All About Rathbum's Tetra: The Least Tetra of All the Tetras
- Mar 09, 2023
- Anshika Mishra
- 461 0 0
The Rathbum's Tetra is a tiny fish with many names, such as the Fire Flank Tetras, Green Fire Tetras, and Red Flank Bloodfin Tetra. Just as confusing as their name, these tetras are not what you might expect from a Tetra. They have the adipose fin, but that's about it.
This is a little fish that Shoals like a Danio, hunts like a Gaurami, and has an attitude of a Barb.
Shy Fish
Like the majority of the Tetras, these fishes hail from South America, where they inhabit shallow, slower-moving waterways as well as lakes and ponds. These water are often densely pants with plenty of hiding places for small fish, and Rathbun's tetra certainly prefers a tank with at least the option of hiding if they want to, although they never seem to do so.
In a bare tank, they can be shy; in a hiding tank, they'll have the confidence to be out and about in the open, which is the vast majority of the time. Rathbuns are an active species. Like other Barbs, these fishes do not have much sense of personal space, and the games especially seem to delight in challenging pretty much any other fish to spar with them.
This is regardless of shelter or not; the spaces are even remotely alike. This fight almost never gets serious, and the other fishes rather look puzzled than in any way intimidated. But this could potentially be an issue for very sensitive species, all those which are rather easy to wind up.
Fin Nippers
They also have the reputation of being fin nippers. New species introduction brings on an almost insatiable need to have a little nibble around the edges of the new fish. Once they get to know the new species, they soon calm down.
However, they cannot be trusted with any fish with very long flowing find or delicate fins.
Water Parameter
They prefer to be kept anywhere between 20-26 degrees Celsius and a pH just on the acidic side, around six to seven.
They are also a schooling species and need to interact with their own kind and should be kept with about four other fishes in the group.
As they are fairly active, they need a tank of at least 60 cm long.
Classifying
Both sexes are also identical when they are younger, but as they reach adulthood and grow to about 1.5 inches in length, the males will start to develop very striking white tips on their fins. These will gradually intensify over the years as the fish ages, and the more dominant males will also develop more edge around that white as well.
Females, on the other hand, usually have clearer fins and are generally much calmer disposition. They will often leave the group and swim off to go around any decorations or any of the foliage they have in the tank as they will be on the hunt looking for something small and tasty to eat.
Diet
On the plus side, these fishes are not difficult to feed at all. They will take anything from flakes and pellets to frozen shrimps. Although bear in the mouth, they have very tiny mouths, and they are not very good at finding food if it reaches the substrate.
Substrates are the only part of the tank that the fish does not use very much. They will spend the vast majority of their time in the upper two-thirds of the tank. They are perfectly happy with both open waters and decorations.
In Conclusion
Overall, they are a fantastic species of the right tank, so as long as you have the right rank mates who aren't too sensitive, they are active and fun to watch with a great variety of different behaviors to keep you entertained.
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