not present in the sources opened.

Conditioning

Specific conditioning protocols were not located. FishBase lists an environmental range of pH 6.0-7.0, hardness up to 8 dH and 21-25 degrees C, which frames suitable water for maturing breeders of this freshwater, benthopelagic species.

Breeding Setup

Because eggs are placed on submerged vegetation and guarded by the male (FishBase), a planted setup providing broad submerged leaves or similar surfaces is appropriate. Wikipedia notes that most members of the genus Copella spawn in a conventional fashion among fine-leaved aquatic plants, in contrast to Copella arnoldi, which lays eggs above water.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The documented behaviour is deposition of eggs on submerged plants followed by male guarding (FishBase). Unlike the splash-spawning Copella arnoldi, which leaps to attach eggs to overhanging leaves and then splashes water on them, C. nigrofasciata spawns conventionally underwater (Wikipedia).

Egg & Fry Care

The male guards the eggs through incubation (FishBase). Detailed hatch timing and fry-feeding schedules specific to this species were not present in the opened sources and are omitted.

Common Challenges

A frequent point of confusion is assuming all Copella splash-spawn above water; for C. nigrofasciata the documented method is submerged egg deposition with male guarding (FishBase, Wikipedia), so the setup must provide suitable submerged surfaces.